Well, this post came from a talk with my grandmother about my friends mares foal (when it is born in a few months).
She asked if my friend would mess with her 'baby' as much as I messed with Dakota, thus making her baby act like my boy... kinda like a 'puppy dog'. I said no, because my friend is one of the people who just doesn't like the 'doggy' mentality in horses.
So, I figured... let's talk about it. What 'type' of horses do you have? Does your horse know he's a horse? Think he's a dog? Or other?
I'll do my horses...
Gypsie definately knows she's a horse. She obviously wasn't coddled or anything as a foal... she just 'acts' like a horse, though since i've owned her, she's got to where she loves being loved on more, but at the end of the day, she's still a horse.
Dakota, on the other hand, thinks he's a dog. when he was a baby, I coddled him, I fretted over him, I babied him. I didn't treat him like a baby horse, I just treated him like a baby, like I treat my old dog Toby. A baby. He's almost four now, and he's matured into a great horse, but his mind is still set on 'baby'. He KNOWS that he's the baby. He KNOWS that he's the 'favorite'. But he also knows his boundaries very well. Dakota sometimes gets a little bratty, gets mad and has small 'tantrums' like any 'baby', but he also knows how to focus and knows when it's time to work. He does try to get away with more things because 'he's the baby', and he's sometimes a little more challenging than most horses every now and then, but he's not unmanageable... he's not a 'brat'.
Now, one of my friends young stallions
This horse I'm talking about here is Dakota's almost five year old half-brother. He's a stallion, though he's never bred anything, and his owner likes him the best out of all his stallions, mares, and foals. Sugarbear is a BRAT! He's disrespectful to his owner/handler and everyone else... tries to nip and bite at any oppurtunity, though he does in it play. He's mentally immature, though very smart. He's always picking at you and never leaves you alone. Where Dakota reminds me of a well trained, yet sometimes annoying 'lap dog', Sugarbear would definately be a huge rottweiler who doesn't know boundaries and is always jumping all over you and tugging on your clothes.
See what i'm talking about? So, what type of horse do you have? A 'horse'? A 'dog'? Or something else?
She asked if my friend would mess with her 'baby' as much as I messed with Dakota, thus making her baby act like my boy... kinda like a 'puppy dog'. I said no, because my friend is one of the people who just doesn't like the 'doggy' mentality in horses.
So, I figured... let's talk about it. What 'type' of horses do you have? Does your horse know he's a horse? Think he's a dog? Or other?
I'll do my horses...
Gypsie definately knows she's a horse. She obviously wasn't coddled or anything as a foal... she just 'acts' like a horse, though since i've owned her, she's got to where she loves being loved on more, but at the end of the day, she's still a horse.
Dakota, on the other hand, thinks he's a dog. when he was a baby, I coddled him, I fretted over him, I babied him. I didn't treat him like a baby horse, I just treated him like a baby, like I treat my old dog Toby. A baby. He's almost four now, and he's matured into a great horse, but his mind is still set on 'baby'. He KNOWS that he's the baby. He KNOWS that he's the 'favorite'. But he also knows his boundaries very well. Dakota sometimes gets a little bratty, gets mad and has small 'tantrums' like any 'baby', but he also knows how to focus and knows when it's time to work. He does try to get away with more things because 'he's the baby', and he's sometimes a little more challenging than most horses every now and then, but he's not unmanageable... he's not a 'brat'.
Now, one of my friends young stallions
This horse I'm talking about here is Dakota's almost five year old half-brother. He's a stallion, though he's never bred anything, and his owner likes him the best out of all his stallions, mares, and foals. Sugarbear is a BRAT! He's disrespectful to his owner/handler and everyone else... tries to nip and bite at any oppurtunity, though he does in it play. He's mentally immature, though very smart. He's always picking at you and never leaves you alone. Where Dakota reminds me of a well trained, yet sometimes annoying 'lap dog', Sugarbear would definately be a huge rottweiler who doesn't know boundaries and is always jumping all over you and tugging on your clothes.
See what i'm talking about? So, what type of horse do you have? A 'horse'? A 'dog'? Or something else?