Thursday, March 13

Bite Me, Bite You


What are these horses doing? Becoming carnivores? Nay, matey. They’re doing the equine equivalent of You Scratch My Back, I’ll Scratch Your Back. When I had finished my cold beer and a heaping serving of crow*, I happened to look out the window and saw the pinto Gypsy and the young filly Marie doing a vigorous bite-fest on each other. Horses love to chew on each other’s withers and can do it endlessly, first on one side, then the other. The pace varies, but usually is at the rate of a bite every second or so. Another mutual aid action they engage in is when the flies get really annoying in the spring and summer months, they’ll stand head-to-tail beside one another and swish their tails in each other’s faces to keep flies away. Horses are so darned cute and when they’re not fighting or kicking or chasing, really love each other.

*Okay, it was actually chicken. We’re out of crow.

No comments: