Thursday, June 23, 2011

And Then Comes the Rain

Oh Well, Not Exactly a Dry Summer

I don't mind getting wet as my swimming will attest, but swimming usually requires a pool.  Right now, I could practically swim through the air.

First, imagine tropical humidity, clouds and then repeated downpours. To say it's getting soggy here is understating the obvious.

Strangely enough, my friend Stacie who lives about 40 minutes south of me has been suffering a near drought and actually welcomed the shower she had yesterday.

The Boys are hanging out in the barn, sort of. Toby seems to be inside a stall, Tucker is under the east run in shed and Chance seems to have managed to find a spot alongside him, maybe totally under the roof.  Often, all that Chance is permitted by the "big Boys" is his head under shelter, but apparently this time he has permission to join the herd.

Now, this is not the only shelter. There is the run in in the arena, and the other side of the barn with another run in and Chance's stall. But it just goes to prove the herd instinct is a powerful force in the equine community. Instead of choosing a nice dry place all his own, Chance would rather be "third man out" with the other two.

When the weather is fine, I will often see Chance off by himself. Just yesterday, Toby and Tucker were in the barn in the same stall together, and Chance was quite a ways off in the pasture grazing. Another time, Toby was in his stall alone while Tucker and Chance were off on the other side of the barn grazing in the paddock. There's no real pattern of togetherness until, it seems the weather or some other event challenges the equine comfort zone, and then the little herd bands together.

The Boys depend on each other in times of "crisis," whether it be a blizzard or an "attack" of the wild turkeys.

I wonder if they'd let me join them if I needed support troops?

2 comments:

  1. this was the theme of my post today...

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  2. I think they'd welcome you in...if you had treats.

    ReplyDelete