Okay, so I went to see this filly.

When I went there, I was ready to see an angry filly with her ears flat back, showing me her teeth, and knowing how to use them, steam coming out of her ears, and fire out of her nostrils.  After all, she had tossed two people, knocked them down, putting her stamp of disapproval on their bodies.  Trust me, I have known horses from hell.  They are few and far between, but they do exist.  Usually caused by man-made problems, but there were a few that just seemed possessed.

I walked in the barn and saw her with her head over the stall door, ears forward, looking with excitement for someone to come visit her.  It was one of the coldest days we’ve had so far.  One red flag.  Six month old, who had been weaned the day she was brought into the stall, a month ago.  Three more red flags.  She’s kept in the barn with no other animal for company.  Red flag.  The question is – was she really interested in company, or her next victim.  As I walked closer I noticed she had bright kind eyes, with a happy excited expression.  Never once did her ears flick back.  I approached her sideways and let her sniff my shoulder, and then she moved up to my hair.  I kept a close watch on her, out of the corner of my eye.  She showed no signs of aggression, or fear.  I showed her my hand, and let her smell it, and then gently touched her.  She didn’t pull away, and seemed to invite more.  So I went into her stall, and let her check me out.  She was okay with that, so I started scratching her gently.  She told me what she felt was acceptable for now, and I was okay with that.  The more time I spent, the more she trusted me and allowed me to do.  She didn’t give her trust easily.  She made you take one step at a time.  She knew my girlfriend better, so I instructed her on how to work her way around this fillies body, rubbing, scratching, touching, and working her way down the legs until the filly allowed her to pick up her feet.  She agreed to allow us to rub her ears, eyes, and lift her lip.  She actually started to love the attention, and thought we could be her new best friends.

It seems that no one ever asked her permission to touch her.  They just came in and man-handled her.  I know sometimes vets are on a tight schedule, but it doesn’t take that long to rub her a little, and speak soft, kind words to her.

Let’s look at it from her perspective.  You’re a young child.  You’ve been brought into a hospital room, your mother has been removed from the room, and some strange man comes in.  He approaches your bed and starts grabbing your arms and legs, and starts injecting needles into your body.  He never calmly tells you who he is, or what he is planning to do.  More important he never tells you that everything will be alright, and that he is your friend.  You have pain and swelling, and he starts poking at the sore area.  You may cry, scream, or thrash around.  Sounds logical to me.

Now we are talking about a fight or flight animal.  If a child is going to kick and scream, why are we amazed when this foal behaves the same way.

By the time I was ready to leave, she was all over me.  Happy as a clam to find people who were kind, and were interested in who she was, and how she felt.  It was a simple case of asking permission.  Now some people will think “I don’t need permission, this is just nonsense”, but is it?

Horses are like woman, some women love the caveman type, but most want a gentle soul, who will to take the time to understand them, and reassure them that they will be safe in their care.  There was a country western song a few??? years back, that said “I want a man with a slow hand, I want a lover with an easy touch.”  Hello! so do horses.

Each case is different.  You must always be calm, assertive, and confident.   But you must also know when it’s the right time to be “touchy, feely.”