- hoffywhf
Sipping Wine and Closet Drinkers
To a non horse person it would seem odd that I can find something so mundane as watching horses drink water interesting . . . but I can! Just like people they all have their own little rituals that they observe while eating and drinking.
Some of the horses savor their water like they are sipping fine wine. Chili and Apollo are two that come to mind with this approach. Just as the French think a meal should be eaten slowly and enjoyed, some horses feel the same about their water. Chili likes to go up to the trough, take a small sip, and then stand there and hold the water in his mouth for a bit until he swallows. Then he repeats this approach over and over. It takes him forever to take a drink of water. Apollo also sips the water over and over, and then he will often just stand there in front of the trough, drop his head, and take a nap. I guess wine does have that effect on some of us!
Chili says “why bother with a sparkling clean water trough when you can sip from the puddle in the pasture?” I took this picture today – note that Chili is extra, super muddy! They have a lot of material to work with as we’ve had a lot of rain this week. I am so appreciative of all of the gravel around my gates this week.
Baby standing at the trough with water in his mouth and his tongue slightly out of his mouth
The next group of horses act like they are being offered a cold drink of water after crossing the desert. They start drinking and they drink, and drink and drink, without ever lifting their heads or stopping to take a breath. You can literally watch the water level in the trough go down as they drink. I watched Sebastian take this approach this morning.
Another approach I see regularly are the dunkers. These horses walk up to the trough and dunk their noses in, often over their nostrils. They sometimes blow bubbles in the water while they are drinking with their noses submerged. Asterik is a dunker.
And of course their are the horses that are all business, there is no ritual involved. Taking a drink is just a necessary part of life for them, no ritual, no planning, no special approach. They just walk up to the trough, take a drink, and walk away. Buffy and Lily are definitely like this, they have more important things to spend their time on than standing around the water cooler wasting time.
So what is your horse? Is he sipping fine wine, a closet drinker, a dunker, parched like he just crossed the desert, or simply all business? Or maybe something else entirely?
Ogie in the front, Winston, Asterik and B-Rad in the back
Faune
Leo, Baby and Homer following along. Dustin, Trigger and Ivan are in the background.
