MEETING MY NEW HORSE:
I met my new stallion not too long ago when he was found starved in a home. They called me to see if I would have any interest in taking him in, and as I usually do, I replied with a forceful yes. I walked out the front door of my house situated on around 20 acres of land and over to the trailer in which they had loaded my stallion into. They had called ahead of time and informed me that they had quite a hard time getting him into the trailer and that they don't know what condition he may be in when they arrived. I waited outside for a little while, checking my watch, they should've been there by then. I see the blue truck with beige-ish colored trailer in tow and give a little wave to the driver, watching as he wound up the driveway to the front of my ranch. He got out of his truck and came around the back to help me get out my new stallion. I took a small step back away from the doors to let him open them and when there was only a sliver of light the stallion jumped and lunged at the opening, being held back by his lead. I cooed to him trying to calm him down but I could see the tremendous fear in his eyes. I was prepared for this, having adopted many horses that came from neglected homes, and typically fostered them back to health to be adopted again, but this stallion seemed different, he intrigued me.
Two of my dogs suddenly came running around from the side of the trailer and skid to a stop as the stallion jumps back in surprise. They gently sniff around sensing the tense situation. My one comes to sit at my side disinterested while the other continues to sniff the stallion curiously, which returns the behavior, carefully measuring my dog to decide whether she's friend or foe. He must decide she's not much of a danger as he loosens a little and lets out a little sigh. My dog decides she's checked him out enough and comes back a few feet before standing patiently. I carefully and slowly walk up to the stallion with my hand outstretched. He reaches his neck out a little and sniffs then snorts and backs further away into the trailer. At this point he's gotten a sniff of me but is cautious because the trailer he's stuck in means no chance of escape if I turn out to be an enemy. I was sure he had already experienced this type of closure and helplessness in his old "home" so I decided it was time to coax him out of the trailer. With help from the man I took the lead and slackened it a little, then tugged gently to try and get him to follow me. He took a small step then stopped abruptly, not sure of his surroundings. He craned his neck a little more to try and see out of the trailer but he couldn't get a very good view. He took another small step and looked again. Seeming to decide that there wasn't a threat that he could see, he slowly came forward and walked out of the trailer onto the compacted dirt ground.
He took another look around and then looked me right in the eye, I looked back. I reached into my pocket and produced a treat that I had been keeping in my pocket for him when he arrived. I held it in my outstretched hand to him and he sniffs it cautiously. He warily takes it and chews it, watching me and his surroundings the whole time. He seems to become less tense as time continues and we start to walk toward the stable and his new stall, my hand stroking his neck leisurely the whole way. Once we get to the stall he stops abruptly and fear flashes across his face again. He rebels against the idea of being put in another confined space and I decide to let him settle in in one of the bigger pastures and acclimate before pushing him to face this particular fear. As I lead him back out of the stables and away from the stall he looks at my curiously and graciously. I put him in a pasture by himself that leads up to another pasture where some of my mares are currently grazing. I'm hoping he chooses to go and meet them and be social, but if he decides against it or it's not a good fit he can have his solidarity for the day. I give his neck a pat one more time, take off his lead, close the gate and go giving him a warm smile and goodbye. In a few hours I'll be taking him to his new stall, but for now I feel that our first meeting together went better than I would've expected.
