Introducing Boston

This is Boston my horse. He reminds me a lot of students I have taught in the past and sometimes I think of him as having ADHD. He loves getting up close and personal and loves attention. He can't stand still for very long when I am grooming him and trying to untangle his tail. As I am grooming him, he will be watching and his ears will twitch. It's as though he is saying, "What was that?", "Oh look! Something new!" "Did you see that butterfly" "Do you see how handsome I am?"

Once you gain his trust, he will follow you around the paddock, even if he doesn't have a halter and a lead on. He nuzzles me when I take selfies and does not like being excluded when I pay attention to our other horse. One time, he deliberately snapped the clip on his halter by somehow pulling the lead rope when we had him in the smaller yard. I left him out in the other bigger paddock while we walked with Image and gave her attention. Boston kept walking up and down, parallel with us. When we stopped, he stopped. When we moved, he did. Since then, I have bought a stronger halter and lead rope that he doesn't try to snap.

When Boston first arrived here, he had to establish himself in the pack and find out where he belonged in the pecking order. There was already a bigger horse than him and he was the 6th horse to arrive in the paddock. Our other horse didn't care what the others thought of her and went where she pleased, when she pleased. I would watch Boston watching the other horses while they congregated around the hay. He wanted to join them but knew he had to wait his turn. He also knew which horses to avoid and if he got too close, would back out of the way before the other horse gave him a reminder of his place.

When we arrived at their paddocks, we would call their names although, after the first couple times, Boston would look up, see us and come to us with eagerness. Image would see Boston going towards us, and would meander across behind him. Boston knew we were here to play with him and give him attention and he loved it!

After we put them back in the paddock with the others, Boston would come up to the fence and watch us leave. Image would follow along too but not with the same enthusiasm as Boston. Sometimes another person would stop and talk to us and I'd look back at Boston and he'd still be standing there regally watching. If he was grazing, I'd see him look up every now and again as though making sure I was still there.

There are children who are a lot like Boston. They want to fit in with their peers. They see what's going on around them and want to be a part of it. They want and need attention and security. They need to know that they have someone who is looking out for them and who will protect them when trouble is around. They want someone who loves and cares enough for them to spend time with them even when they try to act like they don't care. Some children need more reassurance than others and within loving boundaries, we need to patiently remind them that we want what's best for them.