#lookofeagles

[redheadlins]

Opening day @turfparadise! Fixintowin hopefully ready to do exactly what his name says! #lookofeagles #chestnutandfabulous #thoroughbredgelding #racehorse #zoomzoom (at Turf Paradise)

[ellegrl28]

Let me count the ways

By nature, Clever is not an affectionate horse. Mareish almost to a fault, she is stoic, moody and aloof on good days, rude, pushy and aggressive at her worst. These qualities deter many horse people from deciding to partner with a mare, but i happen to admire her strong opinion. and i know for a fact that it is these traits that give mares a competitive edge. 

Perhaps it's because of the knowledge that Clever is such a tough girl that it feels almost dreamlike when she does show a snippet of liking toward me. imagine the thrill then, when i visited her a couple days ago and she practically shouted for everyone to hear how much she adores me! 

let me explain: Often, when i approach my horse, she will be snoozing in a corner of her stall, butt toward me, without so much as acknowledging the fact that i drove over an hour just to spend 20 minutes grooming and hanging out with her. This day, when i neared her stall, she came right over to the door to greet me and the second i opened it she licked both of my arms from top to bottom. she LICKED me! i don't know that she's ever done that. but her next move was even more heart warming. would you believe, she put her big, beautiful face right next to mine, eye to eye, and fluttered her eyelashes on mine. a genuine butterfly kiss from a 1200lb animal? now that's profound! i was so surprised i just stood there while she gently blinked her lashes against my face, it was the cutest thing that i've ever experienced. after that, she nuzzled my face a little and blew on me, and that was that. it's one thing when a dog wags its tail and gives you a lick to tell you it's happy to see you, but when a grouchy mare shows such an obvious display of sweetness without the incentive of a treat, now that's love!