Relative Something

I don’t know if it was the wind, or that the daytime temperatures rose into the 50s (F), but the horses were really charged up in the afternoon and evening yesterday.

Cyndie had fed them in the morning, and before she left for work she told me that she had opened two gates from the paddock, allowing the horses access to either the big field in front, or the small area behind it that is enclosed by temporary fencing. As I was heading out to visit the hardware store later, I noticed the herd had split, with the three chestnuts grazing in the big field and Legacy near them, but on the other side of a fence in the back area.

While I was out, I visited Fleet Farm for the first time since we moved here. The place has a whole new meaning to me now, compared to when we lived in the suburbs. I am not fond of shopping, so I do it as rarely as possible, but it works out because Cyndie shops enough for the both of us. In fact, I was surprised at how many items I recognized in the store as things Cyndie has “acquired” for the ranch in the last year.

When I pulled back into our driveway, I noticed right away that the horses were in the same location as when I left. It occurred to me when I saw them the first time, that they might not want to be separated, but had probably lost track of how they ended up on different sides of a fence. After parking my car at the house, I headed right down to see if I could guide them back together.

I think I was spot on about them not wanting to be separated like that, because when I showed Legacy that he had a wide open gate available to travel through the paddock out to the big field, much revelry ensued. The herd went a little nuts, galloping around at full power, leaping in the air and kicking up their heels. Do horses have heels? You know what I mean. It was a spectacularly fascinating sight, as well as a bit nerve-wracking. They were so wild I thought they might run into each other, or fail to pull up in time as they tried to “downshift” from a full sprint before running into a fence.

After that, it appeared that all the celebrating had put Cayenne in the mood for some specific attention from the boys. She did everything she could to egg them on, but other than a few brief hints that they noticed, the geldings showed no interest whatsoever. Back to grazing.

When the usual time for their afternoon feeding of grain rolled around, they walked into the paddock where I was working on bolstering my inadequate tree bark protection scheme, and they announced themselves with a whinny. I obliged them and went in the barn to get their grain. When I stepped out again, they were long gone, out in the big field again. No problem for me, I set out the feed pans and went back to work.

They did finally come back in, but they were uncharacteristically timid about going up under the overhang to get to the feed, which is where we have served it to them almost every time since they arrived here. Even after they broke down and walked up to munch, it was in a completely unsettled manner, and they either chased each other away while trying to get a bite, or all 4 would bolt in the well-practiced emergency evacuation drill.

It was probably just the wind, but I wouldn’t be surprised if their being separated –against their wishes– earlier in the day, was contributing to their nervous behaviors.