Posts Tagged ‘light’
Leadership Dispute
After three days of less than adequate sleep, I found myself struggling to keep my eyes open after dinner last night. It was great to know my body was willing to make up for what I had denied it, but if I went to sleep too early, I’d wake up way too soon. Postponing sleep until closer to my usual time was worth it to get back on a more normal overall schedule again.
I arrived home yesterday to a report from Cyndie that Mix and Light had entered into a phase of heightened conflict, maybe in competition for the role of herd leader.
She described a change of increased aggression from Mix toward Light. For a while, we were seeing just the opposite between those two.
At the second feeding yesterday, Cyndie found Mix standing firmly in Light’s usual feed bucket spot, without protest from Light. That is the station we serve first, and Mix appeared to be claiming it.
Light just stood back and didn’t attempt to eat from any of the buckets.
I asked where Swings was this whole time. Cyndie said Swings has been hanging out with Mia, which she doesn’t usually do because Swings doesn’t like Mia. They were grazing grass together and showed little interest in coming up to eat grains.
I’m just fine with Mix wanting to be the herd leader. More valuable to me would be to have her demonstrate some visible leadership on a consistent basis. If Light gets relegated to the second or third rung on their level of hierarchy, I hope it doesn’t mess too much with her self-image.
Light was rescued from a kill pen on two different occasions and was spookily skinny when she came to This Old Horse. Even though she looks outwardly healthy now, I would guess she suffered enough psychological trauma to leave her mentally fragile ever since. That hasn’t been the way I have looked at her in the past, but since that last Vet visit, my perspective has been readjusted to a more realistic interpretation of the horses’ ages and the abuses they have suffered.
While discussing the horses last night with Cyndie, we jointly came to the recognition that Light’s clinginess to Swings could be a reflection of an insecurity, not a desire to lead. Although we don’t know exactly how she ended up in the kill pen, it occurred to us that she might never be sure that it won’t happen again somehow.
Whatever it is that the horses might be trying to work out among themselves, I hope they come to an arrangement that satisfies each of them soon. It’s much more soothing to have them be loving with each other than to have disputes.
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Light Wounded
Whose brilliant idea was it to write about healthy horses yesterday? Cyndie and Asher are both away for the weekend, leaving me home alone to tend to the horses and the mowing. When I popped out of the house first thing in the morning and headed toward the barn through the trees, I found Swings and Mia lying down, napping in the paddock with Light standing over them.
Right away, I noticed something looked odd with Light. She was twisting her head and neck, and looked really uncomfortable. I recorded some video of her gyrations and sent it to Cyndie for her opinion. I was unsure about serving their morning grains if Light was unwell.
When I did put out their feed buckets, Light showed no interest whatsoever, but the other three carried on with their normal morning routine.
It was a good thing the Vet was already scheduled for an appointment later in the morning. Light was fighting some invisible battle. Cyndie said it looked like maybe something had gotten inside one of her ears.
I thought it looked neurological. Before the Vet arrived, Maddy, our handler from This Old Horse, showed up to help get things prepared. She is the one who spotted a brief glimpse of a wound under Light’s mane, between her ears. We couldn’t get Light to settle down enough to check it, but at least now we knew what we were dealing with.
The Vet started in with checking teeth and vaccinating the other three horses. Swings went first, and as soon as the sedative kicked in, the doc had her hand in Swings’ mouth and pulled out a tooth.
Sounds like it’s time for Swings to be eating soft senior feed. At the ripe old horse age of 29, she is already down a couple of other molars. She looks so great outwardly, I tend to forget that her internal parts could be wearing out. Maybe we need to start treating her with a little more respect for her elderly condition.
Mia was next and tolerated the dental work stoically. Mix, the youngster of the herd by a year, didn’t need any tooth care and was done after a couple of vaccine shots.
That left Light, who did not want to let us touch her, but needed attention more than all the others. It took quite a few tries to get her cornered under the overhang where the Vet could administer a sedative and provide some sweet talk while the drug took effect.
It was not obvious how Light received this gash, but they suspected she had knocked her head into something. She was given something for the pain, and they went right to work filing her teeth. The doctor felt around for any other sensitive spots on Light’s head and mentioned the possibility of a minor concussion, but generally felt it wasn’t any worse than just the obvious wound.
The injury received a water-resistant aerosol bandage to protect the exposed tissue from dirt and flies, yet allow the wound to breathe to promote healing.
Now I just need to watch the horses for any negative reactions to the vaccine shots and keep an eye on Light’s wound to make sure it is getting better and not showing any signs of infection.
By the evening grain serving, Light was eating normally, but all the horses seemed a little less perky, like maybe the way humans feel after a dose of flu vaccines.
Just another day keeping four horses healthy and happy. Sheesh!
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Light’s Leadership
Observing the herd yesterday, I can understand why Light might be exhausted. I didn’t catch any of the horses napping throughout the day, but I spotted repeated evidence that Light is working to deserve the role of “Boss Mare” despite not being the eldest one in the herd.
After the morning feeding, I noticed that Swings was heading out of the paddock into the back pasture. Mia and Light were all in on the idea, but Mix showed no interest and was grazing at a hay net bag near the waterer. That caused Light to pause at the gate so as not to leave a horse behind.
Light hovered in that spot, keeping an eye in both directions but looking like she wanted everyone together. After a bit, she chose to walk back into the paddock toward Mix, which was just enough to persuade Mix to leave the hay net. As soon as Mix showed movement, Light departed for the pasture with the other two.
I thought it interesting that Mix then ramped up her energy in an almost petulant response and bolted into the pasture at a full sprint, kicking at the air for a little added spice.
At dusk, when all sorts of night critters start coming out, Asher and I found the horses hyper-focused toward the direction of the drainage swale. Neither Asher nor I noticed any animal movement in the distance, but that’s no surprise. Light maintained watch from several different vantage points when the other three decided it was safe to munch some hay.
Eventually, Light made her way down to a hay net, but she still stayed vigilant about any possible movement to the south.
Honestly, it looks rather exhausting to keep watch with such tenacity. I don’t know if she is proving herself to the others, but Light has earned my respect for all the effort she has been putting into it.
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New Boss
Contrary to what I thought possible, Brad finished his work yesterday by 2:00 in the afternoon. I decided to wrap up my luxurious getaway and drive home. After a quick load of laundry to put fresh sheets on the bed and gathering all my things scattered in each space I had occupied, I checked the weather radar. Oops. It was about to start snowing and I would be driving in the dark.
I left anyway. It was sketchy in places, but I skated through the riskiest stretches on a large dose of luck. At one spot, traffic slowed for a car on the right shoulder with its flashers on. It wasn’t until I got right upon the scene that I spotted a deer sitting in the middle of the road in the blowing snow, most likely a victim of lameness from impact. Yikes.
Back home this morning, I was able to witness the progress we have made working with the horses’ herd ranks instead of against them. I was also pleased to see the waterer in the paddocks was flowing freely for the first day in a long time. Winter has softened significantly, making morning chores so much more pleasant.
When Mia was not well, we isolated her and gave her special attention, which triggered some acting out from the others, providing us new insight into their herd relationships. A volunteer who was stopping by to check on Mia several times was receiving some unwanted aggression from Light.
As Cyndie and Michelle talked out the behaviors on speakerphone, we all arrived at the same insight. We are going to provide better support to Light as the boss mare in the herd. It has been obvious for quite a while that Light was trying to take on the role that had been held by Swings when they first arrived here.
I think I wrote about this before. Their hierarchy was a complicated one because it wasn’t a straight 1(Swings)-2(Mix)-3(Light)-4(Mia). Number 3 showed dominance over number 1, but wasn’t controlling number 2. Mix was definitely below Swings but commanded over Light. Light could move Swings around but was subservient to Mix. Confusing? It is, in a way, but we had gotten used to it and didn’t do much to interfere, figuring they would work it out for themselves eventually.
However, we have come to realize we had been unintentionally interfering. For our own purposes, we had settled into a routine of feeding Mix first and then Mia. That was giving Mix privilege and actually rewarded her poor behavior of impatience during feeding time. Mix has never shown behaviors of herd leadership. Light has shown increasing levels of responsibility to protect the safety of all of them.
After just a few days of changing our routine of feeding to give Light first attention, Mix has quickly become less aggressive and meekly waits her turn. This morning, I saw them out in the field, lined up in order: Light out front with Swings off her shoulder, followed by Mix and then Mia.
I believe the herd has settled on a new boss, and we have finally caught on to support the change.
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Special Communication
The mess of melting leftover snow didn’t go through the usual overnight pause last night because the temperature never dropped below freezing. I read yesterday that the blanket of white covering the ground melts from the bottom up. When the air gets cold enough overnight, it is easy to walk on the old snow because a frozen crust is created. It wasn’t easy this morning.
The wash of chunks that rolled off the plow blade beside the driveway is melting in its own interesting ways.
…I enjoyed a special interaction with Light in the paddock this morning. After I had filled their hay nets and the horses finished gobbling up all the feed from their buckets, I still had some housekeeping to finish. Light approached and pushed her nose toward my shoulder. I chatted with her while continuing to look down toward my task on the ground.
Light made a little “chomp” at the air by me and I questioned her about her intentions.
“Were you thinking about biting me?” I asked without changing my energy or activity.
I expressed my disapproval of such craziness as Light wandered up to the overhang.
Then I experienced an insight about a possible different motivation behind Light’s original gesture. Maybe it was a “love nip.” Maybe Light was indicating her appreciation for my efforts.
I vocalized, “You’re welcome,” to the air in her absence.
Then I heard Light pooping up under the overhang.
You may draw your own conclusion, but I smiled a special smile as I scooped up behind her in finishing my efforts tending to the mares for the morning.
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Fashion Forward
Someone made herself a new coat to go along with the unseasonably mild weather this week at Wintervale.
(Maybe the name of our place should be temporarily revised until normal returns. How about, NotevenclosetoWinter-vale?)
All of our horses like to lay down and roll around on the ground but Light has outdone herself with her latest dirty lime screenings fashion statement.
Light will be the envy of any well-dressed herd with her new self-made mottled pattern covering her from head to hoof on both sides. The expertly daubed design of the clay-like smudges highlights her bold features exquisitely. Light’s cheekbones are perfectly accentuated with just the right application of the freshly thawed lime screenings. Smartly blending her natural chestnut hues with the expansive palette of colors available on the snowless surface of both paddocks, Light is offering a proud tribute to her cousins of the painted breeds.
Her new look would serve her well whether running with wild herds on the open plains or when cozying up at home with her three herd mates.
If the weather stays like this long enough, Light and Mix will have a chance to completely swap coloring. Mix’s natural grey color is easily darkened by the black dirt she finds to roll in while Light has been choosing the slippery slurry of melting lime screenings to brighten her coat with each new added smear.
I’m pretty sure all the neighboring horses are just pretending they don’t feel spectacularly envious of Light’s brave new look.
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Incremental Improvements
We have tried a variety of solutions to address the issue of Light kicking over her feed pan with a spastic leg flex when she eats. None of them have proved to be all that effective. Recently, we came across a method that looked like it would better fit our situation. Cyndie did a little research and ordered us some new buckets and straps.
Swings took to it instantly, gleefully even.
Mix didn’t have a problem with the change, either.
This is what happens when the vendor decides to split the shipment between two of their stores…
Mia gets served with the same old feed pan as always until the fourth bucket arrives.
Light appeared to make a bit more of a fuss about it than the others, but that didn’t stop her from munching away.
At the same time, it also didn’t stop her from flexing her leg.
I kept hearing her bucket getting bounced around but I missed seeing if it was from kicking it or knocking it with her snout. Each time I looked back in her direction, she was munching away normally.
It was quickly apparent that sharing will be a lot harder to do compared to the big round pans. They can only fit one nose at a time so when Mia finished first and came over to borrow extra bites from Light, it required a lot more finesse on Mia’s part and acceptance from Light.
Based on yesterday’s first feeding, I think the buckets will work well as a solution that will produce less wasted spillage. It will take me a few tries to figure out the most efficient steps for serving up the feed in them, but I’ll come up with something.
It’s a promising step of improvement on our methodology at feeding time. I’m looking forward to perfecting the minor details.
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Degrees
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light
from the low angle
of the winter sun
creates colors
of a different hue
making the cold feel
colder
engendering exhilaration
with a resigned tightness
flexing involuntarily
against air
that lacks degrees
single digits
for the first time
in months
announce the arrival
of an icy stare
relentless in its grip
but helpless
against the glow
of warm colors radiating
through the glass doors
of a fireplace
fully aflame
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About Light
The horses’ rescheduled hoof trimming appointment happened yesterday afternoon. As usual, three of the four horses stood well for the farrier. The fourth, Light, was her typically less-than-cooperative self. In the more than two years that these horses have been with us, we have hypothesized what the trigger is that causes Light to fight against standing to have her hooves trimmed.
None of our many ideas about her issue, and what we could do to help her get over it, have led to definitive change. In thinking about her last night, I came to this: even though Light carries herself well most of the time, I now think that she is masking an ongoing stress she continues to harbor.
Cyndie agrees and reminded me that we’ve been told that Light was twice rescued from a kill pen. Some places buy and sell horses strictly for profit at the expense of the animal’s well-being.
According to an ASPCA web page,
An international market for horse meat drives the export and slaughter of American equines in Mexico and Canada. Some horses are purchased by kill buyers and sent directly to slaughter. Other horses are posted for sale, typically online, with urgent messaging encouraging the public to “save” them from the slaughterhouse by paying a “bail” price.
advancing-horse-welfare/truth-about-kill-pen-bail-outs
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That “bail” price ends up being much higher than the horse would cost in an ethical sale situation.
If our Light was caught in this scheme twice (the second occurrence reportedly with one of her foals), that means plenty of time when she was confined in substandard conditions.
One of Light’s behaviors that we see almost every feeding session is a leg spasm motion and a tendency to paw at her feed pan, almost always resulting in tipping it over or stepping directly in the middle of her food. It doesn’t seem to faze her one bit and she just continues eating from the dirt or switching over to another horse’s pan (Swings or Mia; never Mix).
It gives us the impression that she was possibly hobbled at some point and it has had a lingering effect. That would certainly relate to the difficulty Light has with standing for the farrier.
If Light is putting energy into “pretending” she is just fine most of the time, that seems like it would be exhausting. It gives me new inspiration to try giving her extra assurance that she is safe and respected every time I am near her. I’ve let myself assume that the two-and-a-half years she’s been here would be sufficient for her to already know that.
Cyndie has seen a photo of how Light looked when she first came to This Old Horse and tells me the level of starvation was shocking. It is helpful for me to remember how far Light has come to look as good as she does, physically. I think she still has a ways to go mentally.
With a little increase in focus, I’m hoping we can help her to more fully reclaim her best self.
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Middle Two
As long as I’ve set off on the topic of featuring the horses residing with us since April, I would be remiss to stop at only the youngest and oldest. In the middle are Zodiacal Light (Light) and The Yellow Sheet (Momma Mia).
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These two chestnuts prefer each others’ company more than hanging with the other two horses. At the same time, when we moved Swings and Mix inside the barn for their turns with the vet for teeth work, Light and Mia became very unsettled at the separation, whinnying and hurriedly moving about.
In addition to similar coloring, they share equal subserviency to Mix’s demonstrations of dominance over them, accepting the situation with little complaint.
The easiest way to tell them apart is by the markings on their faces. Light has a “round star and stripe” and Mia sports an “irregular stripe.” We usually need to wait for them to turn around to look at us before we are sure which horse is which.
Mia is a little smaller than Light and she’s the older of the two. Born in California in February of 2000, Mia is about 63 in comparative human years.
Sometimes I think she looks older than Swings. Mia reminds us of our previous horse, Dezirea for her acceptance of the lowest position in the hierarchy of the herd and for being quick to react startled by many things.
Light was born in British Columbia in the spring of 2003. She shows a bit of caregiver trait in looking after the sensitivities of the other horses. She was actually rescued twice from kill pens, one time with a foal at her side.
Light and Mia are the perfect middle two for the herd, creating a wonderful balance of four different horses that together project a precious equine energy.
The rescue organization, This Old Horse, did a masterful job of selecting them as good candidates for our land when we expressed interest in the possibility. It’s been only five months that these horses have lived with us and with each passing day they seem more and more comfortable with the situation.
I think it would be fair to say the same thing about us.
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Relative Something 