Saturday, December 17, 2011

My love for horses

Many of you who know me or who have followed my blog, are familiar with my passion for horses. Recently this beautiful paint mare and the two companions in her "herd" have been moved to the field across the county road from me. She watched me carefully but only allowed me to stroke her nose - photography was not something she thought she would allow. so when the camera came out, she put her head down and began to eat, then turned her back on me and wandered away.


And this lovely fellow is her companion. But she's the boss. When he came over to see what was happening at the fence, the mare drove him away.

"This is my show - not yours," she seemed to say.

So typical of bossy mares.

This gelding is about two I believe, maybe three. He is part Percheron, and will be completely grey when he "grows up." He's a big boy, quite a bit larger than the mare.

The mare was purchased as a 4H project for the daughter on this farm. She adores the mare. I often see her out with her mum grooming and feeding her. There is another much older mare that belongs to her mother, but she is too old to ride any more - at least that's what I've been told. She's retired and enjoys life in the small herd, though she is definitely at the bottom of the pecking order.

And then in another field up the road, I found this solitary mini-horse. I can't tell whether it's a male or female - but somehow it's attitude struck me as male. Minis are like small horses rather than ponies, though they are often much smaller than ponies. They are very friendly and love attention I understand. I felt kind of sorry for this one - all alone. Horses are herd animals and most often need companionship of some kind. There used to be a herd of these little guys in this field - well a herd of about six or seven. I wonder what happened to the others? Were they sold? Are they inside? Are they in a different part of this field and this one was ostracized?

I had a pony once that was ostracized when she first came to be a companion to my mares. They turned up their noses at the wee thing and she wandered along the fence-line alone and I thought mostly sad until finally she was accepted into the herd. Then when the geldings arrived - she was just as snotty to them as the mares had been to her.

I guess there is always a hierarchy in the natural world. A leader. Isn't it interesting that in many species it's a strong female who is the leader?

2 comments:

  1. They are beautiful horses. Great post and I loved your photos.

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  2. Horses are wonderful creatures, emblematic of good human interaction with the animal world. This last mini horse is beautiful. Such a rich and warm coat!

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