Horse

There has been a few times of connection with the horses. I think it was my breathing and resolve to motion; very deliberate and relaxed. I would say this, its a difficult role, to be a 'keeper' of a living thing. I can feel a guilt at assigning roles to these horses, whom I can say from even just four days observing and interacting them, they have very distinguished character and a very impressive common sense available to them; it is almost a reverence I feel due to their incarceration and beauty. I also guess the young ones must be born with a rather high level of intelligence in order to survive. Though it may not be expressed as openly as the adults I've seen very keen observations on the part of the phillies and very clear communication, such as "hey, look at this, you forgot to lock the gate" as she makes a clatter with the loose chain. Its not often you can say your are deliberately taught by another species, what you need to do. IF birds only understood air pollution.

I don't mean to say anything against a horse farm just as I don't to a rock climber or nascar driver; we all have a passion of equal value, it is in our perspectives that there is a varying level of objectivity, or, observation. A horse farm is a good thing but I can;t imagine the expense of operating a large one with all the provisions to provide a great life to the animals. I can see myself, if I could reason with the dilemma of slavery/companion, with one, or even three horses. I think caring for more would require me to have a ranch and earn money off of them somehow which would offend the slavery issue. But one horse on the fringe would be a reasonable thing.

I am told of BLM horse auctions, Wild Mustangs. These horses are taken out of the 'wild'. OF course due to sprawl development there is not adequate land for a natural sized population to roam, hence the auctions are used to maintain numbers based on remaining land. The thought of adopting a wild horse to keep wild sounds like the best option for the slave conscious.

Would you want a Mare

It is also clear that to maintain a "good relationship" both the horse and the human must respect each other's space and needs. A horse must feel secure around you and be willing to coexist. You must provide an appropriate level of predictability for the horse, and the horse must not run away when you come close. I find every new encounter with the same horse requires an 'initiation' of sorts. I have only been working around horses for a handful of days so that alone is an issue; how well to they know me? How else could I 'introduce' myself and communicate to them I mean no harm then to establish the protocol and see to it we both follow.

In my case, I need to audibly communicate more with them to keep them aware of my presents. I do this around the mares when they're out or their pens. They are walking free all around you, running by and quietly coming up behind you to observe. What happens if you mistakenly sneak up behind one? I don't have any experience doing so and I can't imagine one could amass much. When I'm with the Stallions and they're in their pens, I sometimes fall into a routine of walking by the pens not introducing my walking by and mistakenly startle one of the guys. It's only the young one and the rescued one. The others seem to be very confident, and patient, almost knowing sooner or later I'll "behave".

Where is the line between "breaking an animal" and teaching them how to work together? I felt too guilty owning a car, how could I own a live creature such as a horse, a very smart creature capable of living without my help, a long and productive life? I should learn more about earth cultures such as the native americans to see how they regarded and treated these animals of utility or means.