Relative Something

I am curious whether or not the horses are aware that they are training me to care for them. Prior to their arrival here, I had very little exposure to horses, and absolutely no experience in managing the care of a herd.

Parts of the process already feel comfortable for me. I am able to step inside the paddock without hesitation, to feed them or clean up after them, while they are unconstrained and not wearing harnesses. It seems to me as though they accept the leadership role I am in, but my knowledge of all things horse-related is so limited, I have to believe they sense my lack of experience.

I’m finding that their shenanigans to chase each other off the feed, when we provide one pan for each of them, frustrates me for some reason. I guess I want them to behave the way I think they should, instead of the manner which they choose. I’m sure we’ll all figure it out eventually. In the mean time, it is part of what leaves me feeling mostly clueless about the deeper levels of understanding horses, which is, understandably, a reflection of my lack of experience. I don’t get to jump from knowing nothing, all the way to in-depth knowledge, without going through the process of actually gaining it through experience.

Another thing that urks me is that Hunter makes a habit of putting a hoof into the feed pan to tip it and dump the feed all over the ground. That stuff ain’t cheap! He/they are pretty good at cleaning up most of it, but it messes with my sense of order.

Yesterday, I figured they were telling me they were ready for the afternoon feeding when I walked by on the way to get the mail. Legacy led the group in a trot across the big field to follow my progress. I sensed they wanted something. I stayed on my task, and walked back toward the house without stopping at the barn, and so they took to racing around, kicking and cavorting, to let me know… something. This is where I am short on experience to confidently interpret their behavior. I guessed they were frustrated, but their galloping looked a bit too fun-spirited to me.

Since it was close to the time we would normally give them the afternoon feed, I turned around as soon as I dropped the mail in the house, and returned to the barn. When they saw me, the herd came right up under the overhang where we set out their feed pans, all of them breathing heavy from their bout of running around. I went through the usual routine, at my pace (to let them know I am in charge), distributing their dinner for them to battle over and spill to the ground.

Another day’s “lesson” in the books for my ongoing process of learning by doing. I’m not always sure about what I learn each day, but I’m having a lot of fun gaining experience in caring for horses.

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