>>> He has been so nervous and jumpy that the mares can barely get food or rest >>> because he's just not a very good herd stallion. It made me think about >>> Falki. Maybe he's not 'drunk with power', but just not sure how to be a >>> good leader. There was a little difference in the dynamics between him and >>> Gloi this evening at feeding time. He has been keeping Gloi farther away >>> from the gate and barn when I come down with the buckets. Tonight Gloi was >>> closer and Falki was farther out.
I just wish they could talk, so they could tell us more. It helps me imagine - and since I'm of another species, it's only imagining - what it might be like for a horse to change homes to think about how humans handle changes. I think about all the phases people go through during their lives. I remember feeling a little lost and child-like my first few weeks in high school...but by the time most kids are seniors, they are fairly cocky in their routines, at least in many ways - some are VERY cocky. Then the reality of college (or work) hits, and suddenly they aren't big fish in a little pond any more, and the confidence may take a serious nosedive for a while. Even as an adult, I can remember having something new and wonderful happen (maybe an exciting job offer, whatever) and I'd go through a period of giddy confidence, feeling on top of the world - until the first few days of the new job, when I didn't know any one, didn't know what exactly was expected of me... Adult humans know to expect these ups and downs as routine parts of our lives, and we deal with them...but even so, they aren't always pleasant. We're always evolving as we change situations, so why wouldn't horses too? I know horses don't process changes exactly like we do, but you know they have to go through similar ups and downs in their confidence levels as changes occur. Knowing Falki, I have trouble believing he'll ever be anything other than a gentle sweet soul, but you're right, he has no experience with leading a herd. Maybe it's possible that he's had these moments of being "drunk with power" (a la the first days after an exciting job offer?) but as reality sets in, maybe he's back to being the self-doubting "freshman". Who really knows? I just know that their lives are also complicated to them, from their perspectives, no matter how they may seem to us. Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.16.17/1176 - Release Date: 12/6/2007 11:15 PM
