Unlike Any Other Pet

Thursday, January 17, 2019

A wintery sun lowers over the Cascades as my donkey, Pimmy, approaches my horse, Rosie, and confidently leans toward the horse’s dinner. Rosie rarely objects to Pimmy, or if so its momentary, for Pimmy always eats with her. The donkey eventually ambles twenty-feet away toward a different pile of hay belonging to Rosie’s sister, Sunni. Pimmy eats awhile with Sunni before casually returning to Rosie’s hay. In other words, Pimmy does as she pleases.

The horses are full sisters who behave differently. Rosie the oldest has the temperament of a lead mare, she allows no interferences from Sunni. Herd rules give Rosie the first choice of hay piles. Sunni must stand back watching Rosie eat or go find her own pile. If Rosie decides she wants Sunni’s food and heads toward her, Sunni lets Rosie do as she wishes before heading for the hay that Rosie left behind. In feeding sessions, this is pile-switching. It may happen several times, Rosie taking from Sunni and making the younger mare seek food elsewhere.

Their behaviors reflect the social order among wild horses. Wild herds are ruled by stallions and lead mares. A herd consist mostly of mares and offspring too young to be on their own. Many horses prefer being in the middle or at the back of a herd. The lead mare is tough, for she must protect an entire herd if its stallion becomes distracted. The top mare must gather the herd, force it into a united group, and lead it from danger.

In Rosie’s little herd, she’s a bossy lead mare, while Sunni is happy as a middle-of-the-herd mare. Sunni keeps a distance from Rosie, but sometimes they’re physically close, like while grooming one another. At times I might be inconvenienced by their relationship, but can understand and work around it. What’s really cool is seeing Pimmy understanding herd mentality and working around it.

Pimmy succeeds because she knows her place. Her role is herd tag-along who neither challenges nor threatens the mares. They let Pimmy do as she pleases and tolerate her physical presence. They have limitations, however, for occasionally Pimmy manages to bug a horse. A faux kick directed at the donkey means, “Knock it off!”, and for awhile she does.

My equine trio demonstrates a social order in a fragmented herd. There’s a lead mare, a middle-of-the-herd mare, and a herd-follower. I never tire of watching the three interact with their roles lodged firmly. My biggest and most constant challenge is forever reminding Rosie, who’s pushy, that between us two, I’m the lead mare.

Long ago, someone said to me, “A horse is unlike any other pet.” It’s so true.

Dear Readers, have a great day, Diana