One Ambitous Mare

The Hairy Eyeball, Part 1.

DeCato, the  ambitious redheaded mare, continues to surprise me with her changing attitude toward her stablemates.   

She seemed content at the bottom of the pecking order after we moved here in 2010 and was never higher than second-to-the-bottom since I brought her home in 2008.  Until recently, the only horse I had ever known to be lower than her was a big, scaredy-cat buckskin quarter horse we used to own.

Then, over the course of a couple of weeks, she deliberately bumped Starlight out of second in command.  Starlight, a sweet and mild-mannered horse, didn’t really give her any trouble.  The role was DeCato’s for the taking, apparently.

But several times since then, I have noticed DeCato pinning her ears at the boss mare, Hudson.  DeCato has definitely made the “Make me!” face at times, when Hudson has stepped in to move DeCato -- off a particularly desirable pile of hay, for instance.

The Hairy Eyeball, Part 2

 These encounters seem to be more important to DeCato than Hudson.  The latter doesn’t appear to pay any attention to the little mustang, who stands a good seven inches shorter and at least 600 pounds lighter than my half-draft heavy weight.  But I am curious to see where this will end up.  Will it go on like this forever, with DeCato making pissy faces (which isn’t normally allowed by a lower horse, in my observation), or will Hudson express her authority or maybe even give it up?  

Time will tell, but my guess is that Hudson is pretty secure at the top.

Starlight, worried

Hudson, not worried.