Walking among the horses

We've had some really bad storms coming through for the past 5 days.  The ground is saturated, and mud is everywhere.  I prefer not to work the horses in this kind of weather.  However, I decided that I should go out and walk with them last night.  I make it a point to try and make contact with them at least once a day.  Since I was gone for saturday/sunday, I figured they needed some time.

First I walked in with the big girls.  I called them and they all came up.  Pam always leads when coming to me, and she walks right up and burries her head into my stomach.  I rubbed on her good, and the next thing I knew, Nellie had joined Pam.  This was new to me.  Nellie hasn't shown me much affection, but she walked right up in and wanted me rubbing on her.  I gave her some nice scratches and she melted.  I took a step away to pay Rachael some attention, and Nellie moved her head right back into my chest.  How can you say no to that, especially when it's a horse that typically doesn't do that.  I rubbed on her some more, and rubbed Pam a bit too since they were side by side.  I turned 180 degrees to Rachael, who was on the other side of me.  She was ready for her scratches and pets.  It was really a nice time.  There is something so soothing and calming about being with horses.  I love it.  We just walked around a bit, and I talked to them.  I told them about how this weekend we may be raking hay in a field and for them to get ready for it.  ;)

One safety note about doing this kind of thing.  Even though my horses are dog gentle and loving with me, it is still extremely dangerous to be around that many big bodies.  There were a few times where the girls tried to butt each other out for my attention.  If you aren't paying attention, you can get knocked over.  If you are in with your horses, I make it a point to always have my hand on the horse next to me.  Also, NEVER let yourself get sandwiched between two horses.  If something were to happen, and one of them were to move in on you, you have no escape route.  Just walking among the horses is a really fun/rewarding thing for me, but my eyes are always on the horses, and my hand is always on the one closest.  Just last night Rachael ran into Pam, causing Pam to site step on me.  I had my hand on Pam, so I easily stepped back when she stepped.  Had I not, I could have been knocked over and possibly stepped on.  Always remember safety!



My 3 queens after I left them

 After a while, I left the girls and went and spent some time with Whinny, the new girl.  I turned back and saw the girls looking at me and snapped a picture.  I love these horses.  Also, I couldn't ask for a better matched set.  :)

Whinny is teaching me a lot.  I hope I'm rubbing off on her too.  I can pet her through the fence.  A little rub here and there on her face/neck, but she LOVES to have her back/butt scratched.  She'll move back and forth and cock her head sideways just to show how much she loves it.  It's funny.  When I enter the pen though, she won't just let me touch her.  Last night I tried and tried, but to no avail.  However, she is totally submissive to me.  If I walk to her, she makes sure she stays 3 feet away from me.  But if I turn and walk away from her, she follows me and puts her head in my back pocket.  I did this for quite some time last night, and I swear her nosed bumped my butt a few times.  When I turn and try to rub her though, she quickly moves just out of my arms reach.  It's progress though. 

It was good to go out and spend time with my horses.  Here's some pictures I took of Whinny and then a shot of all of them.  enjoy.



Whinny following me



Whinny profile



All 4 of my girls