Saturday, November 10, 2012

Working with Mufasa

Today was clear and cold.  We never made it out of the 40s and a cold wind blew all day long.  I wore a jacket over my hoodie, kept my hands dug deep in my pockets, and felt the sting of cold on my cheeks. 

Today's high... not very high.

Mufasa is starting to settle in.  He still isn't thrilled with being in the stall.  He comes in, grabs a mouthful of hay, walks back outside and munches it out there.  He is a long way from being comfortable enough to hang his head out into the aisle.  This is as close as he comes.

We decided to try putting the horses together out in the pasture this afternoon.  Winston is a basket case in his stall; his five year old brain just doesn't do well with confinement.  And Mufasa hates being in as well.  In the afternoon, I worked Winston a bit in the arena to take the edge off before turning them loose together.  Surprisingly, despite the wind and cold temperatures, he was very calm.  No bucks.  No racing around. 

Giving me "the look"
I turned him back into the pasture and Brett got Mufasa out.  They played in the arena, did some free lunging and some ground work. 
I love his red dorsal stripe.  Can you see it running down the middle of his back?


Mufasa has beautiful ground manners.  And his gaits aren't shabby either.  Brett is going to ride him tomorrow and I've already asked if I can hop on him as well.  He looks like he'd be a blast to ride.



When they finished playing and bonding...

 Brett turned Mufasa out in the pasture with Winston and the donkeys.  Initially, they ignored each other and then there was a brief episode of cantering around.  Winston is hell bent on dominating Mufasa so he wouldn't let Mufasa near the barn end of the pasture.  Mufasa stood at the bottom, near the pond, looking submissive and forlorn. 

An hour or so later, we let Flash out with the other two.  Jackson was wagging his head around in his paddock, trying to get his opinion heard.  They ignored him.  When Brett fed tonight, he put a bin down at the far end for Mufasa.  Hopefully, they will all be friends by the morning.  Flash is a mellow alpha so we're hoping he tells Winston to get over himself. 

Braised lamb shanks and parmesan polenta for dinner.  Wood fire blazing.  Cold, cold night on tap.


14 comments:

  1. Mufasa is a handsome horse and I love his dorsal stripe. Cold and windy here too. What a difference a week makes!

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  2. mufasa is a beautiful chestnut in the sun. :)

    nice, solid good-looking horse.

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  3. Mufasa is a stunner, and his eye is just so kind.
    I love the clip of Mufasa following Brett around. So beautiful!

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  4. What makes Mufasa a red dun as opposed to a chestnut? Is it the fact that he has a dorsal stripe? Is it one of those cases where if you look at the genetics you see a dun gene there? Just curious...

    He looks beautiful and it really looks like him & Brett are going to make a TEAM.

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  5. I can see the connection between Brett and Mufasa already. They are going to make a great team. Hope you can video the first rides.

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  6. Herd dynamics are something else are`nt they? It always amazes me just what they are saying to each other.

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  7. I love chestnuts, the sparkiest, most fun horses I ever rode were all chestnuts save for one black mare who still holds a special place in my heart.

    And the red stripe! How cool is that, to have a go-faster stripe!

    Impressed by your rope-less lunging, I have never seen that done before.

    Happy days for you all! :-)

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  8. Mufasa is beautiful, what a color! I love the picture where he is in motion with his mane flying in the wind. Cold here too, 12 F this morning. My cheeks hurt when I walked Samson before sunrise.

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  9. You can tell by the video tho that Brett and Mufasa have a great connection. So fun fun fun!!!!! The herd dynamics will get worked out...that seems to always be the hardest part. Not surprised he isn't thrilled with the stall if he was a ranch horse. Have fun and tell Winston to get over himself - haha.

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  10. You are such a great story teller. Such a beautiful new horse! I got a chuckle reading about how he grabs a bite and eats it outside. Such personalities!

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  11. Congrats on the new horse. He looks great! :-D

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  12. Brett and Mufasa look like a good match!

    Adding a new horse shakes things up a bit... Winston cracks me up!

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  13. That video brought a smile to my face. Mufasa does have nice movement. And a kind eye. And a lovely head. And yes, his dorsal stripe is adorable. :)

    Winston is just making sure that he keeps his spot. He probably heard you ask Brett if you could ride Mufasa.

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Thanks so much for commenting!