My Boy's Got That Lovin' Feeling

Well goodness, My Boy's perky little ears must be burning right about now because I have to tell you about one more peculiar gelding behavior that I noticed in him last weekend. In fact, I even asked the veterinarian about it when she was out on Tuesday.

After working My Boy in the arena on Sunday, my sister brought in her mare Brandy to do free lunge her. We let our horses visit as we chatted for a minute.

Look at Brandy playing hard to get. Acting like she doesn't see that he's giving her the eye. Typical mare!

My Boy nickered at Brandy and they began sniffing each other.
Before long, they were rubbing their lips on each other's neck in bliss.

Then, My Boy began to get, well, um, how exactly do I say this? A little too excited. We pulled them a part before My Boy got any crazy ideas. My Boy was kept a stallion until he was a yearling. He sired one or two foals before he was gelded. I asked the vet if a gelding would ever mount a mare. She said that when they are gelded late, some geldings retain a learned stallion behavior, rather than act on hormones, but is very rare for a gelding to actually mount a mare. I do not think My Boy would've tried any funny business. But I wanted to spare dear Brandy. After all, she is a bit innocent.
My Boy and moved outside of the arena and watched as my sister free-lunged Brandy, and I snapped a few pictures.

I like the way Brandy's mane looks in this one. My Boy liked it, too, oh yea.

Although this one is a little blurry and almost out of the frame, it shows off her half-Arabian knee and hock action.

After Brandy ran her sillies out, we felt a 12-year old moment coming on. To cool out the horses, we tied the lead ropes to the halters, jumped on bareback, and walked them around the arena. I took a picture of my sister riding Brandy. After downloading it, I noticed something I had never seen before. Sis, if you are reading this, which I know you will, you might want to stop here for a minute before you read any further. And go get a Dr. Pepper and a Kleenex.
My sister was smiling. In fact, she was grinning from ear to ear in almost every bareback picture I snapped of her that day. I have rarely seen my sister smile while she is riding. Don't get me wrong, my sister is a happy person. When she takes her happy pills. Just kidding! But seriously, she is usually concentrating so hard and looks so serious when she rides. How does having no saddle, no bit in your mare's mouth, and no helmet, and therefore, no real sense of security, allow one to relax and smile? Perhaps it was sitting on her horse's warm bony back with nothing but a strap of webbed nylon for control, that brought back those carefree joys of being 12 years old again. In our youth, we were not limited by all that can go wrong. We thought we were invincible, and we enjoyed moments such as this for what they were.

A few posts ago, I wrote about Brandy's uneducated upbringing and my sister's journey with this mare's insecurities and lack of trust. My sister said to me in the arena as she walked around on her horse, "You know, I wouldn't have been able to do this on Brandy a year ago." I think for about ten minutes that day, my sister truly enjoyed a special partnership with her mare that she had never felt before. Don't look back sis, because you and your little mare can only go forward from here!

After we took a few spins around the arena, we hand grazed the lovebirds in the field behind My Boy's pasture. We all enjoyed a little quality time together last weekend.

Mares, geldings, goats, and their humans, we are all one happy, lovin' family on the farm!