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There are many similarities between a family and a herd. As in most support systems, the healthier the individuals, the healthier the system. “Hello, I’m Gracie and I was born on this farm. I’ve always been safe, secure and well cared for. I’m a pretty easy going girl.”
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This is part of my herd. For most of my life, I’ve shared a pasture with Scout, my ½ brother, and Luther. More on them in later slides. They are both 15 and I’m 10.
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Scout is the top horse of our herd. He is very easy going but everyone respects his quiet way of communicating and leadership. When he came to live here, he had some fears to overcome because of the “heavy hands” that had been used with him. It took a lot of time, patience and love but he learned that he could trust the humans here.
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Luther was born up north and lived in a stall before coming to live here in 2010. He has some habits because of his former life that aren’t really good for him. Some of those issues are much better now that the stressors in his life have been greatly decreased. He is what the humans here call “high maintenance”. We believe that just because some are harder to love, doesn’t mean they should be treated any differently nor loved any less.
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Luther thinks he’s the leader; it took a long time for Scout and me to accept him into the herd, but now that we have, we also accept his sometimes odd ways.
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He eventually catches on and we enjoy hanging out together.
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Some relationships are very close, like us. We have a lot of the same traits, values and behaviors. This makes our relationship pretty healthy. We do respect each other’s differences and boundaries but spend much of our time, side by side; sometimes even mirroring each other’s behaviors.
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Notice Charlie in the background. He’s only been here a few months. This is his 5th home and he hasn’t really had a herd for a long time. It has been difficult for us to allow him into the herd.
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He really wants to be a part.
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He and Luther are especially having a hard time. Maybe because Luther isn’t as tight as Scout and me, he takes out that frustration on Charlie.
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For now, we are taking as much time as is needed to work on this relationship. We are still getting to know each other.