Horse Meme

What fun! Callie at Midwest Horse has tagged me to do a Horse Meme containing Eight Quirky habits my horses exhibit.



This will be easy because I have four horses and one donkey!



1) Classy becomes jealous of other horses being rode or washed or well, anything. I first noticed her jealousy last spring when I was clipping Gunner. I was using a cordless clipper out in the pasture, when I noticed that Classy had slowly made her way up to me and eventually layed her head on my shoulder as if to say "Me next." Then, when we started riding she would try to follow us out, and would pout when I brought the other horses back. If the gate got left open too long she would slip out and go stand at the hitching post area. So, if I had time I would brush her and give her a bath. She'd be quite happy and ready to return to the pasture after that.



2) Catfish on the other hand is a big bluff. He pretends he doesn't like to be scratched or petted, but like Kelzon before him, if no one is watching he will actually stretch his head out and appreciate a good scratching. I always whisper to him that I won't tell anyone that he was enjoying it, just as I would tell Kelzon before him.



3) Gunner likes all the other animals on the farm. I've mentioned that before, but what I might not have mentioned in awhile is that he will let Bart the barn cat sit on his back and get warm. He will stand stock still until Bart decides to move on. He does turn to look at him and try to smell him, but then stands still.



4) Lloyd speaks to me every morning. As I am getting grain ready in our grain area, I hear him start to squeak. Soon he is wound up and will let loose, letting me know I am moving too slowly. He also has undying love for Dixe, who by the way, hates him with a passion.



5) Dixie can do bows and will curl her lip on command. We are unsure how to tell her to bow, but were assured that her owners, two people back, had her doing tricks. The only trick I have noticed of late is the bucking and pitch fits she threw when I make her wait for her food. She was such a little snot to Lloyd the other day that I made her wait. And wait. And wait. After she had bucked and ran and bucked and ran and just totally threw a Dixie fit and found the sense within herself to settle down, I fed her. Meanwhile Gunner and Lloyd were quickly eating side by side watching the show out of the corner of their eyes. (I bet they were chuckling!)



6) Our first horse Yugo would test the electric fences with his whiskers. One time Jack and I were watching him from the house when he walked up to our metal water tank, stretched out and put his whiskers on the tank, got a shock and jumped back. It seems our tank had been pushed by the cows into the electric fence.



7) Jazzy a horse I bought for little or no money because I felt bad for her college owner, was so crazy that she would pitch herself up and over at the drop of a hat. She never hurt herself but rearing was her reaction to any situation she was upset about. In fact, after our friend Tammy put up her new wood round pen, who was the first horse to break a board? Jazzy. By going up and over. I'll never forget the time I dropped a tuna can in the coral and she stepped perfectly into the tuna can getting it stuck on her hoof. Did she freak out? No, she just calmly walked around like it was an everyday occurance.



8) Rose was the smartest pony we ever owned. We bought her from our neighbor who gave us Yugo. Like other ponies she would do all those nasty things that often describe ponies. She'd search out low branches, buck you off when you were the furthest from the house that you were going and step on your toes at every opportunity. There are a few horses I don't regret getting rid of, and she is one of them. I will also say that I will never own another pony.



I could actually go on and on about horses we have owned. I'm not sure these are exactly quirks, but they are what makes each horse uniquely themselves. I wish I had the energy to find pictures of all the horses, but not today. This has been sitting in draft long enough as it is!