Tag and a Surprise Visitor

Kachina was still without Fancy yesterday, so I had the opportunity to get the little filly all by herself and play around with her. One of Kachina's favorite games is tag; she loves to run, and she's so incredibly athletic and aware of her space (and where I am in it). She has amazing body control, and can literally run at you full speed, put on the breaks inches in front of you, and spin around and take off in the other direction, all without making you feel the least bit endangered. She can twist herself into a pretzel in midair and hit the ground running. Obstacles are cleared effortlessly, without ever breaking stride, and she moves without any awkwardness at all.

She's also extremely sensitive to pressure, and she enjoys playing stalking games. Even from across the paddock, we'll square up and watch each other; if I take a step to the left, she takes a step to the right, if I move forward, she backs up, I'll run up the paddock and, at the same time, she will run down. It's a very interesting and amazing dance, each of us mirroring the other. I wish I could have gotten it on video.

Unfortunately, by the time we decided to pull out the camera, both Kachina and I were a little exhausted so we didn't get pictures of all the galloping, rearing, bucking and jumping - you know, the good shots. Plus, P was using his new camera, which we haven't figured out yet, so the picture quality isn't great. Still, they're some pretty nice pictures of the game:


While cleaning up the paddock, I noticed that Kachina was very interested in the trees on the hill. So, trusting her to see things I couldn't, I followed her gaze until I spotted what she'd noticed: a surprise visitor!

I guess Kachina wasn't so alone after all.