Starlight, our most recent resident, goes out first every morning when the horses are turned out into the pasture. Horses appreciate order and routine, as order and routine suggest safety. And being prey animals, horses are always looking for safety.
Once she is turned out, she anxiously waits at the gate for the other horses to join her. Party Girl goes out next, and the two of them amble comfortably toward the lower pasture. The other horses join them, one by one, and all is well.
When Starlight was at animal services for two months prior to coming to Sky Ranch, she was alone in the enclosure there. She was fed, watered, and tended to with care, but she was alone, without a community. For a herd animal, alone is hard.
I think many of us humans can relate. I love my alone time and am a bit of a hermit by some folks’ standards I’m sure, but I join the “herd” at our local Starbucks almost daily, and though I sit apart from others there and read my book while enjoying my coffee, I like knowing there are other similar beings nearby.
We’re glad Starlight has a home with the food, medical care and tending that she needs. And we’re glad she isn’t alone now and can live her life with her companions.