What happens when the 3 Lads – Montaro, Jax and Juno – are ready to mix and mingle with Kesia’s resident herd of five horses? How does Kesia decide when and how to introduce them to each other, so that no one gets hurt? And how do the horses work out their new relationships?
Join us for this riveting video of the communication, negotiations and interaction as the two herds meet on common ground for the first time…
We’d love to hear your impressions, anything you noticed, or that stuck out for you, as you watch this beautiful video Kesia put together for us…
Jini Patel Thompson is a natural health writer and Lazer Tapping instructor. She began riding at age 2 in Kenya, and got her first horse at age 8 in Alberta, and so continues a life-long journey and love affair with these amazing creatures.
Better than any movie!
I’m glad I’m not the only one, haha! I’m forever fascinated by their dynamics and movements.
Keisa well done On all accounts. So interesting to see the integration happen and who steps up as defenders eh? I hope Falcon is ok. Did you see any kicks get landed on his body or do you think he might of pulled/strained a tendon with the slippery terrain and loose footing gallops?
The landscape sure is gorgeous up there. Beautiful footage. One thing came into my head though… I wonder if you could contact any company that sells go-pro cameras and see if they would sponsor the endeavour with a camera? That way you could be hands free walking around allowing for steadier camera? Not sure if you think that would work for you. If I had the resources I’d sent you one 🙂 I will be subscribing in the new year at some level or other.
I also REALLY loved your ‘looking for horses’ song! So perfect for this vlog/video. Thank you for all you’re doing. If I lived down the road I would be there helping you can count on it lol.
It was so interesting and fun for me to see who took on what role; some were really surprising to me! I saw no blows land on really anyone, and you can see how except for a few kicks, they really try hard not to hit each other. It’s like a big play acting fight. Falcon – usually very reserved and shy – recovered quickly. I think he just bruised a foot or maybe pulled something while running and trying to take on the big boys. We have an ongoing dialogue about his feet but he is not into having them trimmed yet, so they often muck him up when he tears around.
I love your GoPro idea! I’ll look into it – my cameras are awesome but a bit big and heavy and hard to run around with while capturing anything useful besides blurry snow and heavy breathing, haha!
Glad you enjoyed and yes, too bad you can’t come help fence more space next spring! Love having you here in spirit though <3
It looked to me on the vid that Montaro connected a kick on Nechako during the hay negotiation – but didn’t look hard and hit a fleshy part of his rump so likely not even bruised… but I could be wrong as the angle when viewing changes everything!
I may have an extra GoPro… If I can find it, I’ll send it with Sharon next week 🙂
Yeah, there was that one and a couple dramatic fence strikes earlier on. Chako is showing no signs of being hurt so I think we’re doing good!
“May have an extra GoPro”… you crack me up! Is there anything you don’t have?!
Captivating, thrilling, a few places of cringe…but I personally feel it went beautifully! So many things logistically that I feel worked very well in this introduction situation! First you gave it a few days over two fences…very smart…and IMO…so needed! Then you put out lots of resources so it didn’t play as big a factor as it might have if there was not! The fact that the home herd had the strength in numbers…and home court advantage I believe really kept the odds of strength on their side…as the lads …from this view point seem to have the brute strength! But the home herd appeared to also have stamina on their side…as they had not made a two day trek and arrived in an unknown landscape…so again home field (literally) was on there side! They know every inch of their land and this is definitely a good thing when running in a more adrenalized manner! The lads seemed to need to slow down and recover which I feel helped the meet up wind down quicker! I did love the way the lads and the home herd flowed in flawless unity..with their perspective herds! Just breath taking! I was worried about Flacon after his back kick show down with The Mighty Mount Ian! It did look like he took one for the team…although I can see running in the slush and snow can be be a slippery endeavor! Hoping he is just sore and it’s nothing to serious…sending him healing peaceful vibes! Loved all of this…you are so appreciated for letting us be a part of this amazing reality show…best I have ever seen! This is what kids should be watching …nature , animals …and all the grace they offer!
Didn’t see a subscribe button…but did do the donation ….is that the same thing? ✌🏼❤️🐴
Love your observations, Michelle! I was so tempted to bring them together sooner but I’m so glad I waited. Everything was wet and grey for ages, and then the day I had scheduled to put the home herd (love your name for them too) in, we got a sprinkle of snow overnight and sunshine on the day. Great weather for filming, and the snow helped all the action stand out!
And yes, of course – by that time they had been able to watch and listen to each other closely for five days without having to deal with each other physically.
It was so cool to see my 5 gel together as they moved distinctly from Jini’s 3. They aren’t normally such a unit but some of the shots where they move in perfect unison just take my breath away. Montaro is also used to being the boss, whereas nobody in my herd is captain 24/7. So I think they were surprised by his intense offence! It didn’t take him long to catch on that he was expending too much energy chasing everyone, but I guess for who he is, he needed to claim his space and have control of all the inhabitants of the field.
Oh Falcon – he tried but didn’t quite realize the power he was taking on! He recovered quickly, thanks for your concern and healing energy.
The subscribe thing is for YouTube, so folks remember to subscribe to the LTYH channel if they’re on YouTube a lot. But thank you so much for the donation! That makes my heart swell.
What a beautiful adventure to watch this morning. Love how they communicated and got to know each other. Hope Falcon is okay. Thank you for sharing
Thank you Deby! Sweet Falcon recovered in a couple of days but I will pass on the love to him.
There is something special about Montaro and Jax sharing in the education of Juno. Juno is always in the mix but absolutely protected by dad and uncle who are ‘showing’ Juno how this is done. I hope Montaro isn’t pushing everyone so hard today as he was during this filming; he will exhaust himself but at the end, lying in the food source, warm and cozy, the look on his face as he rests in the hay is fabulous! They must feel so safe to lie down and roll All seem content. Has Falcon healed from her injury? What a beautiful spirit she has. When she burst into the field, she was magnificent. Her spirit self is amazing. And then fashionably late later; made me laugh – same spirit, different approach! Thank you for giving The Lads their adventure!
Jini, how are you and the rest of the herd, especially Audi, doing? Sending love to all, be peace, C
Claudia – yes! Juno gets to hang back and watch his dad and uncle model their two different approaches to being Grown Ups, and when he’s ready he’ll have his own style. He has a lot of his mama in him (sometimes I do a double take because he looks just like her in certain poses and lights), so he brings a sweetness and a tolerance different to Taro’s definitive power and Jax’s lighting reflex. You totally caught on to Taro “overdoing it” a little. He hasn’t pushed to this extent again, and in fact over just a few days very quickly stopped chasing everything and everyone (including the other species).
I think you are talking about 2 different horses (I know, hard to tell all these brown ponies apart!) – Firefly (chestnut mare with the blaze) is the one who is always getting the party started, and Falcon (bay gelding with no blaze) is the usually-quiet-surprisingly-saucy one who is always late to the party that Firefly starts! They’re very different, but also really connected. When Falcon came to us, Firefly “claimed” him and made him her best friend/twin brother.
It’s all been a fun few weeks for all of us so far! Love having my nephews up for a visit 🙂
Always fascinating for me to watch how mares behave. Is Firefly the lone mare? Did I see one more female in the home herd? Have the eight horses established their ranking in the herd yet?
In my herd of four, the two mares (mother and daughter) are 1st and 2nd (alpha and enforcer). Recently, my black gelding (rescue) has moved from 4th to 3rd rank, after much work to establish trust and respect and making great strides in his training. Wonderful progress for him but now the donkey has been displaced from his longstanding position. Now I am working with him to regain his dignity and purpose in the herd. Fascinating dynamics for sure!
What a beautiful herd! It’s great you’re able to see the rescue gelding rising in his power, and simultaneously help the donkey discover a new purpose. The position he’s in is so often overlooked or thought of as “lesser than” but it’s absolutely essential in a herd. It’s also easier than always being concerned with maintaining rank! Maybe he needs a break and can use that energy for something else…
Weirdly this photo looks a lot like the front corner of my farm…just the placement of fences and gates and such… not sure why it struck me like that but neat regardless!
Firefly has her mum as well, Amalia, the nearly-black horse. They are the only ladies right now!
I don’t observe too much linear ranking with these guys, and with more horses and new guys added in I don’t think I could really number them from one to eight – because one might be able to move someone else, but not the one “below” that one, etc. I also don’t find that leadership necessarily goes along with dominance/alpha behaviour.
Montaro can move everyone, and the other two boys are able to move everyone else (my five). So in a basic, who-moves-who sense they’ve slotted in at the top, but there’s a lot of nuance as the two herds merge. Personality-wise, I don’t see the original five challenging the big three, though I’ve been surprised that Falcon of all people stands up to them, even if they “win” – he just has to let Montaro know that he doesn’t appreciate such a heavy hand! And Firefly is spending more and more time with the three boys, so who knows where it will all go… it’s just really fun to watch and observe.
Thank you for your comment about my donkey! Your perspective about him is much appreciated.
Watching herd dynamics is so fun! I love to observe their movement and how horses apply pressure to move others.
Just beautiful to watch, thank you for taking the time to film the interactions. So many subtle and not so subtle interactions, that you need to keep going back to watch and appreciate each moment. Much more interesting and thrilling than watching someone riding 😉
So true!! Riding above all is something you have FEEL not watch, in my opinion 😉 And then of course, only if the horse has INVITED you onto their back.
Oh my god, I was riveted to the screen! What action! What drama! It was so powerful to see all the different stages of their meeting. No one wanted to budge! It’s like they all met their match! Montaro was so cute lying down at the end, so exhausted. But how fun. I mean, they all did look a little stressed close to the end, but that is what they would do in the wild. I really did not expect it to go like that. But of course so far I have seen one horse join an already established herd, so it’s very different.
I also like Michelle appreciated to see how each herd member stuck their herd like glue. I’m going to watch it again! And the beauty of the land and music certainly helped. Beautiful! But now of course we want a weekly show! 🙂
Yeehaw! I’m so glad you enjoyed. I loved watching and filming the whole thing. I had no idea how it would go so it was all surprising to me too – and yes, normally I am seeing one or two horses join an established herd, but with three big strong personalities closely bonded joining a tight but less intense herd, the dynamic was completely different than what I’ve seen before.
I’ll work on the weekly thing… 😉 I’ll hopefully have another up next week to follow up. As they settle, they get less and less fun to film, haha. But everything is always shifting so I should be able to come up with something!
I watched it again. I am so impressed at how each herd stuck to its own. And I love how Jax just rolled at the end. Oh, whatever. Montaro was like, “What are you doing man? We’re working here!” And then he crashed himself. Juno was a little stunned at all that. But he’s been part of the other herd integration. But this was a whole new level, with all the space they are able to express themselves. And you see how great it is to have SPACE. They ran and ran and ran, and the movement really helps integrate and move the energy.
Definitely more videos Kesia, thanks!!
Jax is up for anything and can shake it off just like that. Montaro slept and slept after that, and several of my herd passed out too. So great to see them just sink into peace together! After all that running – yes, you’re so right, movement helps to process and integrate, especially when you’re a horse!