thought i would give this a go........
i usually try to get out to the barn between 8-9am each day for the morning feeding. this morning i got out there around 9 and she greeted me at the gate, as always.
each time i go out there to see her, i have this entourage with me, three barn cats (Missy, Toast, & Little Kitty) of various ages, my old (11) female lab (ebony), and most times, lots of chickens, guinea's, and peafowl. TJ greets each one, individually. little kitty, the youngest, seems to be trying to figure out how to get on TJ's back. each day she will stand under TJ and look wayyy up to her back. she will walk around and under TJ, all the while looking up there. i sure hope i'm far away if she ever does get the courage to jump, cause i can only imagine what TJ will do if little kitty claws come into contact with her back. :shock: TJ pays no attention, at all, to the chickens, but she does try to greet the peafowl. those peacocks want nothing to do with her, and the peahens pretty much stay clear too, although not as much as the peacocks.
the last several days she has greeted me as always, but then as i am opening the gate to enter, she will turn her butt to me and just stand there, blocking the gate. so today i figured that i would take my "bat" with me and if she did so, then i would lightly smack her on the butt to make her move.
well, you know how good intentions are..... :roll:
i decided to take my camera along and get some pics of her. you guys have put me to shame with all the good pics of your horses so i felt it time to get some of my own. anticipating the wonderful pics i would get, i forgot the bat in the house. :lol: as it worked out, she started to turn her butt, and then thought about it again, and didn't. she stepped aside as i came in.
i snapped a couple of pretty good pics and walked on to the barn. she, of course, went to her feed trough and waited. i grained her, snapped a few more pics, and then put her alfalfa flake in the trough. lately she will grab the flake and put it on the ground in front of the trough. guess she prefers it off the ground instead. oh well.....
we visited awhile, i rubbed her vigorously as always, snapped a few more pics, and then said my goodbye till later.
i read somewhere that horses don't really like to be patted, but rubbed vigorously instead. this more replicates what goes on in the wild. you know, when they turn heads to butts and nuzzle each other?? so i've been doing this. i will start at her head area and work my way down her body and legs, rubbing in circles all the way. she seems to like it, to the point that sometimes she closes her eyes and seems to be falling asleep. if i stop rubbing, she will nudge my hand a little.
usually during her eating, she will stop and look to the southwest, several times. across the road our neighbor has his cows/calves, and farther south is a major highway. she spends most of her days standing at the far southwest corner of her pen, watching either the cows or the cars. haven't figured out which or both. during the bad weather last week, that is where she stood, instead of in her little barn where she would be clean and dry. i still don't understand why horses do that. they have the option of being warm and dry but will stand out in the worst kinds of weather.
oh well, enough for now.
i usually try to get out to the barn between 8-9am each day for the morning feeding. this morning i got out there around 9 and she greeted me at the gate, as always.
each time i go out there to see her, i have this entourage with me, three barn cats (Missy, Toast, & Little Kitty) of various ages, my old (11) female lab (ebony), and most times, lots of chickens, guinea's, and peafowl. TJ greets each one, individually. little kitty, the youngest, seems to be trying to figure out how to get on TJ's back. each day she will stand under TJ and look wayyy up to her back. she will walk around and under TJ, all the while looking up there. i sure hope i'm far away if she ever does get the courage to jump, cause i can only imagine what TJ will do if little kitty claws come into contact with her back. :shock: TJ pays no attention, at all, to the chickens, but she does try to greet the peafowl. those peacocks want nothing to do with her, and the peahens pretty much stay clear too, although not as much as the peacocks.
the last several days she has greeted me as always, but then as i am opening the gate to enter, she will turn her butt to me and just stand there, blocking the gate. so today i figured that i would take my "bat" with me and if she did so, then i would lightly smack her on the butt to make her move.
well, you know how good intentions are..... :roll:
i decided to take my camera along and get some pics of her. you guys have put me to shame with all the good pics of your horses so i felt it time to get some of my own. anticipating the wonderful pics i would get, i forgot the bat in the house. :lol: as it worked out, she started to turn her butt, and then thought about it again, and didn't. she stepped aside as i came in.
i snapped a couple of pretty good pics and walked on to the barn. she, of course, went to her feed trough and waited. i grained her, snapped a few more pics, and then put her alfalfa flake in the trough. lately she will grab the flake and put it on the ground in front of the trough. guess she prefers it off the ground instead. oh well.....
we visited awhile, i rubbed her vigorously as always, snapped a few more pics, and then said my goodbye till later.
i read somewhere that horses don't really like to be patted, but rubbed vigorously instead. this more replicates what goes on in the wild. you know, when they turn heads to butts and nuzzle each other?? so i've been doing this. i will start at her head area and work my way down her body and legs, rubbing in circles all the way. she seems to like it, to the point that sometimes she closes her eyes and seems to be falling asleep. if i stop rubbing, she will nudge my hand a little.
usually during her eating, she will stop and look to the southwest, several times. across the road our neighbor has his cows/calves, and farther south is a major highway. she spends most of her days standing at the far southwest corner of her pen, watching either the cows or the cars. haven't figured out which or both. during the bad weather last week, that is where she stood, instead of in her little barn where she would be clean and dry. i still don't understand why horses do that. they have the option of being warm and dry but will stand out in the worst kinds of weather.
oh well, enough for now.