Posts Tagged ‘horse behavior’
Serene Green
This time of year, every morning the landscape looks different than the day before. The increase in the number and size of leaves on branches and blades of grasses that happen in a day is astonishing. Our morning walk with Asher through the woods and around the pasture offers one marvel after another.
“Look at this!”
“I can’t see you through the trees anymore.”
The horses have quickly gotten over the excitement of being allowed on the grass now that we’ve reached the point of leaving gates open all the time. They get to come and go as they please so there is no anxiety about confinement.
They are wonderfully calm in the morning and impressively patient about waiting for the delivery of their feed. I will soon be able to refer to “grain” in their buckets as we are gradually transitioning from manufactured pellets to a mixture of actual grains. This was a business decision by This Old Horse but it seems like an improvement to me, changing to a less processed food.
The chestnuts, Mia and Light, took a break from grazing to have a little nap in the lush grass. That incredible serenity is precious, especially since the horses are also experiencing seasonal hormones that have them coping with some unfulfilled urges that sometimes stir things up in the herd.
Yesterday afternoon, Light was like a little puppy trying to get Mia to snuggle necks but Mia wasn’t interested and moved away carefully to avoid causing a ruckus. Mix actually greeted Light nose-to-nose without being aggressive about it. That almost never happens.
Maybe Mix is showing some empathy toward Light.
That kind of behavior contributes significantly to the serene scenes we’ve been enjoying between rain showers. I’m all for more of that.
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Splish Splashing
After a lot of rain, a large puddle forms in the larger of our two paddocks. While I was turning one of the compost piles, I heard splashing and looked up to find Swings stomping away in the water. It looked like she was either trying to make the puddle deeper or she was splashing to wash off her legs.
This got Light’s attention, who then walked over and started stomping her hoof on the ground at the puddle’s edge. Since she never joined in the water splashing, her behavior gave the impression she was doing it in encouragement to Swings.
“Do it some more! Yeah! Go for it! Do it again!”
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When Swings decided she had had enough of the escapade, she turned and walked out of the puddle. Light seemed to completely understand the task was complete and moved away with Swings, as if they were tethered together.
As soon as I stopped recording and walked back to what I was doing, Mia went over to the puddle and immediately lay down in it. I barely got my phone out in time to capture her getting back onto her feet. Then she walked over near the others and they all acted as if nothing had just happened.
Mix grazed in the foreground without paying them any attention.
Horses are so much fun to have around.
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Asking Nicely
It’s hard to resist clear communication from animals when they ask nicely. This morning, while I was doing some “housekeeping” in the farther reaches of the paddocks, Mia walked up to me to check if I might be thinking about opening the gate to the field.
I wasn’t, but when Cyndie noticed (with a chuckle because of the way Mia was standing almost on top of me) she suggested I could accommodate the request. The last few days we have been giving them afternoon time on the grass and then coaxing them back in by serving their feed. In this case, they were just finishing their feed so there wouldn’t be the same incentive to come in on our schedule.
Before I caved to the request, I crossed between the two paddocks by ducking under the board over the waterer to pick up one last pile of manure. On that side, Light came down and picked up where Mia left off in pressing up against me in an attempt to persuade their desired outcome.
I couldn’t resist. They were granted 30 minutes on the grass. Coaxing them back in took a couple of tries, but they eventually complied. Maybe they know there will be another opportunity later in the day. It’s all an exercise in gradually pacing the change in diet to allow time for their gut biome to adjust.
Based on my work as an Equine Fecal Relocation Engineer, things appear to be progressing well thus far.
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Just Thursday
There wasn’t anything unusual about yesterday compared to any other Thursday. I got Wordle in 4. We did the morning horse chores after I walked Asher. Cyndie heated servings of an egg bake from the freezer for breakfast. Even though I was listening for the arrival of a truck to pick up the tractor, I never heard a thing.
When I stepped outside with Asher after breakfast, the tractor was gone. I think our house is soundproof.
Instead of getting one particular project started and finished, my methods of late tend to lean towards picking away a little bit at many tasks simultaneously. While walking Asher, I grabbed the hedge trimmer to cut down last year’s stalks of our tall Japanese Silver Grass at various locations around the property.
Later, I spent some time turning and reshaping old compost piles in hopes of reactivating the process that fell dormant over winter.
In a spontaneous decision, we suddenly decided to cut down an entire section of the lilac tree in our front yard.
The bark was peeling off the trunk. We tried wrapping it but that didn’t lead to the tree healing the wound. When the wrapping started falling off, we noticed a mushroom growing out of the side. Even though there were signs of new buds on the branches, we decided to cut the whole section off to avoid the tree wasting energy on the doomed portion.
That tree was there when we bought the place over 11 years ago and has continued to get taller and taller every year. I don’t know what to expect from it next. We’ll see what removing one of the five “trunks” does for the remaining portions.
While I had the chainsaw out, we headed into the woods to remove the latest tree that had fallen across one of our trails. I also brought down a medium-sized tree leaning against others at a 45-degree angle. We keep adding to the dead wood lying on the ground in our forest because trees fall more often than we can consume the wood.
One good outcome of the recent winds was that a previously snagged limb finally fell to the ground. It had been up there for years. It was just beyond the reach of my pole saw. I was able to cut down the rest of the tree, but this one section was hung up in the collar of another tree and we couldn’t shake it loose. Given enough time, it eventually came down without our help.
Toward the latter part of the afternoon, we gave the horses the next increment of time on the fresh pasture grass. Before our time limit was reached, Swings and Mix had come in of their own accord. I was doing some equine fecal relocation work in the paddock and Light came in to check on me. Mia stayed out gobbling grass.
When Cyndie presented their buckets of feed, I had to walk out and talk Mia into coming in.
It’s a special treat when a horse follows your lead without requiring a lot of coercion. My charm can be irresistible.
Just another Thursday in our little paradise.
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Underwhelming Opening
It was what one local meteorologist called a “San Diego weather” day for our region yesterday. Blue sky, light breeze, gentle warmth, comfortable humidity, few in the way of pestering insects. Julian graciously agreed to help me pound fence posts that our freeze/thaw cycle pushes up. 
It’s very rewarding to experience easy success when a post drops a half-inch with each strike, especially because plenty of others barely move an eighth of an inch at a time. Our main goal is to get the bottom wire of the fence back down to less than 18” from the ground, per a guideline I read for horses. Mission accomplished.
In the middle of the afternoon, Cyndie agreed to open the gates to the hay field for the horses to start adjusting their digestive systems to fresh grass again. I took a position to record their reaction to renewed access to their fields.
They didn’t even notice. Maybe they were purposely ignoring us. My video was pretty underwhelming. With a little coaxing from Cyndie, Mia and Mix started an approach. As they picked up some momentum down the slope from the barn, Light and Swings took notice and soon followed.
They barely walked beyond the wood fence to begin feasting on fresh chomps of grass. Nothing wrong with that, but we always compare it to the time they took off running like the racehorses they once were upon that first opportunity on the field in spring.
We only gave them a short first shift before bringing them back in. Interestingly, that got them running more than going out did.
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Shedding Underway
’Tis the season of flying tufts of horse hair. It gets a little complicated when their heavy shedding coincides with their days confined to the massively muddy paddocks. The tufts don’t fly as much when they are caked in layers of mud.
Cyndie spent a little time yesterday brushing all four horses for as much as the mares would allow. Each horse has a different level of acceptance for being brushed.
I watched Cyndie try to win over Light with offers of treat bites with varying degrees of success. It got me laughing to see Cyndie trying to multitask brushing Light’s hindquarters with one hand while fending off Light’s face with her other hand. Light kept turning back to beg for another treat.
It is no small thing to fend off an insistent Light where treats are involved.
I leaned over Light’s back and snapped a close-up of the layers of hair.
We both knew that freshly brushed horses rarely stay clean for very long. By the time we returned to the barn to feed them in the afternoon, Cyndie reported they had all taken a roll in the mud.
Thus begins the cycle that will repeat multiple times in the days and weeks ahead.
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Stepping Between
When making my way through the swampiest areas of the paddocks, the trick I employ is to choose my steps between the potholes of hoof divots. Where the horse hooves have pushed up gashes of earth, I push the mess back down. When I allow myself to be distracted by the scoopful of manure I’m carrying, a misstep into a water-filled divot delivers an immediate signal from the wetness in my sock up to my brain, reminding me that these boots leak.
We weren’t expecting to wake up to another fresh blanket of snow yesterday morning. It was mostly harmless because there wasn’t that much and it didn’t require any shoveling. By the end of the day, it had all melted, leaving behind just enough moisture to keep things messy for another day or two.
Sunshine is coming. That should brighten everyone’s moods. Maybe kick the grass blades into gear. That would make the horses happy, I suspect. They do an impressive job of finding every spot within the confines of the board-fenced paddocks where new grass is sprouting.
It’s too bad they can’t figure out a way to walk around that doesn’t obliterate the turf that they would love to eat.
In my meanderings around the paddock, I marveled over the difference between places where it appears they must step gently and the surface packs down versus the damage they churn up when stepping with urgency.
At feeding times lately, Mix has been getting worked up in anticipation and for some reason takes it out by harassing Light and Mia. Yesterday she kept chasing them into muddy areas I’m sure they would otherwise choose to avoid. That kicks up an unnecessary mess.
Swings came over and gave Mix a piece of her mind, as if to get her to leave the other two alone. That works as long as Swings stays around. When she moves back to her feeding spot on the other side, Mix ramps her antagonism back up again.
Light and Mia seem to take it in stride, albeit with muddier hooves. As soon as buckets of feed get distributed, everybody calms down and tends to their meal.
That’s when I make my rounds, doing my best to step between all their many divots.
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Nervous Wreck
Last night I watched the last two “elite eight” games of the women’s NCAA tournament and found myself feeling more nervous about the situations of the games than the athletes who were involved.
When it comes to critical game situations, I am a wreck. Continuing to play effectively when you have 4 fouls is impressive. Having the clarity of mind to make a key pass in a split-second of opportunity is brilliant. Demonstrating the confidence and steadiness to hit a closely guarded 3-point shot reveals more nerve than seems possible from my experience.
Conversely, when I am working in the paddocks around four beasts who each weigh over a thousand pounds, I’m probably cooler than I should be. The other day, Light kicked out in my general direction so quickly without warning, I think it warped the laws of physics.
Suddenly I was no longer so calm and collected.
The horses have been moodier than normal the last few days. Maybe they are picking up on my tournament-watching energy of late. I think their nerves might be getting a little frayed, too.
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Just Weather
When a long-duration storm is dishing out its worst, there doesn’t seem to be any other news that rises above it. I tried to keep one eye on NCAA March Madness Tournament basketball games yesterday but the other eye was darting between the snow out the window or the radar updates online.
It snowed most of the day but we didn’t get a lot of accumulation until the sun went down. The temperature hovered right around freezing and the line where snow changed to rain appeared to be slowly moving north as we turned in for the night.
Cyndie put blankets on the horses in the afternoon because Mix and Mia were shivering from the wetness and also because of the likelihood that the cold precipitation would change to rain and soak them even more. We leave it up to them to decide whether they want to stay under the overhang or stand in the rain.
I’m always surprised by how often they choose to walk away from the cover of a roof over their heads.
I’m anxious to get out there this morning to see what the conditions are like in the paddock. Muddy, wet, and snowy all at the same time, I suspect.
As they say, we need the moisture.
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Especially Content
It is hard to ignore the precision I employ in cleaning up beneath the horses when comparing the area around the barn overhang after a weekend of someone else taking care of things. My obsessiveness becomes much more obvious after I find how much manure is scattered in places I normally clean up but the “real” horse people disregard.
I’ve seen no clear evidence that the horses care either way, but I tend to believe they appreciate my fastidiousness. It’s kind of cute when they make a clear gesture of walking over to stand and poop where I am working. They can be so helpful that way. However, the fact that they so often step in the piles and kick them around every which way when I’m not there makes it seem like they might be sending me a different message.
It was really great to have a few days away from horse duty but the amount of pleasure I’m finding from being back with them again tells me I might be more attached to them than I was aware.
Oddly, I had a rather extreme dream where I was rubbing my face against Mix (like I do when wrestling with Asher) and found myself having a too-close encounter with her teeth.
No close encounters in real life yesterday while I was moving amongst the herd before bringing out their rations. They seemed especially content. Like they were happy to have us home.
The un-winter-like weather may have had something to do with that, too, I suppose.
Not much seems to fail when nature serves up its finest versions of non-threatening conditions.
I’m feeling especially content to be able to enjoy the horses while they are all getting along and radiating the ultimate in equine peacefulness. It’s a pretty special thing to return to after a weekend away.
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Relative Something 