The Knights Who Say Neigh

I've spent the last two mornings following the horses about the pasture for a bit after they finish breakfast and head out to do what they do for the day; walk around, eat, play let's catch (insert horse's name), scare the dog, repeat. In walking around and watching them go about their morning I was able to see a side of them that I hadn't seen before.

There is an order to things out there and the communication between them is fascinating.

The morning starts with breakfast inside; this way I can monitor who is eating what and how much. Food monitoring has become my life ;-)

When we go outside for the day we (I) have a system, I have found that they too have a system.

Patch comes out first because he is in the shelter and also because he does not crowd the gate. We then go in a line; Amber comes out, Katie comes out, Texas then comes out.

Patch gets ready to come outside by reminding me that my fabulous gate idea might work great but it takes forever! He's not so much pushy as he is vocal; it's hard not to chuckle at him with his "uh uh uh oh oh oh". He sounds like an old cowboy in horse form! Once we're done with the gate he hovers about the walkway in front of the shelter, making his way down to the area behind the barn to let everyone know he is outside first yet again.

This starts the chorus in the barn. Amber has a pretty low voice and is at it the minute she sees Patch walk behind her. Katie keeps pretty quiet but keeps a steady eye on what I am up to. Texas offers up his version of "I'm ready"; whereas Patch sounds like an old cowboy Texas sounds like a young man that knows he is in charge. His voice is a little higher then Patch's but holds a bit more in the way of authority.

You'll usually find me walking for halters repeating "Hi (insert horse's name) are you ready to go outside?" followed by "ok guys come on we go in a line".

Amber comes out first, she ducks her head, we put the halter on, she glares at Leo and into the pasture we go. Patch will wander over to stand next to Amber which gives us a squeal even though she's glued to Patch most of the day! Patch scooches out of the way so Amber can stand vigil at the gate waiting for who's next, I think she secretly hopes it will be Tex instead of Katie.

Katie comes out second, it's the same routine with the halter (I'm short they all have to duck), Katie however has a few choice words for Leo every morning. She'll look at him, look at me, snort, repeat. Leo either hops as close to Katie as he dares to get or whimpers behind me; this usually depends on if he is wearing the handy dandy shock collar (we're in training). Once Katie gets into the pasture she scooches Amber out of the way with a "Don't make me kick you're lanky butt" look, enter a squeal from Amber and a bit of dancing from Patch. Katie is now standing vigil waiting for Tex.

Walking back to the barn I can hear Texas half snort half nicker; I think he and Patch understand my system better than the girls do. He really has to duck to get the halter on! He could also care less what the "damned dog" is doing. When Tex and I get to the gate he lifts his head a bit higher as he glances around as if to size up how he is going to get them organized.

Once inside Texas will herd everyone up to the walkway and out into the pasture they go :-). Leo usually goes a bit nutty because he figures it is his job to do the herding and here Tex is not only doing his job but doing it well!

The last few mornings we've (Leo and I) followed them into the pasture to watch them interact. Patch will venture off, Amber will follow Patch, Katie will notice and follow them, Texas will eventually follow up the rear. Truthfully Patch ends up venturing off when Texas decides Patch might be too close to the girls or a patch of grass and pushes him out of the way.

If someone gets too far off course Tex will push them back, if Amber gets too close to Tex Katie will swing her head & pin her ears, if Katie gets too close to Amber we get a squeal! Patch well he does his level best to be left alone and quietly eat. He's the king of scooching away!

When they notice that for some reason I am still wandering around following them they'll wander over. Usually to try and eat the crazy device I am holding in my hands; after all my hands are food delivery systems so...it's a fair assumption that maybe what I am holding now is food. If Patch notices me first Amber is almost guaranteed to follow and they will both visit for a second; just long enough to lose interest in what I am holding. If Katie or Texas notice the other two by me they come down but not to hang out and visit with everyone. Neither Katie or Texas believe in sharing time with the lady of the house.

Yesterday I went up around lunch time armed with four carrots. Patch saw me, I held up the carrots, pointed to a higher area, without a word he moved. He did a lot of glancing backward which I think caught Texas' attention. I managed to get a carrot to Patch before Texas decided that standing guard over my hand and said carrots was the thing to do. The girls knew damned well there was carrots or some kind of yumminess being passed out cause the boys were munching, there was a bit of hopping about and some ear pinning by the King.

The girls got their carrots after Tex and I had a discussion on sharing. I had the discussion, I think he got bored with not being handed the remaining two carrots and relented.

With each horse there is a unique voice; you just have to listen for it.

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