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[RC] Chalk and Cheese (was: Boldness in horses) - k s swigartDonna Coss said: I am not certain if it is result of nature / versus nurture, but I find that the horses that I raise out in a herd situation, on at least 40 acres, so there is room to roam and interact much as a wild herd would, gives me horses that are extremely self confident! ... There is something about being in a herd from the time they are foals, sometimes even with a stallion, but mainly with horses of varying ages, and learning to live in this environment that develops a sound mind and the ability to handle stressful situations. They also trust their people. I have two horses (half brothers, same sire) who were born about 1 month apart, and they were different from each other with respect to "boldness" "self-cofidence" or whatever you want to call it, from the day they were born (and subsequently raised in a herd situation on 100+ acres). The first hid behind his mother when anything even remotely scary approached, while the other walked across a tarp on the ground away from his mother in a gale force windstorm when he was three days old. When the first was one month old and the second was one day old, the second had already had more interaction with humans (because he walked up to them instead of running away from them). Despite the fact that to look at them they were peas in a pod (few people today can tell them apart, in baby pictures, I am one of the few that can), disposition-wise they were and are as different as chalk and cheese (despite the fact that the coward is still a stallion, so presumably has testosterone to give him courage, and the bold one was gelded at the age of two). Well, not entirely different, they do both share some of their sire's disposition traits, but even so, their inherant dispositions is something they were born with. Additionally, I don't believe the living out in a herd situation on large space with other horses is what teaches horses to trust people. It is interaction with people that does this. kat Orange County, Calif. :) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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