A little bit of loving

When I first got Red he grazed at a property in the Waitakere Ranges. Actually it was the same property that the infamous black Bank of New Zealand horse used to graze at. We first put him with a couple of other horses grazing in the paddock but he got bullied so we took him out (hes usually the dominant horse so this was surprising). Then those horses were taken by their owners to another place so Red was all on his lonesome. Most of you know that horses are herd animals. They rely on other horses for protection and companionship so Red must of been missing his equine friends sorely. I saw him most days so at least he was getting attention from humans.

He obviously liked having us around because one day he did something I'll always remember. He was in the largest paddock in the property... it had quite a lot of grass but also a small lake and a big patch of forest. I had gone out to see him and give him feed but when I got there he wasn't anywhere to be seen. If I had decided to walk to get him there wasn't much chance of actually finding him in that huge paddock, I could have been looking for hours. So instead I decided to try call him. I stood on top of the hill, "REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDD" I yelled as loud as I could "REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD". Then, from the depths of the forest I heard a loud whinny. Then the distant sound of hoofbeats. After a few minutes Red came galloping out of the forest whinnying all the way, and straight up the hill to me. He slid to a stop in front of me and nuzzled my hands (probably looking for food).

Oh that was a great day. The joy of my horse coming happily, even excitedly to me was incredible. Every horse-lovers dream I'm sure. But alas, it didn't last. Now that he lives with a herd he'll only occasionly come calling up to me, and he sometimes even turns and walks away when he sees me coming. These horses have no gratitude I tell you! After all I've done for him! Oh well when I see him walking away from me in I just try to remember the happier days when he actually wanted to see me.