It was love from the moment that I met my horse... I was completely smitten with my handsome boy. Over the past few months we have gotten to know one another, and I have come to realise that my equine friend has many 'faces'.

The Master Manipulator: He knows how to make his immense cuteness work for him when he wants something (like yummies or a neck scratch). It is the face that won me over when we met... and I think that he actually is able to crank up the cute factor by making doe eyes and fluttering his eye lashes. Some subliminal change is happening to make people swoon and give him his whatever he wants.

The Stud: Despite being a gelding, the wee lad does seem to have a way with the ladies. All of the young fillies in his herd tend to follow him, and one of the mares has been seen pestering him when she is in heat. He is a handsome boy, and his arched neck can rival that of a stallion. Thankfully he doesn't behave like a stud!

The Ostrich: My horse has come to see me as leader (and thus protector). Now when something scares him he will often come to me for reassurance. Sometimes he will gently bury his head in the crook of my arm, essentially 'hiding' in my arms.

The Mouth: My mischievous beast has a tendency to 'nibble the bottom' of anyone bent over to clean his front hooves, especially if he thinks that the process is taking too long. He and I have had a few 'discussions' about this behaviour and he generally doesn't do it to me anymore... but he currently seems to think that my boyfriend's bottom is still fair game!

The Clown: 'The Squirt' has an amazing sense of humour, and he can always make us laugh. Anything that he can grab is a potential 'toy', and so he will remove flags, pylons, balls, pop cans etc. from the walls of the arena so that he can play with them. He also makes wonderfully funny goofy faces.

The Adolescent: My boy occasionally has 'brat days' when he reminds me that he is still a youngster. He will usually look at me when I call him, will come to me as I approach him, and will put his head down when I hold up his halter... however he does have days when he 'doesn't want to be seen with Mom'. On a 'brat day' he may grudgingly come to me only when I pay attention to one of his paddock buddies ('Hey, that's MY mom!').

If he is in an immensely rebellious mood he may glance at me through his dark 'bangs' and then wander off, staring at the ground. I then have to go after him when he is in one of these 'I wanna be alone' moods. This is the side of my horse that my friend calls 'Emo Boy'. He does have the hair! ;)

The Bale Buddy: I fear that my horse may have undergone some sort of metamorphosis. Until recently my boy has had a typical horse-shaped head, but now there is a very different structure at the end of his neck. The change occurred after he was moved from the summer pasture to the winter field. This is what he looks like now:

From what I have heard, many Canadian Horses eventually take this form. Unfortunately it seems to have supplanted all of his other incarnations, so I hope that it is a reversible change. I don't think that a round bale with a horse's body attached to it is likely to make an ideal dressage partner... and where on earth would I find a bridle that fit! ;)