playing horse fairy

This afternoon I decided to play horse fairy. I went out to check on everyone in the barn at 2, horse cookies in hand, and Salina and Rafer Johnson were waiting in their stall for the treat. The geldings had wandered out to the back field, so I set their cookies aside and mucked, topped off waters and hay in mangers, and got tarps ready for shavings.

The geldings usually come in if they see me at the barn, but after all the rain we've been having (as of tonight, over 6 inches in a week's time!) they are glad to be out in the sunshine. So out they stayed.

That was when I decided to be the horse fairy. I fixed the hay in their mangers so the top surface was flat, and right in the middle I put two horse cookies for each one.

Keil Bay, who can sniff out a horse fairy from miles away, came sauntering up to the barn and found his cookies. The expression on his face was priceless.

Around 4:30 I went out and found it pretty muggy, so I decided to offer hosings. Keil Bay was first in line, but then he sidetracked himself into the big barnyard. Cody was second (not the norm, and he may have wanted company more than the hosing) in line, so he and I went into the small barnyard and situated ourselves with a pile of hay, some fresh water, and the hose, under the shade of the big pin oak.

Cody is fine with being hosed, but he doesn't love it like the other horses do. I decided to turn the hosing into a game where he was in total control of the flow of water. I hosed until he indicated he wanted me to stop, and during those moments, turned the hose into a water fountain. He loves that part of hosing, so that became the fun, safe part that magically happened each time he let me know he needed a break. I lowered the hose so he could lower his head to the "fountain" and let him nibble the water and lip the nozzle. When he had calmed himself that way, we proceeded with more hosing. The interesting thing is that he allowed me to gently hose his entire face today, and he actively sought out the water when he'd been given the chance to "play" with the fountain first. He also let me do an impromptu sheath cleaning, which again, he tolerates, but it's not usually something he relaxes into. Today he did. Each time he shifted his hind leg, I went back to the fountain.

After the hosing was done, I sat in a chair beneath the tree and just hung out with him for awhile. It wasn't long before I saw Keil Bay's nose in the crack of the barn doors, asking for his turn. So they traded places.

Keil Bay needs no game to make hosing fun. He loves it. He stood and got his turn, then hiked one hind leg out and into the air, which appeared to be his request for a sheath cleaning. He has never done that before, but when I checked, he needed it, so on we went. Then he grazed while I watched from then chair. By that point, the pony was banging on the gate asking for his turn, so Keil Bay went to the other side of the barn with Cody, and Apache Moon came in for his hosing.

He used to really dislike being hosed, and for awhile we thought he just didn't like the water. As it turns out, Apache Moon loves being hosed, but he really needs to be free when you do it. He stands facing the hose, and then pirouettes in a circle so you can get every part of him. When he's done, he marches straight up to the hose and takes the nozzle in his mouth. All done!

Salina came up to the edge of the barnyard and asked for her turn. I took the hose into her paddock and gave her a rinse. Rafer Johnson took one look at the water and went to the far end of the paddock, then into the stall. We respect his choice to stay dry. :)

The hosing got the excess fly spray off (the oil-based spray can get heavy after a few days of applications) and cooled them down, and was a wonderful way to spend the hot part of the day. I was, of course, as wet as the horses!

Tonight we had another thunderstorm so they were in from 7 until 9 p.m. After the rain was done (and the thunder and lightning) I opened the arena and let them in, and in the soft glow of our arena light (I think we are close to needing a new bulb!) they marched around and stretched their muscles. The night creatures were making a huge din after the rainfall, and the pristine arena footing gradually revealed hoof prints of all the horses. I walked around and tracked them, noting the imprints of their frogs and the basic shapes of their feet, as well as how they're tracking up. This is one of my favorite ways of checking hoof structure and movement. It's especially nice in the cool of night with all of them milling around, coming up to say hello, and continuing on their paths.

I highly recommend taking some time to play and surprise and just be with your horses. I came in feeling the same way I feel after massage or a swim. Totally relaxed.