Together Again

All of the horses are back together again tonight. I was surprised that Danny didn't bother his mom. He gave her one kiss and he follows her everywhere but he keeps a respectful distance. Riley was the most upset because he knows he's not boss hoss anymore. My tiny little Mouse is always alpha no matter what herd she's in. I thought that I'd keep Brandy separate from the others because she's so old. I turned her out in the green grass and was certain she wouldn't wander far. I did block off the road but she still could get to the neighbors by going around the backside of the pasture. Steve comes home and says, "What if she gets in the road?" At first I didn't think this was a possibility and then I went over to check on her. It was dark and it had started raining. I finally spotted Brandy when she came running down to the fence at a slow little jog. Then she spooked, I think because of my bright truck lights and she literally headed for the hills. I got out in the rain....I failed to mention that I was in my pajamas and rain boots, didn't I?......and ran up the hill, in the dark, slipping and sliding. I found her on the very crest of the hill ready to head back down to the neighbors where she would have easy access to their long drive and the road. I did have the presence of mind to bring some sweet feed with me but she was having none of that; the green grass and abundant clover was much more appealing. So, I trek back down the hill to get a halter as the rain fell harder. I sat for a few minutes in the truck with the heater on and listened to the blues hour on WDVX...that part was nice...as I waited for the rain to let up a bit. Finally, I took the halter back up the hill and then struggled to get it on her in the dark with her bobbing her head all about and butting me to push me away. I finally got it on and she dug in. She was refusing to budge. I tried coaxing with the food and the most I could get out of her were a few steps. Finally she began to follow me but I still have no idea why. There is one narrow strip where we could fit side by side without one of us...me...getting into the electric fence so, since she was following me well now, I stepped in front of her. Bless her heart, the eyes must be going because she ran over a generator Steve had setting at the gate. It made such an awful sound that I was certain she was hurt and the other horses panicked and started running. She seemed to be fine though and since the other horses had rushed into the middle pasture, I closed the gate and then put her, alone, in the upper pasture. No one was happy with this arrangement and I started worrying about it after I got back to the house and changed into some dry pj's. So, I headed back over again. Thankfully, the rain had stopped. I let all of the horses back in with Brandy and the first thing little demon, Dan does is start aggravating the poor old girl. Sure, he's always loved her and he's doing this out of affection but she's old and she doesn't know that. She starts to scream and the other horses are just standing around watching...except for my darling Django. Django puts himself in between Danny and Brandy. When I turned around to leave, I turned my lights on bright and directed them to the top of the hill where the entire herd now stood, grazing and there was Django right at Brandy's side keeping an eye on her and keeping Danny at bay. I think I can sleep soundly now. 

My Shadow?

Besides realizing that his mom has me trained, I had another realization yesterday about my horses and this one was about Danny. Steve is always calling him Swaggerty because of how he walks. I've said time and again that the little demon child doesn't think of us as humans but sometimes I wonder if it's that he doesn't think of himself as a horse. I was walking them all to the round pen yesterday where I feed them (so that I can get them use to coming in to eat and this will not only make it easier once we finally get the barn built but also to catch them for riding and working.) and I realized that I walk with this swinging arm, almost little girl bounce sometimes. It's bad enough that a grown woman walks that way but I really think Danny is mimicking me! It seemed that was what he was doing as he followed right behind me like he always does. If he is mimicking me, it would explain all of his stumbling and falls.

Don't think that he has some neurological problem that causes him to fall down. No, it is 100 percent clumsiness. It always happens when he's playing with one of those balls and he tries to kick it like I do. He doesn't understand that his feet just don't work like that and he ends up on the ground most of the time. Steve keeps telling me that I need to start thinking and acting like a horse if I expect Danny to.

Training

I'm always telling people about just how smart my Mousie is. She is indeed a very intelligent horse and I'm not the only person to say so. I have one friend who always told me that it was obvious how smart she was because she was always outsmarting me. Well, today, I realized that she had me trained. I was loading up the truck getting ready to head back to the house after their morning feeding when Mouse nickers at me. I turn and see her standing by the gate and giving me that winsome look. She stretches out her neck and nickers again.......and I swear she batted her eyes, haha. I automatically go over to the fence, scoop up the leftover food in the bucket and offer it her. She eagerly lapped it up and that's when it hit me, how well she has me trained.

The Destruction of the Ball

I should have had my camera with me in the field today and preferably my video camera so that I could catch all of the action. It is warm and beautiful outside today in the 70's and you'd swear that Spring has not only arrived but has been here for an extended visit with no sign of departure. The boys were feeling feisty. I told them all that, as fresh as they were, I wasn't too certain if I wanted to try riding them anytime soon. Of course, it didn't take long for the two older boys to tire out and calm down from all of the running, kicking and jumping nonsense but the baby, Danny still had a lot of life left in him. He played with his two nearly destroyed Jolly balls and then I decided to get the big, somewhat expensive, ball that I'd bought when he was a baby to train him with. When he was a baby, the two geldings had acted so silly over the ball that Danny thought it was something to be feared especially since it was nearly as large as him but not so today. No, today, he attacked it. Forget pushing it with his nose, that got old fast. Instead, Danny insisted that on trying to get a bite hold on that round slick surface so he could carry it around like he does his jolly balls. Before I knew what was happening, he had. The thing cost at least fifteen dollars and I figure he got about a minute of play out of each dollar before it was entirely gone. In it's quickly deflated state, it was no longer of interest to him and was discarded in the field. I'll see if I can't patch it and blow it back up. We also plan to pick him up a new Jolly ball sometime this week to replace the two he has which are quickly deteriorating. I promise, when I deliver the new ball to the field, I will take my camera and I'll post the video on here so all of you can see Danny's playful shenanigans.