> . . . then I fell in love with her gorgeous temperament and tossed out the whole absurd idea of selling her -- you know how that is! She is an absolute joy to work with.
>
> Her mom is a different story. Folly has never shown the slightest interest in me, or in anyone else, for that matter. She has been broke to ride and drive, and I can catch her, halter her, throw a blanket on her, pick up her feet, longe her in a circle, and I am sure I could saddle her and ride her, probably without incident.
> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Hi Bonnie, FWIW . . . My gelding (bought him when he was 2) is "in my pocket". He seeks out my company and has done so from the beginning.
Now my mare, bought at age 20, is a different story. I don't think she has ever been abused although she was later in life neglected. She definitely had some quality training early in her life and is very respectful of humans, but she does not seek out the company of people. She seems to prefer men which leads me to believe she was trained by and for a man--she is more responsive to my non-horsey husband than she is to me. Or it could be that my gelding lets her know, in horse language, that I am his person, not hers.
I have found that she luvs grooming and especially a bath. The old gal acts like a princess in a beauty salon every time I bathe her!!! She is as patient as she can be while I do her hair and nails and I'd swear she smiles throughout the whole process. ;o) However, as soon as she is turned back out she makes sure I don't get anthrophmorphic about her behavior by going straight to a patch of dirt and rolling!!! LOL
While she accepts humans as her leader, she clearly prefers the company of equines. She also accepts the younger gelding as her leader! She's solid as a rock to ride and about as safe with children as any flight animal can be. I've wondered if 'rehoming' her has also influenced her preference for equines over humans. How many times can a horse re-bond with another human? She lunges like a dream--clearly learned that lesson well. She's a sweet old gal--she just doesn't appear to be interested in bonding with humans.
She's a great buddy for my gelding, is easily handled by non-horse folks, is great for my grandkids, and is a very fun ride for me soooo we'll be keeping her. But her interaction with me is very different from my geldings. Cheers, Judy in NE TN
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