This adorable parrot is so adventurous that she loves daily hikes, mountaineering and horse riding with her owner - even shouting at the stallion when she wants to go faster. Louise Brown said she got green-cheeked conure Cobalt when she was a small chick and had always wanted to give 'her baby' the best quality of life.
So, in a bid to provide enrichment for her two-year-old exotic bird, the animal educator purchased a parrot carrier backpack to take her out and about, and she's since been 'thriving'. The 32-year-old said she loves watching her tiny cogs tick as she explores the great outdoors and she's since been harness trained so she can now perch on her shoulder too.
In fact, Cobalt is so adventurous that he not only goes hiking, mountaineering and down the beach, but also horse riding with Louise and her 17-year-old Clydesdale cross Maximus. The riding instructor said that little Cobalt, who weighs around a tiny 60 grams, will even click and lean forward to encourage Maximus, who's a large 15.2-hand horse, to canter faster.
Adorable footage captured by Louise show her feathered friend appearing completely content as they adventure in the countryside together, and she's amassed more than three million likes on TikTok from sharing such videos. Louise, of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, said: "I started taking her on hikes because I wanted to give her a better quality of life, rather than being stuck indoors for her whole life.
"I love looking for ways to provide enrichment for my animals and the best possible care I can for them. I started off with a little parrot carrier and then looked into harness training. I saw how much she was thriving from being outdoors and seeing the world around her, so I continued it.
"We go out on adventures like woodland walking and foraging for nuts and mushrooms. She's just involved in every part of my life and absolutely thrives on it. She absolutely loves being outside. I love just watching her learn about the world and seeing how she interacts with everything. When she sees ducks and things like that, you can see the cogs ticking in her mind.
"Because she's quite small, quite a few people don't notice her but when they do they're usually amazed as people don't realise that you can train birds to take them out and about."
The pair share a special bond as Louise spent months hand rearing her, which required contact every four hours.
Louise, who dotes on more than 50 pets that are mainly exotic, said that during the warmer summer months her and Cobalt will go hiking almost daily.
Cobalt, whose species is native to the forests of central and south America is also one of her animal ambassadors as they visit schools to educate others about exotic animals and their conservation.
Louise was inspired to take her horse riding after she wanted to spend time with both animals at the same time, and after a stroll around the arena together, the trio really hit it off.
Louise said: "I've got a saint of a horse so I know he's completely safe. We started off in a rucksack and as soon as I harness trained her I put her on my shoulder.
"We started going up paces so she can vox trot and canter on my horse. She leans forward and clicks trying to get him to go faster all the time, she really loves going fast.
"We get a lot of amazing reactions. People usually double take as she's so small and then they ask 'is that a bird?'
"She's got a lot of attitude and sass. If I change my hair or nails she starts growling at me and sulks with me for a couple of days.
"But she's also a right sweetheart. She loves going under the duvet for cuddles and falls asleep under it and I can pass her to anyone and she's her same loving self. She's such a darling."
