quirky horses

In response to an invitation to play over at Teachings of the Horse, here are some of our herd quirks:

Keil Bay has very specific gestures he does when he needs chiropractic adjustment. If his pelvis rotates out, he stamps his right hind foot when I touch his flank. If lumbar vertebrae need work, he bobs his head when I take him to the mounting block. When the chiropractor arrives, whether it's his turn or not, he comes into the stall and shoves his butt against the wall. (she once said, in his presence, that pushing butts against walls can sometimes be a sign that a horse needs adjustment) He bobs his head until she gets to the right place, then he sighs and gets very still while she does the adjustment. He often turns to her and touches her arm with his nose when she's done.

Cody likes to move things around. If you leave scrub brushes out, he puts them in the water troughs. He has taken his blanket, spread it in the barn aisle, and put his hay on top of it. When our trainer comes, if it isn't his turn, he stands at the gate to the arena and watches. When de-spooking the pony to big black and white umbrellas, Cody's response was to get under the umbrella WITH me.

Salina is very attuned to children. If any of our young neighbors down the lane call out to their mom, she goes to the fence line and stands, ears pricked, until they are taken care of. She loves being groomed in the summer. When they come in from night-time turn-out, she bangs her stall door until I let her in the barn aisle, where she stands w/o halter or lead rope and gets groomed from head to tail. She came from Germany, and sometimes I speak to her in German (very bad German) if she isn't listening to my English. Her response is to turn slowly and look at me like "You're better off sticking to English!"

Apache Moon likes to take gates off hinges and walk them around so all the horses can walk right through. He regularly defies our attempts to contain him, and every now and then, mostly in the spring when the new grass comes in, can be found in some choice spot in the yard or at the neighbor's, enjoying the spoils. He is small and rather round, but as flexible as they come. He double-bucks with a twist. He has the most amazing markings - a snail, a half moon, a lightning bolt, an inverted V.

Rafer Johnson, the miniature donkey, wants to sit in laps. He prefers Salina's food to his own, and has managed to convince her that she should share it. He loves to roll in the barn aisle. This is my personal opinion, and not yet verified, but I think he really wants a Winnie the Pooh bear for the stall he shares with Salina.