To help get me through this cold winter I bought Jutta Wiemers book “From Leading to Liberty, 100 Training Games your Horse Will Want to Play”. It contains the following paragraph: “When parking (standing still) is established you should demand a further sign of politeness from the horse, i.e. that which the lead-mare in the herd will ask for from time to time to make sure she still has everyone’s respect. When the lead mare stares at another horse, that horse must turn his nose away. Compare this gesture to that demanded by the boss who expected his employees to lift their hats when he entered the factory. Today, with our hatless society, our signs of politeness have greatly deteriorated. Not so among horses!”
This paragraph was one of many I’d read yesterday morning. Later that day I left the lower barn and turned towards the front paddock to bring Zelador and Zeloso in. I looked up to see them both at the gate looking towards me. AND, simultaneously, they both slowly turned their heads (noses) to the right, then faced me again. Their movement was like a precisely choreographed Pas de Deux.
Amazing!
