Friday, October 19, 2012

no herd today

The horses at this barn eat on a pretty tight schedule, so the pasture boarded horses know when it is dinner time. And since by the time I can get to the barn after work, they are up waiting at the fence to be let into the feeding area. I didn't want to turn Shyloh out with the herd during this time, so tomorrow will be the big day. 

I have no idea how it will go. . . I am a little nervous, these horses all know each other and seem calm around one another, but they also seem more dominant than the horses Shy is used to being around. Herd dynamics. . .I love it! I plan to go out tomorrow morning and put her with the herd so there are many hours between feeding time for her to get adjusted.

But I did turn Shy out into the huge pasture. The pasture board can be gated off into two parts, and to protect precious grass, the horses get switched out. I am not sure of the schedule with that yet. Shy was so curious. She had the cutest bouncy walk, checked everything out, then burst into a quick gallop. She checked out the two Haflingers that are also pasture boarded, but they stay separate from the bigger herd. She liked them and grazed by them for a while, then came close to me. 

I was really surprised how close Shy kept to me! She had the option to go where ever she chose, but she chose to stay close. That was a new development and not the typical Shy I am used to! After a while, I put Shy in a paddock near the herd she will be with. She went up to the Haflinger, no squealing or striking. The Haflinger is boss of the herd. He kept chasing other horses away from her. I hope they can be buddies!
Two Haffies! What a fatty!
and a donkey! Not the ideal fencing. . .but it is high enough for the horses not to get hurt.
I met the lady who owns the two Haflingers that stay together, Leon and Gem (I think it was Gem). She has been into horses for 40 years and knows a ton about Haflingers! Squeee! She said she was at the barn all day and Shy was hanging in the corner of her paddock, closest to them. She said Shy was real good all day, not calling out or anything. This lady is a Parelli fan and told me Shy seemed like an introvert, but later, after Shy did something with her tongue, she said Shy was definitely an extrovert. I don't know anything really about the Parelli Horsenality stuff. But she said she does a ton of fun things with her boys and I am welcome to do it with her. And she talked about driving and helping each other out! Exciting!

So tomorrow is the big herd introduction day. . .wish us luck! At the very least, wish us no hard kicks!

11 comments:

  1. Sounds like things are going well! Happy for you and Shy! :)

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  2. I think it's sweet that Shy stuck by you :D
    You're the only familiar creature around, so she wants to make a herd of two with you!
    I hope all of the other boarders are friendly too & good luck to Shy when she goes out with the Gang today x

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    1. It was sweet <3 She seemed to really look for me for comfort.

      I haven't met everyone yet, but I knew a few from where I leased before and and they are super nice.

      I am sure Shy will be fine today. Thanks!!!

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  3. My aussie usually only plays with other aussies. If we go to the dog park all the other dogs shun him but the aussies will gang together. I wonder if Halfies have such a unique personality that they band together too. I just discovered there is a Shyloh at my barn. She's in the super swanky section of the barn with all these 18h warmbloods. So cute.

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    1. Shylohs do tend to be super swanky, haha.
      I have heard that Hafliners tend to prefer each other over other horses, we will see. . .

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  4. Oh good luck, we'll be waiting to hear how things go :-)

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    1. Thanks! I am sure Shy will be fine, but I will need some luck to calm my nerves during introduction.

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  5. Best of luck with the turn out. Sending good vibes your way.
    I know at specialty shows (one dog breed) and another dog of a differant breed comes thru the Cardigans all sound the alert! They know the differance for sure.

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