I saw Harv for the first time since Saturday -- went riding, fed him five apples and some mints, and turned him out for the night. Harv and his pasture mate Sonny have totally bonded. It's nice that they're attached, but Sonny is obsessed. Can a horse be co-dependent? Watch how he intercepts my attempts to interact with Harv. Could he be jealous? Protective? Or just looking for attention himself? As a point of interest, Sonny's racing name was "Forty dollar bra."
The point of the video was going to be Harv's nice condition and weight gain since he got a little gaunt this winter. It was hard to get a good picture though, he kept following me. I'm so blessed that Harv is well. At least one of my boys has a low maintenance lifestyle...
Harper's Index of Harvey's Health
- Number of abscesses (*lifetime total): 1
- Number of lost shoes (*lifetime total): 1
- Number of leg lamenesses (excluding injuries) lasting over 3-4 days: 0
- Number of colics requiring a vet visit: 0
- Biggest medical mystery: Seasonal bouts of bucking when girthed (every April and October)
- Biggest medical expense: Sinus surgery in 1998
- Most injured body part: head
- Medical claim to fame: Highest Lyme titer ever measured at Cornell U.
- Best conformation feature: Good bone
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Gotta love a horse like Harv. That's quite a good health record.
ReplyDeleteSonny's attitude is a bit of both, I suspect. My guys tend to herd each other away when I go out, depending on what I am doing. So it's a bit of jealousy and a bit of "I want some attention" too. He's awfully cute about it, though. *lol*
Nice to have a (mostly) healthy horse - we could all use more of those! They're very cute together!
ReplyDeleteWhat gorgeous horses! Wow, and the property looks so pretty as well. Isn't it nice when you have a relatively low maintenance horse? That's a heck of a health record, how old is he now?
ReplyDeleteBodhi tends to make friends with the codependent clingy horses. I often wonder if it is his personality that attracts them or if it is his behavior that causes otherwise normal horses to act like stalkers! Harvey looks great! What a handsome man!
ReplyDeleteI think Harv is whom people refer to when they say "Healthy as a horse!" :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, cool "Claim to Fame"!
You better knock on wood- mentioning how everything is hunky dory is a sure fire way to ask for trouble. The vet called to see if we needed any horses vaccinated and I mentioned that we were good- no need to schedule any appointments. We had a horse break his cranium (still trying to figure out HOW-especially since he is probably the most chill horse on the place- not the one you can imagine was dinking around being naughty)and another colic within a couple of weeks of that call. The vets office jinxed us. On a positive note- both horses are doing just fine. Knock on wood! It is nice to have a low maintenance horse though. You've been through a lot with Riley and it's hard- especially since he's so young- always a scary thought.
ReplyDeleteOf course you're right Sunfire Ranch :-). I feel bad that my posts have relayed such downer information, I wanted to highlight the positives in my life which are many. But I'm knocking wood furiously, thanks for the tip...
ReplyDeleteHey, horses are herd animals. Obviously, you have established yourself as the Head Honcho! It could be worse -- you could be chasing him down every day! As for the obsession, yes, Sonny could certainly be infatuated with Harv. It's like the goats they provide race horses with as stable buddies. Those horses lose their minds if they are away form their buddy for very long. Harv may simply be Sonny's goat. Harv may have been gaunt last winter, but he looks great now and he sure has a nice trot.
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