Hatfield Farm says goodbye to beloved horse Amos after 18 years

Nova Scotia's Hatfield Farm has had to say goodbye to Amos, the beloved Percheron horse who often pulled carriages and posed for wedding photos with the bride and groom.

Owner Brian Hatfield bought Amos in 2002.

Amos was relatively healthy during the winter. But, at almost 30, his health deteriorated in the past few months and he was put down on Friday.

"It was very tough," said Hatfield, who bought Amos 10 years after he opened the business in Hammonds Plains. "That's part of having animals. Sometimes it's hard to say goodbye."

Amos was used as a draft horse, carrying loads and pulling wagons, until Hatfield discovered that Amos liked the spotlight.

Hatfield said Amos "loved doing weddings," pulling the bride and groom in carriages and posing for photos. He was in hundreds of weddings over the years, until last summer.

He would put on a "special prance" when he knew people were watching and had their cameras out, but he was always obedient and stayed still during the ceremonies.

Amos did have one weakness when it came to weddings, though. It's something Hatfield said he always had to warn brides about.

"Amos loved to eat their flowers … he ate quite a few of the bouquets of flowers," he laughed. "He was very good at that."

When Karen Grace got married in 2013, the one thing she was "truly picky" about was selecting the horse that would pull the carriage.

Grace and her husband both loved horses, and lived on a horse farm before getting married.

When she met with people at Hatfield Farm to go over wedding details, she went into the barn to meet all the horses.

Grace said while all the other horses stood quietly, Amos was "saucy and spunky" and kept bumping her with his nose.

"That was it," she said. "There was no changing my mind."

On the day of the wedding, Grace said Amos didn't go for her bouquet. But he did go for the flower in her hair.

'Still going to be with us'

Hatfield said finding a replacement for a horse with so much character will be tough.

"They're hard to come by," he said.

Hatfield said the farm usually sells horses as they get older, but the "really special" horses are buried there.

Amos was buried this weekend in a plot by a path where he liked to trot. "He's still going to be with us," Hatfield said.

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