One of my favorite things about Bre is that I can spend hours loving on her and brushing her. She just eats up the love. She rests her head on you moves around so you get all of her scratchy spots and will just standing touching you. I've never met a horse as cuddly as Miss Breedle Dee.
I know not all horses are big cuddlers. Romeo is calm and easy to be around but he isn't going to seek you out to cuddle. But you can still spend time brushing and massaging him. Dickie and I have had pretty much zero quiet grooming time. He's such a busy body and just getting him to stand still long enough to be presentable is a challenge. I've wanting our training sessions to be both productive and fun for him. Standing still is a chore for him.
I've noticed the last few weeks he has been much easier to be around in his stall. He isn't quite so obsessed with bugging me. He used to be up in my grill every second and prone to tantrums when I moved him out of my space. The new barn is so quiet that he doesn't feel like he needs to check his door all the time. So for the first time today I was able to spend an hour just brushing and shining him up. I brushed through every hair on his tail and realized it is actually quite thick. It has also grown a few inches. I think my appy might actually grow a tail! He quickly move his body around to make room for me without a battle.
I know that this might not sound like a big deal but it was a big aha moment. He's really settling into his life as a grown up horse. I know we have a long way to go before he's cuddling and snoozing in the cross ties. However, I'm so grateful that I'm able to spend some relaxing time with him.
I love grooming days...especially cold days in the dark of winter. At my first barn, I had a special hay that I feed just when I brought him inside to groom and love on it. I looked forward to that and I'm thinking about doing it again!
ReplyDeleteGrayson has come a long way with standing still but is still a wiggle worm as you've been reading. You said it was a chore for them to stand still and that's exactly it. I think once Grayson learns that standing still is a good thing then he'll do more of it.
Winter grooming also allows you to get that good horse smell all over you...sounds creep but true! :)
The special hay is a great idea. I only brought in grooming supplies he couldn't hurt himself on and let him accost my grooming bucket. He thought that was pretty cool. He loves a good brush toss. I think he's going to be like Grayson and wiggle for a long time in the cross ties.
DeletePs- I love the good horse smell!
DeleteI love to groom...but my mare is not a big fan. She does enjoy having her mane and tail brushed, so I spend lots of time on that to get my fix :)
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how they have certain areas they like groomed. She wants to show off her fancy tail and make the other horses envious. I'm not sure if Dickie will ever love grooming. He does love a good face rub but once I get past his face he gets bored with it.
DeleteIt's so interesting hearing how different all of the horses are!! Chrome used to be super cuddly, but I think he's growing out of it. He does LOVE to be groomed. He almost always falls asleep with his head resting on the fence when I brush him. I've even started calling him my narcoleptic horse LOL! He also moves around so I can get his itchy spots. He doesn't care for his face being messed with (never has). He tolerates hugging and cuddling, but I don't think it's his favorite thing ever lol.
ReplyDeleteSounds like Bre. Her knees will start to buckle when she gets really into being brushes. When she was younger I could sit on the ground and she would put her head in my chest, then curl up and nap next to me. I can't even imagine doing that with Dickie. He moves so fast!!
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