Enjoyable Summer Days!

~Please be aware of your surroundings when working with horses. They are very strong and can be unpredictable. With their size you can seriously get hurt.~

Wow! What a great way to wake up. The sun shining, dogs barking, horses whinnying and the coffee smells great!

My life with horses began in April 2006. When I got the horses I was watching and learning their body language. Seeing the three horses out there together in the same corral/field was an awesome dream come true.

All three of them came to me from different farms/ranches. One of them getting hurt (or all of them) was a huge worry for me. Although, I would worry about something, just to worry!
I loved the fact there was not a whole lot of violence between them. Horses can and will get very angry and mean with each other. That was one of my fears. A fear of getting a huge vet bill for one or all of the horses.

Some of the things they were doing was scary too! Kicking out at each other and making contact, biting if they could get close enough, and literally pulling each others hair out! While they were doing this my heart was in my throat. I was so scared for each of them. One thing I do know, and I never did this, is that I never went in with them until I knew they were OK with each other. Once the dust settled I went in to the corral.

The reasoning behind the anger and violence with horses is because they have to find their “pecking” order. Who is the boss and who is next in line and so on. Once they figure out who belongs where life goes on and they all get along. Not all the time, but we could only hope. There is still a little pickiness between them because there are two mares(female), Sonny and Mary, and one gelding(male), Josh. The mares are going on twenty years old and the gelding will be five this year.

Watching them get to know each other is like watching other animals getting to know one another. Cat with a kitten. Dog with a puppy. The one thing with horses is that you have to be the leader of the pack otherwise they will try to boss you too. They will try to use the “pecking” order system on you! In order to win you have to show them you are a good leader and they are safe with you. When leading a herd of horses you have got to show them they can trust you with their lives. Horses are prey animals and need a leader who can protect them from predators.

More to come…