It’s Loren vs. Roy the Horse

I suppose it's been about six months or so since my daughter Hannah hauled home her latest horse, Roy. I'm familiar with dogs and cats that demand attention and affection, but I reckon Roy is the first horse I could put in that category. You better pay attention to him or else.

I'll stand in the shed and ignore him. First thing he'll do is reach over and grab his feed cup and stare at me. If I continue to ignore him, he'll drop it to the ground. The game is now on. I continue to not pay attention. Roy then proceeds into his stall and rattles his feed bin with his teeth. I give in and bring him his feed but alas, I've spoiled him. He tries to stick his nose in my coat pocket before he eats. He realizes there's a pretty good chance I've got dehydrated apples in there.

He's easily bored and as a result has learned quite a few things. When he's cold, he now knows he can pull the garage door down with his teeth. If he wants out, he just sticks his head underneath the door and raises his head and the door as well.

He does like to cause mischief, as I've found forks, blankets and brooms that he has reached over the stall gate and apparently grabbed with his teeth and then dropped onto the stall floor. I believe his defecating in his feed bin is probably a coincidence though.

He's been destructive at times. If you look to his right in the picture you'll see the damaged electrical outlet. Once while ignoring him, he reached over and grabbed the plug of the heated bucket and violently yanked it out. You'll notice he also damaged the GFI when he pulled the plug out.

I'm waiting for him someday to look me in the eye and call me Wilbur.