It's been way too long since I wrote a blog post! Pasture life is far busier than stall life so finding time to blog - and finding a quiet place to do it without being interrupted - has been difficult. And to be honest, I've been enjoying myself so much that blogging has been pretty far from my mind.
But I do want to share what's been going on in my life because I'm happier than I've ever been.
The picture at the top shows me and Sparky in our new Pasture. Yup, we moved again. We were at our other place for close to a year and we all liked it quite a bit. First we lived in the small Pasture I told you about, then one day our moms opened up a gate in between that Pasture and a bigger one and we all got to live together with other horses. I loved it! As you know, I'd never lived in a Pasture before. It was very exciting for me and I felt like I was the luckiest horse on earth. The Pasture seemed so big! I could run from one end to the other and really stretch my legs.
The rest of the place was nice too. There was an arena to ride in and some round pens and turnouts. All of us got used to it very quickly and stopped whinnying for each other when one of us was out. We made lots of friends too. There was a big chestnut gelding there named Soldier who was really nice. His mom was nice too. And a bay TB gelding named Kisses who was my special friend except when he tried to sniff my butt. That was kind of dumb. But our special friends were two other Pasture horses. Rose was a pretty chestnut mare with a wide white stripe down her face. She was very sensible and had a round build kind of like Sparky only a little bigger. Her brother Enzo was chestnut too but built lighter, more like a TB. He had a star on his face and a sweet, gentle nature. Me and Spark and Dooley formed our own little herd with the two of them and we were really happy.
But this past spring, strange things began happening. Horses began leaving, first one or two at a time and then lots of horses would leave in the span of days. We began getting nervous. It seemed like every day there were more empty stalls and paddocks. Our people were nervous too. We could tell. They were talking a lot to each other in low voices and saying things that made us think something bad was going on. Rose and Enzo moved to a paddock and the other Pasture horses left and it was only me and Spark and Dooley left in the Pasture and almost nobody else on the whole place. It was awful. We got so we'd whinny to each other again when one was out, just to make sure we were all still on the property.
Then one day, my mom moved me to the paddock next to Rose and Enzo. That was kind of odd but at least I was near horses I knew. I'd been in that paddock before when I hurt my eye one time so I wasn't as nervous as I might have been but I was still pretty jumpy. Then I saw her and Dooley's mom get Dooley's Trailer out and load the boys into it.
By this time, Sparky had gotten lots better about loading. He told me that our moms took him and Dooley in the Trailer to go on trail rides sometimes. He was nervous at first and it took a while to get him on the Trailer but he finally went in and they only went a short way and then had a really fun trail ride. He was surprised. He didn't realize you could go for a ride in a Trailer and do something fun. Then when they were done with their ride, they got back on the Trailer and came home. He was so relieved! He thought that getting in a Trailer meant you were moving forever. Dooley laughed at both of us but not in a mean way. Dooley's used to riding in Trailers because he's a Show Horse. But me and Sparky didn't have that kind of experience.
Anyway, both Sparky and Dooley got right on the Trailer, though they were worried about me. I whinnied and fussed for a while and stood with Rose and Enzo but my mom and Dooley's mom came back pretty soon without the boys. So I knew we were moving again. My mom came to get me and she gave me a Shot which she said would help calm me down so I'd load in the trailer. But I just wanted to be with my brothers again and get out of this creepy place that had no horses on it. She led me to the Trailer and I just got right on. It wasn't until I was already at the new place that I felt a little drowsy from the Shot.
It was a very short ride to our new place. As soon as I got there, I felt better. There were lots of horses all around, in barns and paddocks and dotting the hillsides. My mom led me along a little road to a gate and sure enough, there was Sparky and Dooley! I knew they'd bring me to my brothers but I still whinnied in relief. The boys welcomed me and we all went to the water trough to get a drink. Then we looked around.
This place is huge! My mom says the Pasture is 70 acres. I don't know what that means but it's big! It took us all week to explore the whole thing. There are big hills and trees and little valleys in between the hills where you can get out of the wind. There are trails all over the place and I've learned how to go up and down hills by zig-zagging instead of going straight up or straight down. When we moved in, there was so much grass that we didn't even get any hay! We just lived like Wild Horses, eating grass all day and moving around in a herd.
There were a lot of horses already in there. My mom said there were about 25 of them. At first, the three of us pretty much stuck to ourselves. We cautiously approached the other horses and we didn't run away from them but we kept off to one side in our own little group. We didn't feel the need to join their herd. Sparky said we could have our own herd anyway and he knows a lot about herds, being a Herd Leader and all. Dooley wanted to go chase some of the others and I kind of wanted to make friends but Spark said there was plenty of time for that later.
For the first few weeks, we didn't even go to our moms when they called us. We were too busy having fun out in that giant Pasture. For example, this is a picture my mom took of us one day. See the little spots at the top of the hill? That's us.
We'd hear them calling and calling off in the distance but we'd just keep grazing and eventually they'd show up, all huffing and puffing because they'd been walking all over that big Pasture looking for us. It's important to make sure your person gets proper exercise and we certainly did that! Some days they'd be so tired from finding us that they wouldn't even bother to ride. They'd just feed us our bucket dinner and put us back out.
After a few weeks of this, we got another surprise. Rose and Enzo came to live with us again! So now we were back to being a herd of five. Sparky especially was happy because he loves Rose. She's just the type of mare he likes, strong and sensible and not prone to drama. Not like me at all. But I like Rose a lot too and I love Enzo. Not as much as I love Dooley who is my very best friend but lots. Soldier lives here now too. Not in the Pasture but in a paddock and I see him and his mom sometimes.
I've found that Pasture living agrees with me. I've learned so much about being a proper horse. When I first began living in that small Pasture with just Sparky and Dooley, they taught me about how horses sleep outside. I never knew! I didn't know you could actually find a comfy spot on the ground but it turns out that the ground is lots more comfy than a stall. The way it's done is one or two of us lie down to take a nap and then another horse stands guard in case anything dangerous comes along. Then we switch so everyone gets a turn. It's a very smart way to do it and Spark says that's how the Wild Horses stay safe.
I also learned how to move with other horses. You may think this is silly but I never spent a lot of time out with others. Only in turnouts and then I was usually playing. But in a herd, you move as a group, all the horses walking along together. You have to pay attention to where the other horses are so you don't bump into them or get in their way or make them trip. It's not as easy as it seems. When it was just the 3 of us, I made mistakes a lot but I learned soon enough and when we moved into the bigger pasture at the old place, I learned more.
I learned that some horses don't like it when you get too close. And every horse has a place in the herd and you have to know which horses are above you and which are below you in the ranking. You have to let the ones who are higher go first at the water trough or the hay and you have to ask them nicely if you want to share with them. And if they say no, you have to go away instead of getting mad and making a fuss.
Sparky and Dooley looked after me which was very nice. They're both pretty high in every herd so they made sure I got a place under the shelter when it rained and that no one picked on me too much. But they said I had to learn and sometimes I just had to take a kick or a bite and learn from that.
So now I'm a pretty old hand at being a Pasture Horse. When the grass dried up, we started getting fed hay so we joined the Big Herd and now we all live together. I've made new friends but I still like Sparky and Dooley best. Rose and Enzo moved to a paddock again which is too bad but we still get to see them. And I'm taking Lessons with my mom and learning how to be a real Dressage Horse! Sparky has a Girl who comes to ride him regularly and he also gives Lessons to little kids who are just learning to ride. He likes it a lot because he can make sure they get a good start. So we're very happy and I'll try to keep up with my blog better.
Enzo, Dooley, me and Rose.
