Touching is an essential part of our day together. In the wild, horses live in herds and stay close to each other for survival. Very social creatures, they tend to pick certain friends and engage in mutual grooming and games with them. Often forming life-long attachments, they've been known to recognize childhood friends after over twenty years of separation.
From the moment of Lukas' first greeting kiss, we're in almost constant contact. I pick something up, Lukas nuzzles my shoulder. I turn and his face grazes my cheek. I bend over and he pulls on the back of my shirt or rests his chin on my head. It's a comical show - like having a messy and disorderly shadow. No sooner do I put something down, Lukas is handing me another towel. Trying to sweep includes pushing his nose out of the dust pan. Cleaning his water bowl requires that I sprinkle his muzzle as well to spiff it up. Even brushing him and applying fly spray is an intimate encounter for Lukas. "Over here, this way, higher up," he seems to say while supervising my every move - nudging me in the correct directions and rubbing any parts of me he can reach to reciprocate my efforts.
Horse's eyes are the largest of any land mammal and are placed laterally on their heads for better range. Their view reaches even slightly behind them - close to 350 degrees in order to monitor their surroundings and detect predators. Lukas' eyes have a startling appearance and are what many people notice first and tend to remember. Most horses have a brown pupil rimmed with a light shade of gray - dark and plain, without much variation. Lukas' eyes have a glowing amber hue with striking intensity - flecks of gold and onyx give them depth and complexity. It's often said that horses don't like to be looked at straight in the eye - in nature direct eye contact tends to be interpreted as a threat. Lukas is most certainly an exception to this. He will contort himself in the funniest positions or pop up out of nowhere so I have no choice but to stare deeply into his mesmerizing gaze. "Look here, Karen, aren't I fascinating? What about now - isn't the light spectacular from this angle?" He's only satisfied when I assure him, that yes indeed, he does have impressive peepers. I've also come to realize that this is a way for him to connect with me - a comforting ritual that soothes him. In the wild, horses rely on each other for their well-being. Acceptance and belonging to a group is an instinctive and crucial element for daily survival. Any rejection is viewed as a very upsetting occurrence. This could jeopardize their position in the herd and make them vulnerable to being ostracized, a most certain doom.
Most often, our locked eyes are accompanied by low murmurs of adoration and feather-light touches by me. Thoroughbreds are notoriously thin-skinned - part of their sensitive nature. Out grazing, Lukas will fidget and squirm while I examine every inch of him until I find the offending speck - a tiny leaf on his back or a minuscule twig touching his legs. This has resulted in some peculiar penchants of his, for example: no running water sprayed on him, period. The ticklish drips drive him crazy and his tail swishes and flicks in outraged annoyance. Instead, I gently wipe him with a damp towel to remove sweat or to cool him off on scorching days. Any scratching is to be avoided at all costs - the grating is too much for his tender nerves and he literally sinks to avoid it from uneducated visitors. Brushing is to take place with light strokes, and his forelock and tail are hand groomed to avoid painful pulling of tangles. His long mane is also only touched by my hands, and he gracefully lowers his neck while I run my fingers through the long strands and re-braid the sections to prevent knots.
Lukas allows clipping and will stand quietly for all procedures (done by me) without using any type of equipment or restraint. As long as I explain prior to the event and show him what I have in my hand, he's accepting of what I do as if he understands that it's for his own good. In the early years, I made the mistake of surprising him with a tube of de-wormer. I plucked it out of a back pocket, stuck it into his mouth without an explanation and plunged the contents past his teeth. His expression of indignant violation was obvious - he spent the next half hour making gagging noises and avoiding me in a sulk. Since then, even Lukas' vet carefully describes the purpose of visits and patiently waits for his sigh of tolerant resignation before proceeding. Not long ago, an on-call vet stopped by to vaccinate Lukas - a routine annual nasal administration. Things got off to a bad start when the vet entered Lukas' stall without an introduction and proceeded to reach for his halter. Wide-eyed, Lukas pulled back and needless to say, the vet left without Lukas' cooperation. So embarrassing! "I thought he was the world's smartest horse," the vet snapped in irritation. Apparently, he's also the world's most opinionated equine as well.
Copyright 2012 Karen Murdock is a retired psychiatric nurse, who has been fixing problem horses for over 30 years. Owner of PlayingWithLukas.com. She uses a combination of shaping techniques, a specialized version of clicker training and positive reinforcement. Her unique approach uses games and play as a way to connect and bond with horses to develop confidence, increase focus, improve performance as well as build willingness and trust. All of her services and proceeds go to benefit the horses.
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