Horses are Positively Interesting Characters!

Horse Herd

Horses are positively interesting characters!  Like people, they have their own personalities and appearances. They like to be with other horses and are upset when they are separated from those they care about.  They like to be included in a group and will follow each other.  Sound familiar?

Early Thursday morning, after sleeping on the Maple Creek  rodeo grounds in the living quarters of our horse trailer, I awoke to a warm Saskatchewan summer sun painting the prairie with light, the scent of silver sage circling through the fresh air and sounds of several horses calling and whinnying, snorting and blowing.

Being next door neighbours to a penned up herd of rodeo horses, (what we don't do for the ones we love), I decided to head over for a visit.  These professional horses are used for saddle bronc and bare back riding. How often does a gal get to admire about one hundred horses at a time that are lounging and grazing, following and rolling, cuddling and teasing, visiting and discussing their previous night time performances and preparing strategy for their next rodeo?

When the four legged beauties spotted my husband, my dog and me, they naturally out of curiosity, gathered near to check us out. There were bays, chestnuts, greys, red roans, whites, and paints.  Would you like to meet a few of the interesting characters?

Totally Radical, Dude!

It seems horses are no different than people.  They tend to hang around others who are similar to themselves. In their spare time, these two rebellious teen aged long side banged horses enjoy an afternoon of skateboarding and can be spotted doing kick flips!  You should see them, it is quite something to see.  Like totally radical, Dude!

Romantically Involved?

These two white faced romantically involved horses are nuzzling each other and are wondering if they will ever have a real future together?  At the moment, they only have eyes for each other and tend to ignore what others around them are doing!

Planning Their Next Move

This small troupe of  proud sentinels are standing on guard forming a fortress wall around the two horses chowing down on the freshly scattered hay. All directions are allocated and scouted!

In fact, what they are really doing is planning their next showboating stunts that they intend to do on the end line of the next Canadian Football League game when the Saskatchewan Roughriders kick some Calgary Stampeders' butt! These muscular talents can really kick up a storm both in the rodeo ring and on the football field! You should see the cowboys/Stampeders fly! Ouch!  They are goin' down!  Go Green!

Going in Different Directions

Have you ever felt like you just don't belong?  If so, you know how this pair feels.  They hang out occasionally with each other, but seem to be going in different directions. They are off in their own little worlds and stand out because of their colour.  Even though they have their colour in common, which naturally draws them together, they don't have much else in common.  They tend to be loners, and actually don't mind being alone most of the time!

Belonging

These two greys, on the other hand, want to fit in and muscle their way into a crowd to surround themselves with just about anyone to feel included.  They will do and say just about anything to fit in! Recognize the type?

An Oreo Cookie

It is believed that these three creative types enjoy Oreo cookies so much that they always stand with the whitish buddy in the middle!  Paint, Grey/White, Paint!  What fun and how yummy!

In reality, they keep the grey in the middle because it is different, an underdog, and they like to not only watch out for and protect underdogs, but they like to be different and stand out themselves!  You know the type!

Roll Over Grover

In every crowd there are characters like this guy!  Ahhhhh, taking a break in the shade and rolling about in the sand how refreshing?!  Or, does this horse secretly wish he was a dog and someone would come over and scratch his belly?  There are some people and horses that are on a quest for attention!

Me Too!

There are some people who do what everybody else is doing.  Horses are no different! After the first horse performed the doggy roll over, five others decided that that looked like fun and took turns rolling in the shaded sand!

In  Blaze of Glory

In order to hang around this horse herd, you need to have a white blaze on your face!  They are wondering if the performing doggy show is ridiculous or if they should join in on the fun? They are the thinkers of the groups and need to weigh all of their options before joining in!

Eaters Anonymous

This gang consists of the power eaters.  They are the serious, focused group.  The know they will need to carbo load in order for them to have the strength for their next rodeo performance.  They know it takes a lot of energy to lift all four legs off of the ground four or five times in a row and then change directions and buck with a cowboy on their back, all in eight seconds or less (heehee, their evil plan)!  They have no time to waste and have no time for play or fun on the side!  Get in and get it done!

Only Time to Chew

The only rest they take is to lift their heads to chew!

BFFs

In every crowd, there are always buddies that can't be separated!  These two beauties are BFFs (best friends forever), you can tell by the way they style their manes and wear the same dappled coats, OMG! They never leave each other's side and they always go to the bathroom together and annouce their intentions openly (GTGP- Got to go pee)!  They are always there for each other,  "KB" (kick butt)  and they whinny for each other when performing in the nightly rodeo circuit!  When their parents demand they stay home and spend some quality time together with the family, they mope and call out for each other and complain, MEJR (my eyes just rolled)!  When the boys walk by their ears perk up and they giggle, #eeeee#cute#stallion#GTG (got to go)!  Did you see him, he was ROGL (rolling on the ground laughing)?  Three's a crowd and look out if you get between them.---Notice the little ear sticking out between them?

Patterns

At first glance, many people think that a horse is a horse, that they are all the same, just as I am sure some people think that all people are the same.  But we know, they all have secret patterns and lives, as revealed here today! Horses are positively interesting characters!  Which group of horses do you identify with?