Life With Doofus

Florence cancelled my plans to ride a third time last week. The rain wasn’t so bad, it was mostly a casual mist that didn’t end for 48 hours, but the winds were high, the horses were anxious and it wasn’t worth it. Had it been Gem, I likely would have, but I’m trying to build positive experiences as Eeyore and I get to know each other and it didn’t seem like the best bet. I’ll hop on him tonight.

Life with him is never dull though. He is a character and after spending near on a decade with Miss Aloof and Mr Scared of the Universe, it is really fun to just hang out with him.

Eeyore is…different. He isn’t stupid or at least not most of the time, but you can tell he isn’t always firing on all cylinders.

For example:

Two weekends ago Dusty looked up to see a strange car pulling down our driveway. The house in front of us was listed for sale and apparently a couple with horses had just looked at it and fallen in love. The issue? It sits on just shy of 4 acres, most taken up by the large house, outbuildings and swimming pool and they have 3 horses. I’m not sure why they even looked at the place as it is not a horse property, but they did. They came down our drive (I very pointedly asked Dusty in front of them why he didn’t shut the gate to avoid this – I’m really friendly like that) to see if we a) boarded – hell no!, b) would sell them the pasture that extends from our house to their back yard – not even a small chance! or c) would lease them that pasture – nope, nope, nope, go buy something that is appropriate.

Anyway…

As we were standing outside talking to them and keeping the nosy agent from wandering all over the place as she was trying to do, I noticed that Gem and Pete had come up to the gate looking for dinner. No Eeyore in sight. Not super odd as the big guy hangs out by himself a lot grazing while the seniors nap. All of a sudden he is seen galloping hell bent up the hill to their favorite napping spot, ears pricked forward and a worried look on his face. He gets to the top of the and stares at the nap spot, empty of horses because they are down by the gate by us.

He screams for them. Looks around with an expression that screamed “OMG! I’m all alone! Its been the Apocalypse. What am I going to do now?!”

Then he looked our way and saw them. He let out a huge happy, relieved nicker and burst into a full bore gallop down to them.

Meanwhile, the Dynamic Duo had obviously also seen this play out and had stood still and quiet probably trying to pretend they didn’t know him and weren’t associated. Dusty and I were keeled over laughing.

I know he was out of sight, but don’t horses have smell? Eyes? A secret sense that tells them when other horses are nearby? He does this all the time too. He will be grazing by himself in apparently oblivious to the word around him and Gem and Pete will wander off. He won’t even realize it for a while and then boom! He does and he freaks out that he is all alone in the world until he gallops around and sees them around the bend, behind a tree or you know 10 feet away from him.

Doofus suits him.

While Gem pretends she doesn’t want anything to do with him, it is all a show. The day I hauled him out to ride, she came flying to the gate nickering and acting all not Gem like once the trailer was pulling back down the drive. I barely got the halter off before she took him galloping off to a far corner out of my reach.  The big orange beast wiggles under your skin pretty easily. Its hard not to love him.

Pete for his part adores the young guy. Pete would make the perfect horse to baby sit babies. He is playful and kind yet doesn’t let things get too out of hand and will put them in their place when needed. When we first moved here he was boarded with a young gelding and they would gallop, rear and play all day long. I asked Dusty in passing if he thought the old man, now 28, would return to that level once it cooled down and we both thought maybe he had gotten too old.

Well….let me tell you how wrong I was.

Florence brought cooler temperatures and a misting rain that lasted 36 hours. Pete was in heaven with those conditions and picked on Eeyore non stop to play. Of course I missed the massive tail flagged sprints, the farting and squealing but I did manage to catch a bit of the action. It was all Pete instigated too. Eeyore better be in the mood to play one fall and winter hit.

Honestly, even with all the disasters of his early days here, I don’t think I could have picked a better horse to introduce to the herd. Eeyore floats in and out of their romance, choosing to graze right next to them at time sand choosing to wander off while they are side by side. He follows Gem’s lead mostly without question although he grazes more and naps less than they do. None of them have come in with a bite or kick mark yet he plays with Pete when asked.

And me? I finally have a horse that chooses to walk up to me when he notices I’m around. He doesn’t run and hide behind a tree or play hard to catch. If I’m working in the pasture, he is right there supervising my tasks. I love it. I’m hoping he remains sound and continues to be enjoyable under saddle, but even if he had to be retired at a young age he has no worried about leaving our farm. He has wiggled his Big Orange Butt in to a permanent spot regardless of his usefulness as a riding horse.