Shut UP [you silly biped] Sheesh!

Mean Girls

 

Well Miss Sarabear may be settling in okay, but it seems that some of her pasture mates have opted to stage a protest.  Rina, in a bout of teenage drama, has decided that Sara's presence here is unacceptable and ruining her life. Really.


SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS
Rina has a very large personal space, and gets very cranky when a member of her herd trespasses in said space.  It would seem that Sara missed that little tidbit of important information, and had the misfortune to wander just a teensy bit too close to her new leader.




Unfortunately, when Rina explained this egregious error in no uncertain terms [photo right], Sara compounded the problem by rather desperately lashing out in self-preservation before fleeing the scene. Uh-oh: contact. Houston we may have a problem...



THE DETESTABLE DING

To say that Rina was put out by Sara's audacious behavior would be somewhere along the lines of calling a backhanded slap to the Queen of England "an unfortunate incident" (you know, the understatement of the century).

Rina has finally stopped chasing Sara at 5 minute intervals, and has opted to remind Sara of her place only periodically and at a much slower speed.  I have also noticed, however, that this is now done from a much safer distance :o)

THE DOMINO EFFECT
 
Now that Rina is offended by Sara's presence, Lady [Photo right] has decided she feels exactly the same way. Hmmm, can you say brown noser?? 

Taya only makes ugly faces at Sara when Rina is looking, otherwise she is pretty much ambivalent. She is pleased, though, that she is no longer the resident peon and has been spotted practicing her important new status by butting in front of Sara at the water trough every chance she gets. 
 



 Seems Bella doesn't really care one way or the other either, except to be happy that Rina is no longer chasing her around the haypile.


Ahhh well, such is the life when you're a horse.  I think it's time for a nap...

Rina: Our Blood Bay Barometer

You know, I'm not always the brightest bulb on the porch (a fact I freely admit), but this morning when that bulb came on, it was so darn interesting that I just had to post it.

Rina has always been the most difficult of The Girls to groom, she is the leader of her little herd and it's a role she takes quite seriously. She's not so much uncooperative as she is somewhat ADHD (or so I thought).

I have a superquick grooming routine with The Girls just about every day. We have an agreement that anything that is done "for me" is rewarded with a treat, and anything I do for them is not; it is all done at liberty and good manners are mandatory. Brushing manes and spraying with conditioner is done every morning to keep the tangles out (but since they could care less about tangles, these would fall under the "for me" category :o) The "pink brush" is a body brush, and everyone (with the exception of Bella) just loves it, making it a reward in and of itself.

Now most of the time, Rina stands nice and still for me as I brush and spray her mane (which I expect her to do). I usually keep a lighthearted running coversation going during grooming, which the horses seem to enjoy - sort of like your basic hairdresser, I suppose. The girls will often "talk" back with little nickers and noises; Bella puncuates hers with kisses and long drawn out mmmmmmmmmmm's that always make me laugh :o)

This morning, however, was one of those mornings with Rina. She did not wish to stand still, moving from one side of her stall to the other, and was just being a total pill. It wasn't until she turned all the way around and bumped me off balance with her hip (which she never does) that the bulb finally came on, making me feel like a nitwit for not having figured it out more quickly.

Deciding to test my theory, I walked over to Rina who was now standing on the opposite side of her stall and started brushing her mane again, this time without speaking. She stood perfectly still the entire time; seems she was trying to tell me to be quiet as best she knew how so she could listen for or to something. In retrospect, I think the hip bump was merely Rina's way of showing her exasperation with my cluelessness.

Horses are amazingly self-aware when it comes to their bodies, and the only reasons a horse will bump you are: 1. to see if he can (a.k.a. a sign of disrespect); 2. they were focused intently on something else and did not see you; or 3. are in a state of panic. Since none of the aforementioned apply here, I guess I'll go with my enlightened thought. Anyway, I guess that's my story and I'm sticking to it... (and thank you for reading it :o)

Body Language 101 - Part Four: The Tail End :o)

Those two verses are one of the most foolproof weather gauges of all time, it's never wrong. I've used it for years and it has always held true; of course that was before we got our little four legged weather woman. While I am well aware that all horses tend to "take it up a notch" when there is a shift in the weather pattern, Rina seems to take it to a whole new level. She is, in essence, a panic attack looking for a place to happen on days it's going to storm.

The photo on the right shows her standing at full equine alert on one such day (she's 3 in this picture and still in her "gangly" phase :o) While she doesn't run around like a raving lunatic, she is definitely edgy and easily agitated. The full alert in the photo was her response to my saying her name softly; I only wanted her to look at the camera (Xanax anyone??)

You can see that the skies are clear in the background, although we did indeed have thunderstorms that day...she doesn't often miss.

To be honest, it took me awhile to catch on to the meaning behind the behavior. I spent lots of time wondering, what on earth is wrong with you today, Rina? As well as some personal eyeball rolling and thoughts like, you are such a total goose girl, sheesh!

The strangest day turned out to be the one in which Rina completely transcended edgy by plopping herself down on the ground in front of the water trough right at breakfast time; what on earth?!?

That was the day a tornado passed over our house, and talk about scary. God was very good to us; aside from a neighbor's metal arbor being squashed flat, there was absolutely no damage done here and yours truly developed a much deeper respect for Rina's forecasting capabilities.

This morning's breakfast report was pink skies and a pingy Rina. Hmmm...guess we're in for some stormy weather today, huh? :o)



If you are interested in exploring equine body language (I'm totally fascinated by it), please see my lens on Squidoo (it took me forever, but I think it turned out pretty well :o) http://www.squidoo.com/EpicFarmsBodyLanguagequidoo.com/EpicFarmsBodyLanguage Thanks so much for stopping by!

Body Language 101 - Part Three: The Head and Neck

Aside from the fly issue, the tail can also be an integral part of a horse's body language . It is usually used to indicate extreme feeling (an exclamation point of sorts, if you like - I do :o)

Swishing - (not at flies) Angry, extremely aggravated or total happiness/euphoria.*

Flagged - Extreme fear (when running) or utter delight (together with a head bob while trotting/prancing in circles or other patterns; a full-body celebration).**

Clamped - Fright (usually precedes a kick; they may just drop their derriere and scoot) or if feeling cold and/or wet.

* Visit our website and watch the video clip of Blue Horse Matinee on our Horse Heroes page to see some of those happy swishes in action :o)

**Some breeds have a higher tail set (see Lady's photo, above) and consequently offer a more intense version of the "flag". Both Bella and Shadow's tails will flip all the way upside down at these times (there is a photo of this further down).

Casual vs. Clamped

There is usually a small space under the horse's tail (L). The horse on the right has his tail clamped due to cold (if it is due to fear, it is usually a precursor to either bolting or kicking).

Comparing The Tail Set

These two horses have different tail sets. While both horses are trotting and each has raised his tail slightly, the horse on the right has a higher tail set. If I was going to guess, I'd peg the horse on the left as a Quarter Horse and the one on the right an Arabian.

Tail Torquage: How High Will it Fly?


This photo shows a horse with his tail flipped completely over. Two of our horses; Shadow (a Tennessee Walker), and Bella (an Arabian), do this. Actually, I have been known to tell all of our horses not to get their tail in a twist over things (when asking for calm :o)

Punctuation is Crucial to Clarity: Be sure to read the complete "sentence"!

Looking at the photo on the right, note the pinned ears, pinched nostrils and tucked chin of this horse. It is easy to tell by looking at these things that she is angry.

When you add in the tail as an exclamation point, however, you can see that this mare is not merely angry she is LIVID.

Next up: Practice putting it all together with some more sample photos :o)

This is the third posting in a series on equine body language, which I consider to be the single most important thing you can learn about horses. If you haven't already, please read Part One and Part Two (it all kind of goes together, you see :o)

Because the head and neck work in tandem, I've opted to discuss them that way. Often times it is the slight shift in either the head or neck position that differentiates what the horse is saying.
A form of inflection, if you will.

The Arched Neck - Hesitant or mildly alarmed curiosity (new object/new horse), anticipation and excitement, or flirtation (as in stallion to mare).

Head Up (beyond normal position) - Fear/alarm or extreme agitation (just as a clamped tail indicates a kick is next on the agenda; the head flung high and pulled back will preface a rear if they are unable to flee to a "safe" distance).

Head to the Side (ears pinned back) - Very angry, generally a "leave me alone" statement.

Head Tilted - Thinking (ears laid back, nose may be slightly in - see Bella's earlier photo, above); Requesting (head extended, ears laid back, nose out).

Head Down/Chin Tucked - Anger/aggression (nose out, glaring eye and ears pinned or chin toward neck, glaring eye and ears pinned) or requesting permission to enter space of another horse or a person (nose out, worried eye, ears laid back). Requesting permission is often mistaken for aggression (to the horse's detriment).

The Arch

Bella (L) is anticipating her treat for giving me a kiss (note the ear flick acknowledging the photographer); The horse on the right, however, appears slightly alarmed, but still curious, over whatever is in the bucket (I'm thinking it's probably not supper :o)

Startled vs. Scared

Both these horses have flared nostrils and the whites of the eyes are showing indicating alarm. Notice the difference, however, in ears and head positions. The horse on the left is still curious about what startled him, whereas the ears of the horse on the right show uncertainty and he has flung his head up in the air indicating a more intense degree of alarm. The horse on the right will likely either bolt or rear (without room to run away) if the source of his fright is not removed.

An Equine Request


I think it's pretty obvious what this horse is asking his person for (she has a handful of treats). Ears are laid back, nose is out and head is ever so slightly tilted; is that not the sweetest expression?

Head to the Side and Chin Tucked



This horse (L) is clearly none to keen on sharing his hay (M-I-N-E); while the horse on the right seems to have had just about enough of Mr. Photographer (note the pinned ears, pinched nostrils and whites of his eyes). This horse will likely behave aggressively toward anyone that approaches him (I'd pass - yikes).

Next Up: The "Tail End" (a.k.a. your pony's punctuation :o)