~Snippets from Around the Farm~
I've mentioned a few times that we have to introduce horses and dogs carefully because they have different body language. Even though our horses like dogs, the two species can have alarming miscommunication, so they need to learn about each other under close supervision. Here's some photos I just dug up from Yvaine's very first encounter with Serenity and Firefly, meeting across the fence at our old farm.
The meeting across the fence reminded me of an interspecies miscommunication anecdote, a rare direct encounter between two critters who are no longer with us, Georgedog and Duchess-mare. Interaction across the horse/dog fence was unusual, so I didn't realize what was happening until it was too late to intercede. Georgedog was at the fence, and Duchess-mare came over, reached across, and bit him. (He was all right, a smidge bruised.) I'll explain why:
George was enjoying some unusual dropped horse feed at the base of the fence, from the dog side. [Happy dog! Jackpot.]
Duchess approached the spilled feed from the horse side. She put her ears back and head low, swung her nose towards George, to drive George away from the food. [Threatening horse.]
George looked up at Duchess with ears back, head low but neck swinging, not stiff, her tail relaxed, and no hackles or warning sounds. George was encouraged by Duchess's canine appeasement body language, so continued eating, relieved to share with someone who asked so politely. He also put his own ears back, but as they were floppy, Duchess didn't understand. [Relaxed dog. Agreeing to share.]
A horse would typically have responded to Duchess by leaving, or by echoing Duchess's body language to refuse to leave (and they'd have shared without fuss). From Duchess's equine perspective, George was rudely ignoring her. So Duchess escalated. She reached over the fence, and nipped George's chubby back. [Offended horse. Following through on her threats.]
George yelped, jumped backwards, and fled inside. [Confused, slightly bruised dog, trusts Big Hooved Dogs much less.]
The exact same body language had opposite meanings for the two species, and resultingly, George got an unpleasant surprise. This kind of failure in translation is why, when our dogs are allowed in the pasture, we introduce dogs and horses very slowly, under supervision, on leads, until they both realize that they are not speaking the same language. There's a long list of normal behaviors for each species that can accidentally injure or offend the other, so we don't rush.
