Saturday, December 3, 2011

Resembling your horse

Have you ever thought about the ways you and your horse may resemble each other?


Now that may be an -out of focus- concept to some, but to others, and they may not admit to this, have definitely thought, "why yes, my steed and myself- we share many (or none) similarities."




These two are such a great team at my stable. They obviously share the fair haired, physical likeness. Behind the scenes, to me, they share a deep thinking, sensitive- quick to adjust nature, after a cautious consideration period.

Of course, this is not based on any study or scientific-anything- just my perceptions as  I spend time with /around people and their horses. 


I recently watched these two, doing  ground work at a clinic at my stable. It was neat to see how watchful, alert and willing this mare was, trying very hard to understand what was being asked of her.  A trait, I've noticed,  she shares with her girl.

How many (funny, annoying, amazing or otherwise) ways do you line up or resemble  your horse??


Just one (for now)  of the ways I resemble my mare is:  the knack of putting off nature's call ...till...you finally, just have to stop and go!!!
 This has been tried and true, proven over and over again through the years I have had my mare. The most HILARIOUS TIMES that could have won us the $10,000. prize money on "America's Funniest Videos" was  in a boarding facility not long after she came to me. We'd go out riding for several hours at a time, nothing unusual there...but when we went with male riders..I did not feel comfortable answering nature's call in the woods, so I would wait till we got back to the stable. I  then would immediately go to the outhouse.

I knew I would have to do this at this barn so I taught her to stand patiently so for me by the outhouse door. She would receive treats, if she stood close. She never once pulled me from the outhouse, before it was time!! The small, tall box like container I went into became a nice break for her, as we rode the arena at that stable.

The first time we could have won the prise money was the most hilarious....
We  returned  from riding several hours, trip on down the lane between arena building and hay house to the "Outhouse"... you know the rest -except-!!! My mare went at the same time!!! Yea! I was laughing inside the outhouse, knowing what was happening! It not only occurred that once, but nearly every time I came back and did the routine from rides. Too funny! I really should have had someone try to video!

So now,  knowing she has the knack of waiting and putting off, and it can make a ride tense,  so I whistle for her to go, having taught her to do so. She normally "goes" when she sees me arrive at the stable...it's habit now. BUT-she sometimes waits for the return from a ride...like this, just the other day;
 I put her in her stall with the cooler on, to wick the moisture from her back.  Wa mare walked outside to see where her horse friends were. She then came inside for a bite of hay and outside again..... and started to come on back ....but before she stepped upon the  matted porch area, she suddenly stopped- and spread em!
  OH YEA...FORGOT, I have to STOP for a second, and do this!!


 Yesterday, thinking about this concept of resembling one's steed, I asked another riding partner if she thought there was a way she resembled her steed...she seemed taken aback by the thought. She only thought of her steed's attitude towards certain aspects of life...he gets grumpy and angry. She did not see herself like that. And that is not what I mean either...they are NOT US- and we ARE NOT THEM!

 Having been around this gal, I've noticed that she is- calm, easy going, meted and measured. To me,  her steed is JUST like that...not overtly active, not very distracted with much other than the details of direct concern (food , comfort, safety) .
And even when something comes up, he seems to decide to remain calm. He is the perfect riding horse  partner for my mare and me. If we wish to walk by him on the trail, he may not walk up and keep up ; he is not competitive,  and would rather take second spot behind. Likewise, this gal is one that likes to go with the flow and be at peace.

Though yesterday, he was able to ride next to us for short times, and  it was nice to look at her as we talked, for a change!

I really am not ANTHROPOMORPHIIZING...it's something I have noticed, I don't go looking for the similarities, they appear.
 I'm just sayin!

20 comments:

  1. I totally agree with you that we mirror our horses personalities and traits. Last February I did a similar post about it (http://greyhorsematters.blogspot.com/2011/02/mirror-mirror-on-wall.html) because it was something I was thinking about too. I think a lot of us are all on the same wave length with our critters. Good post.

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  2. I'm sure that's why Kate and I get along so well--we're both pretty calm and easy-going, don't get shook easy, borderline lazy. And why my relationship with Maddie is a little bit more tenuous--though always willing and eager for the next adventure, she's more reactive than Kate, which, these days, I'd just as soon do without.

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  3. Gracie and I?......She`s fat, I`m getting there! She is calm, but has moods, I am calm, but also have moods!
    Gracie is grey, I am well grey!
    Gracie is fast! I am not quite so fast!!
    She is clever, I am cleverish?
    Gracie is more mature? I am ....Sometimes fully mature, well my OH doesnt think so!
    Finally, Gracie is beautiful! Me? Well least said soonest mended!

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  4. Estes is the equine version of me. Except that she has trouble keeping weight on and I have trouble keeping it off.

    Personality-wise, though, I'm pretty certain we're mirror images of each other. She's impatient, want's to just go already!, and doesn't tolerate stupidity very well. Ditto. But when the situation calls for it, like when my youngest niece wants to "ride", we can both ratchet down and go nice and easy. Not much bothers Estes - or me.

    Yep, she's pretty much the equine me.

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  5. You are so sweet and too funny! I loved this post!!! Smooches to Wa Mare and hugs to you!
    xo, misha

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  6. Hahahahah oh KC I just had to laugh at the thought of you and your beautiful Wa mare doing the pee thing together.
    It got me thinking about my tribe ....well Hokey and Mosaic blend together firstly to be fat and shiney and beautiful....I'll attempt to take two of these but dont have ambitions to get the fat thing going on (plenty of time to be fat and sassy down the track). My gorgeous Eve simply wants to please and is a sensitive wee soul, she thrives on reassurance too. In some ways thats me too ....but happy to say the grey hair hasn't hit yet

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  7. Love the in and outhouse pee breaks!

    Well.. my steed and I have matching manes and senses of humor - a little wicked sometimes. And neither of us likes to be frustrated - it leads to acting out.

    Enjoyed this post KK. ;)

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  8. I love the outhouse story. That is sooo cute.
    Griffin and I are an absolute match for each other! Neither of us are "fancy" to look at, we both possess a stubborn streak when we don't want to do something, we are both DEFINITELY sensitive souls, and are both incredible workers...especially when it involves someone we respect :)

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  9. Thanks Arlene, I'm heading over to read that post...I may have last year.
    I do have to be careful about saying too much though...sometimes I see things that the person SHOULD conscienciously change about themselves, and it probably would help them with thier horse!!


    Laurie,
    Totally see how Kate and you blend in smooth sailing..not easily rattled. Mine and me are a bit reactive..though I am growing out of it, and getting smarter...but she is who she is.


    Cheyenne!! LOVED your likenesses and the last one...I can say it so you won't have to mend anything- Your SPIRIT IS AMOUNGST the MOST BEAUTIFUL and since you rarely let- us- see -you...I will have to stop there!

    Diva...YUP! I love you and your mare...always have!
    Mine is is like me in that...we hate doing the same things and going the same places..give us new sights and sounds and views!

    Misha! Haha..thanks!

    Sally!
    Too true, I agree whole heartedly-YOU are shiney and beautiful! They are babies yet...maybe they will "lean"out with age.
    Yes Eve does resemble you some...sweet natured and willing.
    Mine and me...we are Bay Pretties.


    Christian~
    You and Val are too cute..love your senses of humor!Is it that your manes are wavy and wirey? Don't thinks it's the color...


    Carol!
    Cool that you came by and commented!
    It was an awesome,thoughtful write up on Griffin/you! He sounds very "honest", and so do you!

    It made me think of quite a few other ways- my mare and me link up- we both are mistaken for younger than we are, we are cute but not beautiful and we both tend to prejudge things and have a difficult time moving on from negatives experiences.

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  10. Great post. LOL about you and Wa peeing at the same time.

    Naloma and I:
    We love to start our rides relaxed. Having a conversation with the people who are around before we start work.
    We both like to know what's going on around us, but she takes it too extreme levels ;-)
    We both need constant reassurance and prefer to be asked to do something, rather than to be TOLD to do something.
    Gosh... thinking about it makes me realize how much we are alike.

    But we don't do synchronized peeing ;-)

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  11. So true, with good pairing. I hear occasional comments about Koda from my hubby like "he's so your horse" about not necessarily all things positive lol.

    I agree similarities just appear, and character adjustments would definitely help both horse & owner. But, we are who we are. Most of us know our challenges, and work on them. When we do, things improve. I like appropriate reminders.

    A few of many similarities: We are thinkers, and an easy read. Both of us love doing stuff, it makes us happy. We like grooming & food, eat too much and it shows. And yes, we can be stubborn (see above mention). Great post, sure makes a person think...

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  12. Oh, just thought of another similarity: she and I like our stuff to be neatly stacked up. I do that with magazines, they are all in a neat pile, and she does stack up her poo. I sometimes find three or four layers in her stable, neatly piled on top of each other, divided by some straw.
    ;-)

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  13. Pretty cute post, i know a lot of folks think that they sometimes resemble their pets like in cats and dogs. I hope that you also had a very nice Thanksgiving with you and your family. Richard from the Amish community of Lebanon,Pa

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  14. The peeing story is too funny. This is a very interesting post topic.

    I was trying to think of things that Harley and I have in common. We both keep our hair long, but that is my doing. We are both lean and seem to burn up what we eat very quickly. Personality-wise, I would say that we both have lots of "try", the tendency to anticipate, and some nervous energy.

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  15. Fun post, especially the outhouse story. I'm trying to think of ways that Beamer and I may be similar- well- we both have black hair and big hips! We are both a little lazy.... but will work when we see a reason to. Which is most of the time.
    I think Chickory and I are going to have some similarities too, and I'm still exploring that.

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  16. I see it! :)

    In what ways aren't my mare and I alike- that's the question. We even have matching scars on the left hind!

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  17. So true! My sister pointed out that I tend to have brunette animals, like myself! Ha..never thought about it but it's 100% true!

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  18. I agree, too! We do resemble our animals.
    My mare and I. . . I think we're similar in that we don't like doing just one thing. I would get bored if I stuck with western riding and barrel racing *all* the time. And I know she would too, she loses interest. But we do so many different things together, that we're not bored often! We like it that way.
    I also consider myself to be one who doesn't get worked up about things that come up that easily. . . and she's the same way. She doesn't turn and run when something spooks her. She stands still and snorts and takes small steps forward, and it has to be something really out of the ordinary to catch her attention at all.
    Probably the most obvious is that I'm sort of a homebody and I don't mind being alone; I'm a loner. Daisy is the same way ;) She really doesn't care whether there are horses around or not.
    Thanks for this post! Fun things to think about. And LOL about Wa when you were in the outhouse! hahaha. Seriously, that's funny ;)

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  19. Too funny; I "potty trained" the girls here to go before entering their stalls at breakfast/ suppertimes (it was an experiment). Once you get them going (so to speak *grin*) in a particular place, they tend to do it habitually.
    I bet that was absolutely hilarious though, the first time she did it outside the outhouse.
    As to similarities? Bella and I are peas in a pod right down to both of us being brunettes (sometimes it is almost scary ;o)

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  20. You taught her to go when you whistle! Fascinating. I will have to give the "how are we similar" some thought. I'm not sure. But, back to going potty, I notice my QH gelding really, really tries to wait to go potty outside of the arena. Often he will stretch out and go as soon as we clear the gate!

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