This month, Odin will be celebrating his 1 year anniversary in a pasture. I’m sure that those of you who know Odin will never forget that he spent his first year at Bearfoot living in a dry lot round pen. It was awful for all of us to watch and we imagine, awful for Odin. But, that is well behind him now and as I’ve said, he’s been enjoying life in a pasture. Over the past year, Odin has relaxed a lot and seems very happy with his new life. He’s got quality hay, the best of supplements, some fresh green grass, several shade trees, and a beautiful view of the pond, especially in winter. He’s become more trusting of Susan and I over the months, startles less and when he does startle, he recovers much more quickly. Odin even knickers on occasion when he sees us coming and on some days will even walk toward us when he sees us by the gate.
All winter he slept in his wheat straw bed inside the Kentucky barn. It was the cutest site to come in early in the morning and see his big ole body print in the straw. It warmed our hearts to know that he was tucked in safe and had a warm bed to cozy up in on the cold winter nights. Each day we re-fluffed his bed laughing as we removed a leg indentation, a head indentation, and his big belly dent from the straw.
Over the months, neighbors have come and gone and some Odin has liked more than others. As you may know, we actually tried a few times to give Odin his very own companionship, but none of that worked out. We really thought after a few tries that Odin may have been destined to live out his life alone….but…the other day over the fence an interesting thing happened with our 3 year old Stetson.
Odin has never behaved like this before! So today, we decided to try once more to give Odin a pasture mate. So far, it seems to be going well, most of the time, it looks like they’ve been together forever. The only time Odin became disturbed today was when his little Stetson got near STRANGER DANGER. You see, Stetson is young and curious and actually a little sassy, amongst the volunteers, we talk about how Stetson actually moves the other older horses feet. Today, Stetson went to introduce himself to the neighbor, Titan, on the far side of the pasture. The first time, Odin just pinned his ears for a moment and quickly intercepted, sort of like what a parent does when a youngster runs toward the street; intercept, deflect, shiny object over here…no tears, disaster averted. Odin had been successful. Odin went back to grazing and Stetson came to get up in our business for a while where Odin knew he was safe. Odin took his eye off the prize, relaxed and when he wasn’t looking Stetson wandered off again to go find Titan. This time when Odin saw Stetson’s behavior, he had to correct it…ears pinned, a lunge, a push away from the fence line with his mouth, and again on guard to protect his little one. Stetson would have none of it and backed right up to him with double donkey kicks. In the end though, it seemed Stetson got the message and for the rest of the time we observed them he stayed away from the fence line.
It’s our hope that Stetson and Odin settle in and become buds. Odin thinks he can teach Stetson a few things and apparently is already taking his mentor and caretaking role quite seriously, but in the end we hope that Stetson can teach Odin to be more comfortable around both humans and horses.
It’s our hope to eventually move Titan and Rocky to another pasture and place some of Odin’s old neighbors back in that field. If all goes as planned we’ll eventually open the gates and let all of them form their own small herd.
Odin 