Crazy horses
May. 5th, 2009 10:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
murakoziThere wasn't a full moon, so it's difficult to say just what caused the horses' behavior this past weekend.
I wasn't there to see it of course, but on Saturday, Stella beat up Wheatchex when in the pasture. Stella can be a grumpy mare, but the one big redeeming value she's had is that she absolutely loves and protects Wheatchex. It's kinda cute seeing an 8 year old pony looking after a 30-something retired mare. On Saturday, though, the barn hands heard a commotion out in the side pasture and went out to see Stella laying into her former buddy. Fortunately, Wheatchex wasn't hurt badly. She just has some cuts and scratches on her legs. Nobody can figure out what prompted the whole thing.
The woman who was leading Stella back into the barn after they broke up the altercation said she told Stella "You really f-ed up, you know." So with Bonnie gone and Wheatchex off her friends list, Stella's down to just Mickey for a buddy. Mickey still loves her, even if he is about 40 years older than she is.
When I walked past Baby Doc's stall on Sunday, he made a face at me. That's not really uncommon, since he likes to make faces at everyone. I stopped to chide him and maybe give him a rub under his jaw and he scooted back against the back wall of his stall. That certainly wasn't normal. I went into the stall and reached out to pet him and make sure he was okay and he actually flinched back from me. It seemed like eh was afraid I was going to hit him or something. Now over the years, I've almost certainly delivered a slap on the side of his neck now and then when he's been a pill about being bridled or having his girth tightened, but I've never actually hit him. Still, any time I tried to reach out and reassure him, he flinched away from me.
It really kinda bothered me that he reacted like that. This is, after all, the horse that for some reason loved the heck out of me for years. On a few occasions he even ignored his rider to break out of a line and come over to me for attention. I snagged some carrots from one of trail guides and offered 'em to him. Fortunately food can overcome a lot. After that, he seemed fine. I mentioned it to Sandy. If someone is hitting the horses, she needs to know, and they'd better hope I don't find out about it.
The trifecta to the weekend looniness was when we ran in the horses from the dirt pasture. Six of 'em had been turned out in the morning and it was decided to not let 'em spend the night out there. Irina opened the gate and called 'em down. Amigo, the Keanu Reeves of horses (he's danged pretty but aint got much going on upstairs), was in the lead. When he got to the back door of the barn, he balked. Apparently, the hay trailer was just too scary to run past or something. The horses behind him kinda screeched to a halt, blocked by Amigo. Lucy, never one to let anything stand between her and food in her stall, shoved past him, which got Amigo upset. Being Amigo, he turned and bit Cappuccino for no reason. Cappuccino naturally didn't appreciate this and bit him right back. That at least got him to go into the barn to escape the scary bitey mare. Unfortunately, both of them were so worked up that it took forever to actually catch them and get them into their stalls. Somehow, Cappuccino even managed to turn herself around 180 degrees in her standing stall. It took a bit of calming and some effort for me to actually get her turned around. I couldn't get around to unfasten her halter, so I had to get her to turn back around while still in the stall.
When Amigo initially stopped and got into his little spat with Cappuccino, the three horses behind them - Blackjack, Duncan, and Tonka - decided to turn around and go back to the pasture. Somehow, though, Blackjack managed to get loose along the way and was running around outside the barn. His two buddies in the pasture were upset by this and running along the fence calling to him. Once we got the 3 horses inside the barn straightened out, we went out back and discovered Blackjack was loose. Irinia managed to guide him back up toward the pasture fence. I'd slogged up through the mud intent upon getting hold of Tonka's mane since neither he nor Duncan were wearing halters. Tonka will usually let you lead him about with a light hold on his mane and odds were that Duncan would follow him if I led him in. That's when I discovered that Tonka had had his mane roached earlier in the week. Doh!
In a fortunate bit of good timing, that was right about when Irinia got Blackjack up near the fence outside the pasture. He came over toward his buddies. Luckily, Blackjack was wearing a halter and I could reac over and take hold of it. He stood there nicely until Irina came up and hooked a lead line to him. Once she led him along the fence and back down to the farm, Tonka and Duncan followed willingly.
So that was more than enough excitement for one weekend at the barn.
I wasn't there to see it of course, but on Saturday, Stella beat up Wheatchex when in the pasture. Stella can be a grumpy mare, but the one big redeeming value she's had is that she absolutely loves and protects Wheatchex. It's kinda cute seeing an 8 year old pony looking after a 30-something retired mare. On Saturday, though, the barn hands heard a commotion out in the side pasture and went out to see Stella laying into her former buddy. Fortunately, Wheatchex wasn't hurt badly. She just has some cuts and scratches on her legs. Nobody can figure out what prompted the whole thing.
The woman who was leading Stella back into the barn after they broke up the altercation said she told Stella "You really f-ed up, you know." So with Bonnie gone and Wheatchex off her friends list, Stella's down to just Mickey for a buddy. Mickey still loves her, even if he is about 40 years older than she is.
When I walked past Baby Doc's stall on Sunday, he made a face at me. That's not really uncommon, since he likes to make faces at everyone. I stopped to chide him and maybe give him a rub under his jaw and he scooted back against the back wall of his stall. That certainly wasn't normal. I went into the stall and reached out to pet him and make sure he was okay and he actually flinched back from me. It seemed like eh was afraid I was going to hit him or something. Now over the years, I've almost certainly delivered a slap on the side of his neck now and then when he's been a pill about being bridled or having his girth tightened, but I've never actually hit him. Still, any time I tried to reach out and reassure him, he flinched away from me.
It really kinda bothered me that he reacted like that. This is, after all, the horse that for some reason loved the heck out of me for years. On a few occasions he even ignored his rider to break out of a line and come over to me for attention. I snagged some carrots from one of trail guides and offered 'em to him. Fortunately food can overcome a lot. After that, he seemed fine. I mentioned it to Sandy. If someone is hitting the horses, she needs to know, and they'd better hope I don't find out about it.
The trifecta to the weekend looniness was when we ran in the horses from the dirt pasture. Six of 'em had been turned out in the morning and it was decided to not let 'em spend the night out there. Irina opened the gate and called 'em down. Amigo, the Keanu Reeves of horses (he's danged pretty but aint got much going on upstairs), was in the lead. When he got to the back door of the barn, he balked. Apparently, the hay trailer was just too scary to run past or something. The horses behind him kinda screeched to a halt, blocked by Amigo. Lucy, never one to let anything stand between her and food in her stall, shoved past him, which got Amigo upset. Being Amigo, he turned and bit Cappuccino for no reason. Cappuccino naturally didn't appreciate this and bit him right back. That at least got him to go into the barn to escape the scary bitey mare. Unfortunately, both of them were so worked up that it took forever to actually catch them and get them into their stalls. Somehow, Cappuccino even managed to turn herself around 180 degrees in her standing stall. It took a bit of calming and some effort for me to actually get her turned around. I couldn't get around to unfasten her halter, so I had to get her to turn back around while still in the stall.
When Amigo initially stopped and got into his little spat with Cappuccino, the three horses behind them - Blackjack, Duncan, and Tonka - decided to turn around and go back to the pasture. Somehow, though, Blackjack managed to get loose along the way and was running around outside the barn. His two buddies in the pasture were upset by this and running along the fence calling to him. Once we got the 3 horses inside the barn straightened out, we went out back and discovered Blackjack was loose. Irinia managed to guide him back up toward the pasture fence. I'd slogged up through the mud intent upon getting hold of Tonka's mane since neither he nor Duncan were wearing halters. Tonka will usually let you lead him about with a light hold on his mane and odds were that Duncan would follow him if I led him in. That's when I discovered that Tonka had had his mane roached earlier in the week. Doh!
In a fortunate bit of good timing, that was right about when Irinia got Blackjack up near the fence outside the pasture. He came over toward his buddies. Luckily, Blackjack was wearing a halter and I could reac over and take hold of it. He stood there nicely until Irina came up and hooked a lead line to him. Once she led him along the fence and back down to the farm, Tonka and Duncan followed willingly.
So that was more than enough excitement for one weekend at the barn.