Boy + Horse = TikTok Love Story

This boy and his horse went viral on TikTok this week for a cute video showing their unique bond. Photo by Shari Berg of The Write Reflection.

It all started innocently enough. A little boy calling his horse from the pasture. It’s something that happens several times a day, according to West Virginia mom Melina Oliver. Last week, she decided to record the interaction to send to her out-of-state grandparents so they could enjoy the experience with her.

She also thought it would be a fun video to share on her TikTok page, @maple_nala. Mrs. Oliver started the page to share the cute and funny clips about her 7-year-old Paint, Maple, and her 5-year-old Golden Retriever, Nala.

Little did she know the perfect recipe for going TikTok viral was to feature her son, Kolten, calling Maple to come to see him. “MayMay, come!” he says excitedly in the video. MayMay is his nickname for the horse. As you can see in the video, she knows exactly who he’s talking to when he says it.

Kolten isn’t the only one happy to see his buddy. Maple responds to his command with a giddy neigh, bucks a few times from sheer joy, and heads up the pasture to meet her favorite little person. Watching the video made the hearts of many of Mrs. Oliver’s TikTok followers melt. Many requested to see more clips of this cute love story between a boy and his horse.
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TikTok user Osana Sutton commented, “Love how the horse did a little dance before running to favorite human.” Another TikTok commenter, @Elizabeth, agreed. “The horse’s excitement melted our hearts,” she said. 

This video of Kolten and Maple had more than 6 million views as of the posting of this article.

Cuteness Overload Goes TikTok Viral

As of 9:42 a.m. on March 19, the video has 6.2 million views, 671,800 likes, and 3,684 comments. According to Mrs. Oliver, the video hit 1 million views just 9.5 hours after she posted it on March 17. “I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “It was just a typical everyday type thing that Maple and Kolten do that I happened to record to share with my grandparents. Posting it on TikTok was an afterthought. I never imagined it would go viral, let alone have millions of views. I’m stunned.”

Mrs. Oliver started the TikTok account for her horse and dog in January on a whim. She said both make her laugh regularly with their antics, and she thought others might find them funny. What she never expected was for one of her videos to go viral. TikTok considers any video with more than 500,000 likes viral on its platform.
When choosing what to feature, she said she explores what’s trending on TikTok to see if she can use it in some way with her dog and horse. Sometimes it involves using funny sounds or music that may be popular. Other times, she comes up with her own playbook for creating engaging videos.

Since her followers have requested it, Mrs. Oliver said she plans to feature more videos with her son and horse. “I may toss in clips with my dog, Nala, and Maple once in a while, but I’ll definitely give Maple and Kolten’s fans what they want to see.”

Maple is a 7-year-old Paint with a big heart for her favorite humans. Photo by Shari Berg of The Write Reflection.

Shoveling Horse Poo Amid TikTok Fame

As for how she plans to use her newfound TikTok fame, Mrs. Oliver – who was appropriately cleaning Maple’s stall during our interview – said she won’t let it go to her head. She wouldn’t say no to some sponsorships for her page if any equestrian product manufacturers or other companies are interested. Who wouldn’t want to have these two cuties peddling their products? (hint, hint)

Mrs. Oliver said, for now, she plans to go back to her chores around the farm, capturing moments between her son and horse whenever they present themselves. Whether any more of her videos go viral remains to be seen. The content pros at The Write Reflection are willing to bet on this adorable duo continuing to attract likes and follows. ​