Standard required picture:
Rosie and Comet share a pasture. I'd been feeding them together, but Rosie is (hopefully) preparing for a growth spurt as she's slimming down (with the new grass and same amount of feed) and Comet is plumping up on the spring grass. Comet needs less feed, Rosie needs more. A month or so ago I started bringing Comet in to feed him in a hanging feeder while I fed Rosie in the pasture. After a couple of days Comet started getting hard to catch. Then I got busy & we had some bad weather and my shoulder was bothering me, so I just started feeding them in the pasture again for a couple weeks.
Yesterday I brought Comet in again and fed him his little two handfuls and fed Rosie in the pasture.
Today Comet was like, "NO!" and started backing up away from the halter - I could have caught him, but I decided to turn the tables on him and caught Rosie instead. I tied her up, took Comet his two handfuls and brought in the feed pan and held Rosie while she ate. Comet didn't even finish his grain at first - he trotted after me to the gate, tried to get in, and stared sadly for a minute. Then he went and gobbled up his food, came back to the gate and proceeded to throw a mini-fit - pushing his head into the gate, pawing like crazy, banging on the gate.
Today Comet was like, "NO!" and started backing up away from the halter - I could have caught him, but I decided to turn the tables on him and caught Rosie instead. I tied her up, took Comet his two handfuls and brought in the feed pan and held Rosie while she ate. Comet didn't even finish his grain at first - he trotted after me to the gate, tried to get in, and stared sadly for a minute. Then he went and gobbled up his food, came back to the gate and proceeded to throw a mini-fit - pushing his head into the gate, pawing like crazy, banging on the gate.
I honestly think he is perfectly aware that if he doesn't eat with Rosie, he doesn't get as much food - and so he doesn't want me to catch him and bring him out.
I mean, seriously? Whoever heard of a horse getting harder to catch when you bringing them in to feed them?
It makes me laugh. A lot.
