I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I am trying to identify why my heart responds to Tex so strongly but not to Lucy. I've had great partners and I've had incompatible partners and the space they take in my heart just doesn't seem logical.
Starman was a fun little horse and he gave me confidence when I had lost it. I loved him, and I was very sad when we lost him, but he wasn't my heart horse. He might have been Camille's heart horse, though.
Auke was gorgeous and fun to ride but he wasn't my heart horse either. I would happily share my root-beer with him and he was sweet but I felt more pride (look at me and my fancy horse), than love. (He's for sale by his current owner if any of you are interested in a stunning, sweet Friesian).
Jackson was my first heart horse. He wasn't expensive or fancy; just a grey Paint horse without any flashy markings. But, he has these huge expressive eyes and a goofy personality. He marches to his own drummer in many ways but always gave me everything he had -- even when it hurt. He still does that, hobbling to the barn when his feet hurt, or eating his bute laced bucket (and he HATES bute), taking a bite, looking at me, sighing, and taking another.
Winston and I were incompatible.
Lucy should be a heart horse. When I ride her, I am filled with joy. Lucy likes to go and she is willing to try and figure me out, as long as I am being fair. She follows me around her pasture, begging for affection. I can hold her head in my arms, wrap my arms around her neck, and she would groom me back if I let her. I think it must be the pushy, prima dona, princess part of her personality that keeps me from falling in love. She over-reacts to just about everything; windy days, turkeys, the rain, and bugs. She is also jealous beyond belief and demands my attention, and everyone else's, all for herself. Buffy can't visit Pistol unless one of us holds Lucy and showers her with attention. ...she doesn't share with her friends. It irritates me. I know, she's just being Lucy -- she's a sensitive alpha mare -- but someday's I just wish she would give it a rest.
I like quiet, shy animals. My favorite goat is Whiskey, the one who silently sidles up to me and stands quietly waiting for me to notice him. It isn't Bear, or even Thistle, who are gregarious and affectionate, and will head butt any other goat who tries to get close.
Which brings me to Tex. He's quiet, with an undercurrent of brilliant energy and speed. He's shy and unsure, he wants a relationship with me but he's not sure how to go about it. Some days, he is brave and almost confident. He nudges me for cookies and welcomes my touch. Other days, he is worried and withdrawn. He steps away and flinches; he drops cookies in his haste to escape to his personal space. But he always looks at me with his soft, melted chocolate eyes, and asks me to stay. I think it must be the quiet try in him that calls to me so strongly.
What kind of horse (or animal) personality draws you in?
