Totally true!
Today I went out to see my horses and my filly saw me coming and walked away from her friends and her hay to greet me. How wonderful!
…
but then she walked right past me! Only turned around to come back when she saw that I had a banana and apple in my pocket :lol:
This
I’m a confirmed mare-lover too. This may sound weird, but in my experience I’ve found that most mare love to be complimented. No kidding–just a few words on how pretty/sweet/smart they are etc. Probably has something to do with taking the time for the interaction, plus the sound of your voice while giving the compliment. Try it–it might work for you too.
I will never have another horse but a mare.
That said… 3 years. 3 years until my girl decided to nicker at me. 3. Flipping. Years.
Interestingly for us, it was her getting hurt and seeing me every day, sometimes 3 times a day to help her through it that finally solidified our relationship. She knows I’m her corner, but man was she tough. I’ve never seen anything like it. The more I tried, the more she walked away.
Also, the whole tell her she is pretty and beautiful, and smart… LOL You will figure out what her thing is when she is ready to tell you, and not a minute sooner.
Thank you all for your feedback- I don’t feel so bad now! I’ve worked around mares but haven’t had one since I was a kid (and she and I went together about as well as fire and gasoline. That is to say it was never good). So this mare is very good, as opposed to my childhood mare who always came up with a creative new way to try and kill me. But I was a teenager so I can’t really blame her I suppose lol.
Im just working on getting her involved rather than going through the motions. Sometimes she will come over and want attention and other times she turns away when she sees me coming. The boys are always there asking for scratches etc, but they are respectful and if they aren’t they do get put in their place, even though they’re cute- they aren’t allowed to be bad.
My mare is very submissive in the herd, which surprised me. She’ll stand up for herself if she is pushed too hard but doesn’t keep the boys in line very well out there.
I do want to get a chiropractor out to look at her though, her previous owner said she’s needed adjusted before so she could be grouchy about that too.
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