The Bread

Way back in 1998, amongst some spoiled food I scored from a friend's broken-down freezer, were lots of packets of bread, and bread rolls. Some went to the dogs, some to the birds, and since the horses like bread, I headed to the stables armed with a loaf and a packet of hamburger rolls.

All heads turned my way and I was greeted loudly as they spotted me with my plastic bags of goodies - even Haji whickered a greeting. By that stage in his "new" life, he was getting quite used to people coming armed with scrumptious tidbits.

Kassie and Beaver, in the first two stalls, wolfed down a hamburger roll each. Emmie and Mabel, in the last two stalls, were just about pushing their gates over in anticipation. Haji was standing back reservedly, as he does, avoiding any contact with that white tape that bites him every now and then, and whickering softly.

I reached in (tape was switched off anyway, but he didn't know that) and offered him a roll. He must have expected a carrot, so reached out, but when his delicate little nose made contact with the bread roll he shot back like a bullet fired from a gun!

I gave Emmie and Mabel their rolls, then broke Haji's into pieces and put it into his large, blue, feedbin. Now the fun really started - wish I had a video camera!!

Haji stood across from his feedbin looking at it. He was as far away from it as he could get, with his rump pressed against the opposite fence. His little ears were pricked as far forward as they go, like two little pointers, and he was snorting.

Gradually, step by step, he edged closer to the feedbin and the monsters inside. The ears still pointing the way, still snorting gently. He was beautifully balanced for dressage, all his weight on his hind end, almost leaning back. Talk about lightening the forehand!

Eventually he was close enough for his nose to start its descent into the feedbin, once again, ever so slowly. Ready to take flight at any moment when the monsters struck. The ears never even flickered, they were cemented into that ultra-forward position. I knew at that point exactly what was about to happen, and I really wished I had that video camera I've always wanted....

As I predicted, he eventually made contact with the bread roll pieces inside. Bread rolls are a vicious breed, and as soon as his nose touched one he shot away at the rate of knots and bolted to the other end of his stable, where he stood and snorted loudly, the ears still concentrating hard on the blue feedbin and its contents.

I've rarely witnessed anything as funny. I left him to it, and went on with my chores. That night, when I fed him, I poured the feed on top of the bread roll pieces which had so successfully protected themselves from being devoured. Next morning, they had lost their battle and disappeared. However, I suspect that Haji was not the one to eat them as he continued to reject any bread offerings on numerous subsequent occasions (but has now succumbed to the delicious taste, and waits as eagerly as any of the other horses). I think it far more likely that a canine thief scored the treat way back in 1998 :-) That canine thief would not have been Rugby though. I put more bread rolls in the blue feedbin the following morning, and Rugby stood there barking at the feedbin, urging the rolls to come out, because he couldn't reach them....

I have some very strange animals at my place.

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