Post by Christine on Jun 30, 2008 19:46:12 GMT -5
We're done. We've reached the animal population ceiling. No more adoptions, rescues, collecting, etc. Lexie, the Morgan / Tennessee Walker mare from Maine arrived at my place in the back of a borrowed trailer on Friday night around 11:30 PM.
Since I didn't want to be breaking up a horse on horse, cow on horse fight at midnight, I separated cows and Brandy on one side of the fence, and Lexie on the other. Judith, the rescue owner / manager, told me that Lexie was quite the chow hound, so I put out a bale of hay, and she immediately started eating as if she had been here for ages.
Everyone had a quiet night, and in the morning, I headed out to muck the barn, and feed everyone. While taking down the fence so that I could dump manure, Brandy snuck through the fence, and headed over to Lexie. They sniffed noses for about five seconds, and then all heck threatened to break loose. Lexie let out a nasty nicker, and reared up as if she meant to strike Brandy.
That's when things got interesting. Brandy (bless her heart), looked at Lexie as if to say "Yeah, whatever. You do what you need to do. I'm late for breakfast." Brandy walked right by her with the most bored expression on her face, and headed over to the hay pile.
Lexie was completely put out. She stormed off to the corner of the paddock, and sulked in the corner. This didn't last long however, because within an hour, Lexie was nibbling hay at Brandy's feeder. By the end of the day, they were eating side by side - not necessarily friends mind you, but they were tolerating each other nicely. Since that day, I haven't seen one bite, kick, strike or other example of physical violence. I've seen stamped feet, nasty looks, and evil eyes on occasion, but that's been it.
I've taken Lexie for two solo walks, and when my friend Gail visited, we did a two horse excursion around the neighborhood. When the horses were separated, they nickered at each other, and seemed to miss one other without causing a scene. The joint walk went very well. Lexie even survived a walk by the town swimming pool with no meltdowns, spooks, or unruly behavior. Gail and I both think that Brandy's calm influence kept anything nasty from happening.
I do have to work on Lexie's tendency to pull ahead against the lead rope, and her inability to stand still for more than 20 seconds. Considering that she hasn't been ridden in four years, I think she's making exceptional progress. She's learning "ho" (the stop word, not the Don Imus word), and polite manners.
Kip
Since I didn't want to be breaking up a horse on horse, cow on horse fight at midnight, I separated cows and Brandy on one side of the fence, and Lexie on the other. Judith, the rescue owner / manager, told me that Lexie was quite the chow hound, so I put out a bale of hay, and she immediately started eating as if she had been here for ages.
Everyone had a quiet night, and in the morning, I headed out to muck the barn, and feed everyone. While taking down the fence so that I could dump manure, Brandy snuck through the fence, and headed over to Lexie. They sniffed noses for about five seconds, and then all heck threatened to break loose. Lexie let out a nasty nicker, and reared up as if she meant to strike Brandy.
That's when things got interesting. Brandy (bless her heart), looked at Lexie as if to say "Yeah, whatever. You do what you need to do. I'm late for breakfast." Brandy walked right by her with the most bored expression on her face, and headed over to the hay pile.
Lexie was completely put out. She stormed off to the corner of the paddock, and sulked in the corner. This didn't last long however, because within an hour, Lexie was nibbling hay at Brandy's feeder. By the end of the day, they were eating side by side - not necessarily friends mind you, but they were tolerating each other nicely. Since that day, I haven't seen one bite, kick, strike or other example of physical violence. I've seen stamped feet, nasty looks, and evil eyes on occasion, but that's been it.
I've taken Lexie for two solo walks, and when my friend Gail visited, we did a two horse excursion around the neighborhood. When the horses were separated, they nickered at each other, and seemed to miss one other without causing a scene. The joint walk went very well. Lexie even survived a walk by the town swimming pool with no meltdowns, spooks, or unruly behavior. Gail and I both think that Brandy's calm influence kept anything nasty from happening.
I do have to work on Lexie's tendency to pull ahead against the lead rope, and her inability to stand still for more than 20 seconds. Considering that she hasn't been ridden in four years, I think she's making exceptional progress. She's learning "ho" (the stop word, not the Don Imus word), and polite manners.
Kip
