More on Those Wild and Crazy Arabian Horses

Scary at Scary's West commented in A Day in the Life of an Arabian Horse Breeder - Part 6
You don't really make the case for non-Arabian lovers who prefer "level headed horses". LOL. and she is absolutely right. Looking at the first posts in this series, it could look like Arabian horses are wild squirrelly things without a brain in their heads. But it could also look like these are highly spirited animals (which Arabian horses are indeed known for) who were cooped up way too long so that energy had to come out somewhere, and it did! Any breed of horses coped up under these circumstances would have been on the wild side.

The other side of this coin (had I decided to play it that way) was I could have taken my husband who isn't really a horse person or my brain damaged daughter along. Had either of them worked with any of these horses, it would have been a totally different picture. The horses would have been quiet and attentive wanting to take care of their inexperienced handlers.

That's one of my favorite things about Arabian horses. They are so smart and they care for people so much, they can tell who they can test and who they should baby-sit. That is what makes them my kind of horse. And to prove my point, I have a story to tell.

Back around the time I was just getting into horses, I had just purchased the Arabian gelding, Malachite (barn name Mark), to be my first show horse. The horse was ring sour but had loads of show ring experience and had packed a 13 and under rider around the ring like a perfect gentleman. So while I knew the horse would have problems as a show horse, I also knew he was totally kid safe.When I was ready to move on to the inexperienced horse I really wanted to show, this horse would be perfect for my youngest child.

The first day that Mark was on my farm, my oldest daughter arrived with her youngest at the time, Chris. I think Chris was about three years old and a handful, I might add. Colleen came with Chris specifically to see the new horse. I'm not sure who was more excited Colleen or the toddler.

We went out to the barn to take a look at Mark. All three of us went into the stall for an up close and personal visit. Chris particularly ooohed and awwwed over the horse petting on him and probably wanting to ride. We visited a bit in the stall and then we came out to look at the other horses.

Colleen and I talked for a while and petted horses over the top of stall doors while Chris played in the hay, or so we thought. I'm not sure how long the kid was actually gone. When we realized that Chris was no longer with us we glanced around and he was nowhere inside the barn.

From there we hurried outside searching for the missing child. I spotted the outside door to Mark's stall open. There inside was Chris hanging from Mark's back leg like it was a some kind of pole on a playground. He had one hand wrapped around the horse's hock and his feet planted firmly next to the horse's one hoof. From these anchor points Chris was swinging underneath the horse's belly waving at me. "Hi, Grandma!" pretty darn proud of himself, that kid was.

The horse on the other hand was looking at the kid, then turning his face back and looking at me, then back to looking at the kid. The expression on Mark's face was clearly alternating between "What is that kid doing under there!" and "Please, save me!"

Of course his mother shrieked when she spotted this sight and almost charged into the stall. I grabbed her by the arm stopping her, reminding her to NOT scare the horse. Things were fine as they were. I instructed her to lower her voice, breathe deep and stay right where she was. I would retrieve the child.

I walked into the stall slowly. First I instructed Chris to stop swinging off Mark's leg but to stay right where he was. Then I comforted the horse with my voice. I reached down and grabbed Chris while telling the horse to whoa. Mark didn't budge an inch until Chris was totally out of the stall.

The horse breathed a huge sigh. Mark then shook his head and neck like shaking off a deep shudder and blew lots of snots. Clearly the horse was relieved to have the new appendage removed from his leg but clearly confused about what and why this had even happened in the first place.

Chris, on the other hand, was estatic. His up close, personal and ALONE time with the horse was just what Chris had been hoping for. He was wired tighter than normal and babbling ninty miles an hour in three year old terms about what a great horse Mark was.

We tried to get it through his little pea brain how dangerous a move that had been but Chris was NOT buying it. The boy clearly had not felt the least bit threatened until we got our hands on him. Today, my only regret is that I don't have a picture of this amazing incident. If it doesn't prove my point about Arabian horses, nothing will.

Even today at the barn, when a three year old girl asked to pet on Storm, I had no qualms about stopping this red headed firey beast to let this child stroke his nose. The horse immediately got a soft look in his eye and dropped his head down to her level. This six year old stallion who can't keep his lips off me if he has nothing to do stood there quietly for a long as that child needed his attention. The horse never even wiggled a lip or raised his head until the child walked away. Once she was out of the arena, the horse's head flew back up as high as he could get it and things were back to normal for me. It made me smile.

There is nothing more touching to me than an Arabian horse with a child or a disabled person. They are the best, most sensitive horses ever. As therapy horses they are legendary for healing broken bodies and shattered souls.

The fact that these horses can take care of my husband, daughter and an assortment of grandkids when they would give me a hard time just makes them all the more endearing to me. How come some think that "level headed" doesn't apply to an Arabian horse? It can only be about their spirit and prejudice. I"ve spoken before and probably will write again about the trash talking Arabian horses get. For me, level headed means a horse who can tell when it's the right time to be firey and show off and when it's time to be quiet and soft. Give me a sensitive horse like that any day of the week.







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