Waterhole rituals – sitting with the horses

I’ve been sitting with the horses almost every day. Sometime I sit in the morning, near the water trough so they can stop by as they come in to drink. Tonight I sat out in the field to watch the sunset. Lucky and Foster wandered over and joined me. They napped, investigated me, watched the deer come out – a peaceful way to end the day. I’ve learned some things about the herd from this sitting and being.
Lucky is the most vigilant. He is very aware of activities in the distance, and watches while the others rest. He is the leader. He always has an eye on me when I am out with them. He has quickly become interested in joining me while I sit, and comes right over to snuffle my hair and clothes, nibble my hair, blow in my face. When Foster becomes too pesky with me, Lucky sometimes runs him off.
Foster, my husband’s horse, is also very curious and joins me while I’m sitting. He does not keep his eyes on me all the time though. Foster has trouble just relaxing around me. He gets pushy, nibbles too hard, shoves at me, grabs my shoes.
Poco and Ben watch everything going on. They won’t approach me while Foster or Lucky are nearby. I may need to do my sitting with them in another field, or while Foster and Lucky are in their corral.
And Pony, who is blind and has her own private corral, isn’t part of these sessions. I will sit with her at other times.
This is all new territory for me, so I have no idea if the horses will progress at different rates, or if this is the normal herd dynamic and they are all learning at the same time. It’s an interesting journey.

Until next time, be well and enjoy your horses…

Carrie
www.carrieeastman.com