Making A Connection

I remember the first time Maverick answered to his new name (his old name was "Bulldog." Yeah.) and how exciting that was for me. There's something a little magical about making that kind of connection; where a word that doesn't necessarily translate to the horse (or dog or cat or parrot..) still comes to mean something to it, where it begins to make an association between itself, its name and you. It's a very small and often overlooked little wonder of communication and understanding, and it amazes me every single time it happens.

Lately Kachina's been answering to her name more and more. When P and I come to visit and we call to her, she will leave her shelter, Fancy, and at times her food, and come trotting all the way across the paddock to greet us. We don't bring her treats when we come -- we don't bribe her to do it -- but we do lavish her with plenty of love and attention. She's just developed an association between her name and being with us, and she'd decided that being with us is something she enjoys. And even on the days when she prefers her food to our company, she'll still lift her head and prick her ears when she hears her name to let us know that she heard us, and that she understands what it means.

When Kachina visits with us, she comes to us each in turn. Sometimes, when we're petting her, she tries to groom us back. She's also taken to herding Odin away from us as if she feels the need to protect us, especially when he's very excited and we're playing roughly with him. She's curious about the things we do, and the tools we use; she'll often paw or bite at the manure fork and the muck bucket. In general, I think she enjoys spending time with us (unless the food's just been served, and we're keeping her from it, in which case she gets a little fussy).

I also think she's getting bored in the paddock. We haven't been able to take her for walks lately because of the rain. The trails all have very steep hills, and the mud makes it a little too stressful and miserable for all of us. I was thinking about getting her a toy, like a Jolly Ball, to keep her entertained, but I don't want her to develop any neuritic behaviors or obsessions over it like I've seen horses do in the past. It's probably time I start working with her on things that are more challenging than just sacking her out (there isn't much that seems to scare her). I'll have to browse through my books and find some cool horsey games we can do together, and some exercises I can teach her.

This might be a good time to introduce the clicker.