Horse Watching

7.6.18

Has anyone just sat on the ground and watched horses?  I bet many have. I know that I sure have done many days enjoying and watching horses. It's amazing how they can communicate without a word to each other. Realize that all that time in silence there is a big conversation going on between equines. Body language, images and more.

When I was a kid, I didn't own my own horse or pony, but happily enough, my neighbors did. Horse watching ( and eventually, taking a sketch pad with me to draw them) was a great pastime for a horse crazy girl. I knew their routine on a daily basis- when it was time to stand under shady trees swishing tails and dozing. When it was time to head to the pond to get a drink, and when it was Dinner Time!

When a new horse was added to the herd, herd hierarchy became all confused. If the new horse was older, it was pushed away but not usually chased much. A younger horse who figured it was going to take over, was shown it was not going to. There was always a "boss mare", second in command, and so on. The interesting thing wasn't necessarily what size an equine was but how it saw itself. Small ponies can become bosses, giant draft horses are moved to the middle of the herd, and the more boisterous, young horses sometimes are taught a lesson in humility. I've watched brood mares discipline their foals. Sometimes seemingly a little harsh, but the foal understands quickly. A mare of mine onetime sent her colt into a far corner of their stall. Why, I don't know- but she sure let him know he was NOT to come out of it til "mama'' said it was alright. He did stay there, but not after trying to go back beside her and be a pest while she was eating. Back he was sent, with a tooth bump on his behind... This is a fake bite- usually done with a lot of theatrics. Ears flat back, neck stretched out, mouth wide open, letting the offender know he/she might just die in a moment. But- it would end up only being a good, hard bump from those front teeth as the chased horse was 'scooching' its butt out of the way.

Speaking of broodmares not all mama's are really good at mothering. Just like humans, there are the mares who simply do not want to raise a child. Some could care less and some are downright adamant about it. That's when a foal becomes an orphan and the owners start looking for a foster mare. I remember one mare who had decided she was remaining footloose & fancy-free- no way was SHE going to take care of some goofy looking thing she had just 'pooped' out. No way. After she tried to kill said foal, it was removed from her stall. Happy as can be, she went back to eating her hay.  Needless to say, she was never bred again. The baby ended up being bottle fed and grew up to be a well adjusted young horse.

There are some that I often refer to as "smother mothers''... the ones who will adopt ALL of the foals on the farm. It doesn't matter what size, color or breed- these girls aren't partial. They love foals and never can have enough. My Clydesdale mare was one of those. Oh myyyyyyyyyy- when there was a little anything born on the farm- she claimed it as hers. She became quite the Auntie to many.  One cold March morning, a lovely Percheron filly was born and Carli knew it. Because it was miserable outside, I chose to let my Clyde wander about the barn area. She kept coming back inside the barn. No matter how many times I shooed her out, she'd turn around and be coming down the aisle. She wanted to adopt the newborn filly as her own. Carli had been a mama many times over and obviously had been a great one. Finally, I closed the gate to keep her out, thinking my Percheron mare and her daughter could finally have some time together. Nope. I heard a schnuffling outside and when I checked out the stall window- there was a Clydesdale muzzle trying it's best to lift up high enough peek inside...  My Percheron mare didn't like it much, and finally, Carli gave up. I owned a Thoroughbred mare who was the same- anything small... chicks, baby turkeys, goslings, even a short pony. The pony didn't really enjoy being pushed around gently by a foster mama it seemed... It didn't matter though. They were mothers through and through!

There are horses who are great as babysitters, but not in it for the long run, too. These girls don't mind keeping an eye on other mare's foals so long as they don't have to keep them.   But that's for another post!