Reconciling with Tequila

Last week when the weather was good I worked with Snickers, Luna and Tequila.  I spent a good amount of time with Tequila and felt like we had a good session.  


The next day I planned to work with Angel and Bella.  All the horses were in the yard, where I normally groom them, so when I appeared with my grooming kit at the tie place, the horses started to gather around.  Snicker stopped by and when I just brushed him, he left.  Then Luna stopped for a quick brush but was chased away by Tequila.  I worked on Tequila for a few minutes and then Angel showed up.  I stopped brushing Tequila and caught Angel, since she was the one I wanted.  


Little did I realize that I must have hurt Tequila's feelings.  That night and for two days afterwards, she refused to hug me.  This has been our special ritual whenever I feed her.  She always gives me some kind of hug by wrapping her head around my shoulders and squeezing.  Some are better than others, but never has she stopped hugging for so long.  

It really blew me away and at first I was at a loss as to why this had happened. Then I remembered that it had started after the grooming thing. It proves to me that horses have much better memory than we give them credit for and that they get their feelings hurt.  I have sensed this before, but this entire incident proved it beyond a doubt to me. 


Today I braved the wind (I really hate working in the wind) and worked with Tequila.  I groomed her and then lunged her for a bit.  And tonight when I fed her, I got a big, heartfelt hug!