Some pics and Thoughts on Horse keeping

Good Morning!
Once again it's Saturday morning and I'm nursing a cup of coffee and contemplating the 23* gray weather outside.
I've finally got the pics of Dax's new pen area.  It raises a few thoughts/questions on horse keeping for me. First the pictures:

The view from my house to the pen area.  Zack is supervising.

Dax waiting for.....food. What else??  You can see the shed/shelter on the right.

The gates and tarp are protecting some beautiful bales of timothy hay.

The easy keeper herself.  And this is a relatively low weight for her!!  I try to keep her in this condition or lighter, but I tell you she can look at a piece of hay and put on 50lbs.  If I lived out west in the desert I'm sure I'd appreciate not having to buy as much hay, but around here the lush grass in spring, summer and fall poses a real problem.  I've never had a laminitis scare with her, but it's something I'm aware and of course equine obesity leads to insulin resistance and joint damage which can shorten her working life dramatically.  So basically Dax is in a constant state of "dieting".

The bone cyst injection site.  She's remarkably not sore and really the picture makes it look worse than it is.  I didn't want to scrub on a sore spot at first so that's why the dried blood is still there (plus I don't have to worry about flies this time of year).

Notice the eye and ear?  I was definitely getting the "What are you doing, Mom?" look.  Nobody freak out about the cloudy water....the water system is spring fed so we get a bit of silt but pony doesn't mind it and I'm pretty sure it's no more hazardous to her health than the dirt that she likes to eat.  Yes, she's a dirt eater even with a mineralized salt block, complete supplement feed and lots of good quality hay (and being wormed regularly.  Although we did have a worm issue at the last barn b/c of another horse but she's been treated and had fecal counts checked).

So the pen is roughly triangular shaped, about 100ftX50ftX30ft, including the sheltered area.  It's only taken her a week to pick out her "poo corners" which makes mucking easier on me.  It's such a small area and being winter I've decided to pickup all the piles, otherwise by spring there will be a mountain manure :-P

Thoughts on horse-keeping and horse "personality":

So some of you might be thinking "She's by herself??  Isn't she lonely?".  To be truthful, of course she's lonely.  Horses are herd animals and prefer company so at the very  minimum they can sleep while someone keeps watch.  BUT the herd mentality varies, and Dax is one of those horses that is at the pretty far end of not being herd-bound.  She's never bonded closely with another horse even when she lived with a herd of about 20 mixed horses, but that could also be party due to the fact she's always been bottom of the herd hierarchy.  I have suspicions that she actually prefers cows and goats for company b/c she can always boss them around - it's pretty much the only time she gets to enjoy any sense of dominance.  That being said she's not pushy at all...she'll let calves chew on her tail and lick her legs, and she even would curl up with her pet goat for naps (freakin' ADORABLE!!!).  And she does sleep without company.  Her preferred nap time is late morning, when the sun is fully up.  Dax just has one of those very independent minds coupled with a generally positive outlook - the world is a friendly place which she approaches with curiosity rather than fear.  In other words, she wouldn't survive two seconds in the wild. (What I imagine goes on in Dax's head - "Aww, look at the funny black and white cat!!  I wonder if I can nuzzle it like a barn kitty?  Hmm, it seems to be lifting it's tail.....maybe it wants to play?"  Seriously, she got sprayed by a skunk a couple of years ago because she went right on up to it.)

Now I realize it sounds like I'm doing some serious bragging, and of course I partly am, but there are some downsides to her personality.  She basically isn't affectionate.  And while I'm pretty sure after 6 years of sole ownership, mostly just me riding and having her at home I'm pretty sure she recognizes me, at the same time she doesn't show any preference for particular people.  (Except that she will test new people to a limited point like any horse, just to see if they mean business or not :-)  She's not playful - she's not particularly interested in people games unless there are treats involved (clicker training anyone??).  The lack of bonding thing actually means she'd make an amazing school horse, and every rider I've ever put on her has been impressed with how well she'll listen to them right off the bat (even my poor never-ridden-a-horse husband!!).  In fact, she's got my number down and generally behaves worse for me than for new folks.  But it does make for a different pet-owner-rider relationship.  I'm more of the "bond tightly with just a few folks" person.  I like my uber-clingy cattle dogs, and even the ridiculously attention-craving Sammy cat (Cato is adorable, but, well, just weird.  She has issues.)  

My desire for a more bonded type of relationship with animals also has to do with the level of trust involved.  I'm well aware that every time I sit on Dax (or get in a trailer with her, or walk behind her...) I'm basically entrusting my life and safety to her.  Now the same is true for her part to a degree, but really, I'm just the food delivery person, I don't think she has a clue that I could possibly endanger her in any way.  For me, riding is about the communication and trust bond between two completely different species (and maybe a little bit about getting to enjoy the athletic abilities of a 1,000lb+ animal).  I think that's why dressage AND endurance are appealing to me....lots of time alone together, figuring things out and navigating together, having "discussions" about horse vs. human opinions :-)  But Dax is more of a go with the flow, all people are good and generally alike, kind of horse.  Ultimately the positives of her type of horse "personality" far outweigh the negatives.  Considering I usually only find time to ride by myself, don't have equine company for her at home, that I like to explore and have little patience for horses scared by their own shadows means that Dax is the best horse for me.  I have developed trust in her, regardless of the level of "bonding", because she is a trust-worthy, sensible horse.

Oh, and she has mad athletic skillz.  Check it out:

3ft warm up fence.  She did her hunter show in the morning then trailered to a polo game to act as a referee horse (8 galloping TBs and balls whizzing around).  How many horses do you know can do that??!?

Now off to lab!!