Friends

Horses need friends. Did you know that? I see people all the time who are alone and they don't seem to mind it but horses don't like it much. Even horses like me. I'm pretty independent and I don't get nervous when I'm away from other horses but I'm happiest when I have some friends.

Friends watch out for you. If there's anything scary around, you're better off to have some friends around. Maybe you might not see the scary thing but if you're with some other horses, chances are one of them will and they'll warn you. Friends help you find good spots for grazing or standing. They help you keep flies off. They scratch your withers. I really like that.

I have lots of good friends. When I first came to this farm, my mom turned me out with another mare named Misty. We had lots of fun and got to be friends. She showed me how to eat acorns in the Little Fence Arena. I probably never would have thought of eating those things if it wasn't for her. Misty lives across from my old barn so I used to see her a lot but I still see her sometimes. Her mom rides her around and they always say hi to me when they pass my stall. And if my mom takes me to the Little Fence Arena, she lets me stop to sniff noses with Misty.

I also got to be real good friends with Cozzie. That's him with me in the picture. He moved in next door to me after my other neighbor left and I really liked him. He was a big bay gelding and he was even younger than me. We used to stand in our paddocks together all the time visiting and scratching each other's withers. And we'd play bite face and other games. I liked him so much. I was sad when he left. I didn't think I'd ever see him again. Then one day Mom was walking me and we went past another part of the farm where there are some stalls that are just single stalls all by themselves and Cozzie was in one. He poked his head right out and nickered and Mom let me go over and sniff noses. We were so happy to see each other! Now I know where he is so I see him a lot. That makes me happy.

It's hard for horses to make friends sometimes because it seems like every time you make a new friend, their person takes them away. When I first moved to the stall I'm in now, I was kind of anxious and upset. I missed my friends from my old barn and even though we all live on the same farm, I knew I wouldn't see them every day like I used to. I made friends with Kia pretty quickly but I got upset every time her mom took her out. I'd whinny and pace around my stall missing her. It was hard at first but then I settled in and was okay. Now Kia sometimes goes away for a few days at a time and I don't worry. I know all her things are in her stall so she'll be back. She always comes back.

Of course Sparky is my best friend. He wasn't here at first. He didn't come here until the rainy weather time and he came from some place I've never heard of. He called it Minnesota. He told me that it was really, really cold there with snow on the ground. I'm not sure what "snow" is - Spark says it's like mud only it's white and gets even deeper. And it's really cold. But you can eat it. Seems very confusing to me but I know Sparky wouldn't lie to me.

Anyway, he told me that one day some people came and put him on a big huge trailer and took him away. He was scared. His mom wasn't there and he figured those people were stealing him! He was on that truck for days. The people took good care of him. He had plenty of food and water and when he wasn't drinking enough water, the lady worked and worked with him to get him to do it. And she put a blanket on him when it got cold. She was really sweet to him, he said, but he missed his mom and wondered if he'd ever see her again. That must have been awful!

At one point, they stopped at a farm they called Texas and let the horses out in paddocks. Sparky figured he was going to live there and had made up his mind that he'd have to get used to it but then they put him back on the truck and started driving again! Finally after a long, long time they got to our farm and he couldn't believe it because when the truck stopped, the first thing he heard was his mom's voice calling his name! It's really amazing when you think of it that these people carried him off only to wind up at the same place his mom did!

Well, she rescued him off that truck and brought him to our pony arena but he said he was still pretty scared because nothing was familiar (except his mom). He said he trotted around and called and called but no other horses answered him and he was pretty nervous and upset. Then his mom and my mom brought him up to the Gremlin Arena and my mom came and got me. I didn't know what was going on but she brought me to the arena and here was this nice chestnut gelding in it. Well, I always like to make new friends so I went right in and greeted him and he told me later he was so relieved to find a friendly, welcoming face! He settled right down and we've been best friends ever since.

Sometimes you meet horses you don't like. Mom turned me out one day with a big black gelding named Gus. I tried to be nice with him, sniffing noses and just being social but he wasn't nice at all! He laid his ears back at me and kept trying to bite and finally when I just sniffed him in a friendly way, he kicked me! So I don't go out with him anymore.

I also don't like Favre. That's too bad because Favre and Spark are really good friends and all our moms are good friends too. Favre used to live in the pasture and him and Spark like to play and turn out together. One day, our moms put all three of us out together but all Favre wanted to do was sniff my butt and act stupid. I didn't like it at all! I tried to keep away from him and Spark tried to get him to play but he just kept following me and bothering me. I got mad! I swished my tail and put my ears back and finally I tried to kick him. I wasn't happy and Mom finally took me away from there. Stupid Favre!

Most of the horses here are nice though. I love to stop and say hi when we meet them on our rides. Mom always tells me that's not good manners and that I'm supposed to just keep going but it's hard. I love to meet new horses. Sometimes I wish I lived in a pasture like Sparky does so I could have lots of friends to play with all day but then I'd have to share my food and I don't think I'd like that.