Horse Psychology

I mentioned yesterday that I would try tying up Cal next to another horse to see if he would remain calm instead of destroying his halter in an epic panic attack.  So, I tied Duke next to him today.  I hitched Cal to the post using a loop of bailing twine, so that if he did blow up, he wouldn't destroy anything valuable.  I then left him there to go muck out his stall.  He could not see me from where he was, so he was left pretty much alone except for Duke.  When I returned, he was still there happily waiting for me.  I will try this a few more times to determine if this was just a fluke.  If he continues to remain calm, I will try different horses and greater and greater distances between them to see if he can get used to being tied.  

I had a surprise visitor today while I was finishing up the horse shelter I am reconstructing.  The commanding general of the post showed up as he heard I was such an awesome guy and wanted to meet me.  Not really.  His sergeant major made him come down to see the deplorable condition of our horse facilities first hand.  We chatted a bit, he shook my hand, and then left.  You just never know who is going to show up down there.  It is ironic that I was in the process of rebuilding a shelter when he arrived.  

Debbie and I weighed all the horses today and were pleased to see that most of them had put on weight despite being out to pasture for almost three weeks.  Only one horse (Chili) lost any significant weight and he isn't showing any ribs.  Chili is old and has trouble with his teeth.  Fortunately, the vet will float teeth tomorrow, so hopefully we can make it easier for Chili to chew his food.  Unfortunately, Chili doesn't like anything getting poked in his mouth unless it is a carrot, so I expect a battle royal tomorrow.  

I received a call about another of our horses last night (Kidd) who had gone of his food, but didn't show any other signs of illness.  He was fine when I arrived this morning and had eaten most of his hay.  We give them bermuda hay when they are in the pens and many of the horses are not liking the winter, barn-stored hay. However, during the night when it is cold, most of them eat it anyway.  Hay digestion generates body heat, so most horses will eat it regardless of how finicky they are.