Duck, Duck, Goose

Remember the children’s game called Duck, Duck, Goose? We’d stand in a circle and the person who was “it” would walk around the outside of the circle, touching each person and say the word “duck.” With girls the taps were always gentle, with boys, sometimes not so gentle.

We’d wait, holding our breath and listening for the one time when instead of saying “duck” the person who was it said, “goose.” If that happened, you had to run around the circle as fast as you could, trying to avoid being tagged. Once caught, you became “it.”

I swear Pepper knows this game.

At least her version of it. We had snow recently. When we went to feed, we found the little herd of oldsters hanging out in the shed. No surprises there.

I could easily get Bud and Pepper into an adjoining pasture, feed them and then return them to their friends and the shelter of the shed. After a couple times of doing that we realized we could drive right into the adjoining pasture, which made things much easier.

If you’ve climbed back and forth through a wire fence that’s been stretched tight, you know how totally clumsy you can look. I was grateful to give that little exercise up for the time being. With horses it seems like you’re always doing something with a fence.

Back to Duck, Duck, Goose

Pepper finished her grain and when I approached her to return her to her friends, she decided she wasn’t quite ready. She made a large circle in the fresh snow with me walking behind her. Every so often I’d get close enough to touch her. That’s when the game flashed into my mind. I felt exactly like that kid who had to keep walking around the circle, because I never could catch the person I’d tagged. (Don’t worry, this has not permanently damaged me. I’ve explored my Duck, Duck, Goose experiences many times in therapy!)

I knew enough to stop this game pretty quickly. In the horse world, chasing a horse never gets you what you want. Horses are prey animals, hard wired to flee when they perceive danger. So I stopped, and sure enough, Pepper came to me. I slipped the lead rope around her neck and led her to the gate.

She was chuckling.

And so was I.

When we got back into the truck, I told my husband that we were playing Duck, Duck, Goose. He looked at me as if I was speaking Chinese. Then he shook his head. “Sometimes I wonder about you,” he muttered.

“Only sometimes?”

That was the sum total of my snappy comeback.

--Jean

Comments

[Midge]

Jean, I really enjoy reading about Bud and Pepper's antics and their endearing personality quirks. And I admire you and the physical work it takes to properly care for such great horses. You are remarkable and when I look at the snowy pictures, I see you have put Bud and Pepper first, in covering them, feeding them, and providing good shelter....like you said, every thing you do for a horse seems to involve a fence. It was fun to see your playful side with these guys, doing "Duck Duck Goose" in the middle of the snow! I was cold just looking at the pictures! Thanks for posting this one!