Jealous Horses
December 3rd, 2008Recently, I discovered that my horses are jealous of my attention. I didn’t believe my eyes the other day when I was grooming my big paint, Joe, after a long ride in the woods. When Sophie, my Arabian, came up to see what was going on, Joe put his ears back, craned his neck and tried to bite her. I was very surprised. He wasn’t going to share his attention. He was the one being taken care of, and she could just wait her turn.
I noticed this same behavior on Sophie’s part the other day when I was grooming her. When Joe approached, she put her ears back and ran him off. This, also, had surprised me. Since Sophie is not usually one to come to my call, I was taken aback by her obvious desire for my attention. When this happened I realized that, over time, Sophie has become a more affectionate horse than she was twelve years ago when I bought her.
This experience of horse jealousy has lead me to think that perhaps horses can be just like children in some ways. Each wants to be the center of attention for a while. Each seeks individual affection and care.
A neighbor told me the other day that he didn’t think horses were very smart. He thought they didn’t have much soul. Didn’t understand why I invested such energy in my horses. I can’t wait to tell him about grooming horses and their jealous behaviors. He’ll for sure think I’ve gone ’round the bend.” Still, the more I work with horses, the more I realize they have individual personalities, feelings and intelligence. They just have to be on their guard around humans whose behavior must appear erratic and very unpredictable.
