Brandy and My Boy are great horse buddies. He is very protective of "his" mare. Last year on our family guest ranch trip, my trail ride order out of the several horses on the ride was to follow Brandy, and Paint Girl's other mare, Fritzy. My Boy pranced and jigged behind them. He had never done this on the trail before! Really, exerting that much extra energy is not his thing. I was not thrilled to be riding in an unknown wilderness full of elk and coyotes and bears, having my horse nervously jigging beneath me. Sure, when I was 15, I thought jiggy trail rides were da bomb. I actually bought a pony once because he pranced on the trail during my trial ride on him.I consulted the trail boss and asked if I could trying moving in front of the mares. Problem solved immediately, no more jigging. Somehow, he was more comfortable leading those mares into the unknown wind-swept, hot, dry pines, rather than letting the women lead. Hmmm.
Brandy and My Boy always seem to be very comfortable near each other, whether in the trailer, tied at the hitching rail, on the trail, or in the arena. I think he provides a calm, stable partner for her in many situations. A "stable" partner. Get it?
He's like her rock.
This is a good thing, since my sister Paint Girl and I spend a lot of time together while on the back of this guy and gal, and we wouldn't want it any other way.
Aww what a little spotty stud muffin.
ReplyDeleteFunny how even though they aren't really boys, in a sense, they still manage to nab the gals.
True LOVE! What a great story. I didn't see that going on because I was the leader of the pack!
ReplyDeleteXOXO
I love it when they have a favorite buddy it is so cute! I think he just wanted all the ladies to watch his handsome back side. :)
ReplyDeleteWell, at least he gets to be lose with the girls (or so I assume!) without you having to worry about what the outcome will be! I can't bring a guy to our girls (there are no geldings in Niger) without them claiming him!
ReplyDeleteBrandy and My Boy really do seem very calm together. Arwen and Illami got along very well too, but problem was, Arwen fell in love and wanted more, and Illami was happy to oblige her!!
Leave it to a man to have to be in the driver's seat. Did he refuse to stop and ask for directions, LOL?!!! It's neat that they get along so well. Can you imagine all the extra trouble it would cause if they didn't!
ReplyDeleteDoes your boy act silly when the other horses are out of the pasture like mine do? My gelding is meaner than a snake to Jones but just take her out of the pasture and he pitches a fit!
ReplyDeleteMost of the horses seem to have best friends - which is really nice for them as long as they don't become so attached that they can't be separated. Some horses also seem to have favorite grooming partners - my mare Maisie, who is low in the pecking order, is the favorite grooming partner of our alpha mare Lily. Lily, by the way, seems to thing that all geldings are beneath contempt (but then she feels that way about most people too)!
ReplyDeleteToo funny those little personality quirks our horses have. I love watching how horses interact with eachother...Brandy and My Boy are so sweet together!
ReplyDelete{Kate}~ Brandy is kept with Fritzy, the other mare, not My Boy. They are pastured near each other and can see each other, but don't have contact. I am nervous about putting a mare and gelding together, even though they get along, it's an unknown. In the past, it was never considered because they ate different kinds of hay and My Boy's shelter is only big enough for one horse. I'm not sure how he would react if both mares were hauled away, I'm assuming he would run around and neigh a bit! ;)
ReplyDeleteVery cute picture! The first few rides out every season our two "brats" aka "the boys", have this thing that they always have to go through to get past. It's a competitive thing...you know, like brothers have? They always puff up like peacocks, prance around and each one wants to be in front - you know, the leader of the pack. So, we put up with their shenanigans for a while...and then force them to take turns being in front. Whoever's behind goes to jigging and whoever's in front, relaxes and performs like a gentleman. Eventually, the game turns old and then settle into their routines and nobody cares who's the leader. *sigh* What we have to put up with!?
ReplyDeleteWhat's really funny is when there's a suspected boogey in the bushes...or up ahead, "said coward" pauses, steps aside, and allows the other guy to take the lead. You know, the maybe the monster will eat him and I'll get away syndrome? Horses!! For being so big, they sure can be chickens!!
As the "trailboss" of that ride I thank you very much for following the rules of the trail!
ReplyDeleteJesse will be in any spot I put him or thru anything I ask. This summer will be interesting with Little lady and The King!!! The King hated for Jesse to be in the lead and when I would pretend we were going pass him...he would gate sideways to block us! One time when I was on the King and your MOM was on Jesse, Jesse trotted down a hill and passed the king. We had a HI hO SILVER moment as we jokingly call them...it really pissed the king off!LOL
cute post, love the pic.
ReplyDeleteYes, Brandy and your boy are in love! I am so very happy they get along, since we ride so much together, have to be trailered together etc.
ReplyDeleteYour boy doesn't do much when I take one of my horses out, the other one is still there. When the shoer comes out and I have both down at the house, he'll stand under his tree and whinny from time to time, not sure what he does when we go trail riding without you, cuz we aren't there to observe! LOL!
Pesky our old horse is soured to my mare in the worst way!
ReplyDeleteLook at him and his girl!
I am so envious that you have a whole family of horse family.. to go out and plan cool trail rides.. if I was near you guys..you would have a new family member.. ME!
ReplyDeleteI had a horse that did the same thing.. always had to be head horse on the ride!
Jan..:)
Ohhhhh ... how sweet is that! And such a good girl to let My Boy be the big man around town.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it just great when they need each other. Makes our lives so much easier.
Great photo ... love all over the place, for sure.
{Jan}~ You are welcome to hang out with us any time! ;)
ReplyDeleteMy Boy doesn't care if he's in the front or back, on our usual trail rides, with just the two mares. When he is in the front, he is a little more "on guard" and aware, blazing the trail. When he's in the back, he's relaxed, falls way behind...it's funny. But for some reason, being in a large group of horses like on that particular trip, he really didn't like it. :)
What a sweet boy!! It's so great that you and Paint Girl are so close and get to spend so much time together!!
ReplyDeleteThat says a lot about his personality that he's comfortable leading. Poco, on the other hand, is all bluster. He does not like leading the pack at all. Without me holding him back, he'll walk with his nose up Jaz's butt! "Friendship is one thing, but let the bears eat YOU first. No offense, buddy!"
ReplyDeleteAnd forget mares. Jaz is fine, but they make Poco STUPID.
Oh, it's so funny what horses do sometimes. They can be real finicky! Great post; oh, and a point of interest for you all might be these Absorbine coupons I just found: http://www.absorbine.com/offers.html . Perfect timing for me as I need some ShowSheen...
ReplyDelete{Nikki R.} Thanks for the coupon tip! Always looking for ways to save on my horse habit!
ReplyDeleteAwww, how sweet:)
ReplyDeleteI am with ya, no jigging horses!! Nice cool calm quite horses! Geldings are funny. Sometimes they love the woman and sometimes they just don't ever notice them. I am glad that Your Boy gets along with Brandy. It makes things really nice for trail riding!! :)
ReplyDeleteCute photo of those two...silly boyz ;~)
ReplyDeleteWhat a silly My Boy he is. Does he feel the same way towards Fritzy, too? If Fritzy is like my mare, she probably wants nothing at all to do with geldings. I swear, it's as if she thinks geldings are beneath her and are just annoying. lol!
ReplyDeleteEverytime I went out with Val and she rode Scout, her Hidalgo-esque pony, something always went wrong (she was riding him when Baby Doll spooked, too...and when she bolted....and when she went all bat poop and started spinning in circles and jigging all over the road). I've always thought it's because her Scout is so unpredictable. He's got some of the appy silliness and some of that Arabian hyperness and some of that calm pinto pony stuff.
But at any given time during the ride, you just never knew how he was going to act. It's like he has multiple personalities. I don't think Baby Doll is comfie with that and it unnerves her.
She relaxes and enjoys trails with Val's two Arabian mares, though. Even Annie, who can be nervous and spooky sometimes will cause my mare to somehow act braver and stronger for her, as to calm her friend down.
But don't set her up with any crazy geldings! lol!
~Lisa