Day 124 - Ol' Blue Eyes

beyond the fringe

I made a new friend today!

My evening walk up to the woods to retrieve the camera didn't start too well...

When I got there, I discovered that again, I managed to only half switch on the camera again...basically I left it in setup mode overnight...ffs!

Jazz had wandered up to the woods with me, and we were to collect the camera, as it looked like rain...  

Once I'd retrieved the camera and found that I probably had nothing in the can, I simultaneously realised that I had no photo for the day at all...and it was gone 7pm at this point!  Time was of the essence...I scanned the area for possibilities.

The camera had been sited in a small wooded area at the north end of an orchard.  Well, they call it the orchard - it's a huge field with three or four fruit trees at the bottom end, so it's strictly true, if somewhat stretched.

There's been a horse in there for some time, and as I'd approached, I'd found myself searching for him down at the opposite end of the field.   I felt a pang of sorrow and pity for him...he's  a herd animal, not supposed to be on his own!

This came to mind as I saw that Jazz was bimbling around by the fence bordering the orchard, and focussing away down the field, I saw that the horse was looking up towards us, 50 or 60m away.

Now, I'm fascinated by animal psychology and body language.   I can read dogs and cats reasonably well, and I understand a little about predator and prey behaviours, some of which are common across species.   I've read a little about horses from this respect, and I can ride a horse...but I've never had the opportunity to get to know a horse, and my knowledge of their body language is superficial at best. 

This felt like a great opportunity to start feeling my way into horse whispering!

It looked like the horse could see Jazz, and was checking him out.  I walked out of the trees to the fence, so that he could see me, wondering whether that would tempt him to approach.  He just stood there, looking up towards me.  I spread my arms wide as a gesture, which I use with the dogs, meaning "come to me".  The big old horse just stood there, stock still, staring up at me.  I gave him an encouraging whistle...and he immediately start to trot up the field!

Interestingly, he chose a zigzag route so that most of the time he was not running directly towards me.   Predators move directly towards their prey, in a straight line, with eyes and ears facing forwards...the zigzag approach is designed to convey the message, "I am not a predator".  I understood, and in response turned to the side, to convey the same message back to him.

When he got within 10 feet from me, he stopped and stood there, alternately looking away to one side, then back at me.  I stood and waited.

After a minute or two, he walked in a few paces, and again stopped to check me out.   Here he is, giving me the eye (I'm going to call him Blue Eyes...):

you lookin' at me?

Blue Eyes is clearly a skittish old boy, very easily spooked.  I stood sideways, making sure to face away, and not looking at him.  I noticed that when I looked down he seemed to gain a little confidence...worth remembering...  

I then spent a lovely 15 minutes making friends with him.   I just stood and waited, and he gradually came to me.  He sniffed me for at least 5 minutes, tentatively here and there at first, then focussing on my hands, and really sniffing deeply.  He seemed curious of the shutter noise the camera made too.  

After a while Blue Eyes became brave enough to start nibbling at my fingers.  He has this amazing top lip that's a bit like a finger.  It's strong and flexible, and is used to grab and sweep grass in towards the mouth and teeth.  Eventually he was quite insistently trying to grab one of my fingers for a bit of a bite! 

Staying very still and calm with him enabled him to relax, and after 15 minutes or so, he allowed me to stroke his cheeks and rub his nose a little. 

He was quite interested in Jazz, so I encouraged the old dog to come and sit where the old horse could see him.  Jazz was a little excited, but they seemed happy enough, even posing nicely for me when I crept away as slowly as possible (so as not to spook Blue Eyes).

jazz and blue eyes

When I wandered off at last, ol' Blue Eyes trotted to the corner of the field, following as best he could.   I said goodbye, and promised that I would return tomorrow.

I made him an offer of bringing him some tasty treats, and in exchange, would he teach me a little more equine body language?  I didn't quite understand his response, but I'm going to assume he's up for it!

I made a new friend today!

B-)