Wednesday 28 November 2012

A Psychology Experiment

Henk writes:


One of Lil’s favourite commercials advertises an SUV that was “raised by a family of sports cars,” which is, I guess, a mechanical version of the “nature versus nurture” argument: Which is more influential? Genetics or environment? Did its upbringing make the SUV more fun to drive? Don’t know. Lil didn’t love the commercial THAT much. She didn’t buy the car.

But she’s decided to run her own version of the experiment by giving us Friesians a baby Thoroughbred to raise. No kidding. Charlee, Wilby, Mila and I now have our very own skinny-legged weanling to take care of. Mila hates him at the moment. His “cute factor,” and the fact he was headed to a bad place after losing his future job when our government gutted the racing industry, has deflected some of the attention that’s rightfully hers. She’ll get over it. Being the only kids here is bound to make them friends eventually. She’ll succumb to his charms.

For my part, I’m pretty excited. Of course I got to meet him first. Being the good-will ambassador for the rest of the equines on the place, I get to meet everybody first. Because I never try to kill or maim them. The same can’t be said for everybody else here. Some of my fellow equines seem to think it’s important to terrorize every newcomer and put him in his place. Personally, I’m over that whole hierarchy and class thing. Accept that I am the best looking, most talented creature in the barn, and I don’t care where I fit in the pecking-order. I’ll share my space and my hay with anyone. After I approve the newbie, the rest of the gang generally accepts him, too.

Being a Thoroughbred, Beau is bound to be a little twitchy. Like a Ferrari. All about speed and excitement, but a little scary when pushed to the edge of the envelope. We Friesians, on the other hand, are more like Bentleys. Too classy to scare the wits out of our humans, even at speed (which, admittedly, isn’t much).

So far, Beau has proved to be surprisingly brave, but I guess you have to be if you're expected to go flat out on a track with 10 others trying to bump you out of the way and beat you to the finish line. He’s two days younger than Mila (not quite 7 months), and his first night in a strange barn full of horses he’s never met before he was relaxed and calm, and hardly called for the friends he’d left behind at all.

When he and I were introduced in the arena the next day, he walked right over, and when I gave him a once-over with my nose, the cheeky little devil threatened to kick me! Three hundred and fifty pounds to thirteen hundred – wonder who’d win that one? But he wasn’t going to let me push him around, and I have to respect that. Wilby was far less understanding when Beau tried the same thing with him, and chased him around a bit with his ears pinned, but only to let the kid know who’s in charge. They’re good now, and the girls have accepted him, too. So now we’re all one strange little herd – 4 Friesians and a Thoroughbred. I hear Thoroughbreds are pretty smart, so I’ll try to teach Beau what I can.  Who knows? Maybe Lil will end up with a skinny-legged who thinks like one of us?

Tres Beau

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