BTB: Tales of territoriality: Part II |  |
| Tales of territoriality: Part II Posted: 27 May 2010 01:10 PM PDT In the last post, my friend Gail was having a mild conflict with a horse owner. She needed to move her trailer, his farrier's trailer was in the way... Forty-five minutes later, the friend arrives with the trailer. It's a gooseneck and there will be no turn in the driveway. Gail is starting to feel desperate. The clock is ticking away! She goes back to the barn to see if the farrier is done. Drawing a deep breath, she approaches the farrier and owner. She sees that all four of the horse's shoes were on -- surely they're finishing up! Gail: "The driveway is full, so I need the driveway clear -- it looks like you're finishing up?"The farrier appears to be deaf through this exchange. At a loss, Gail walks down the aisle. She hears the owner and farrier joking and chatting, clearly not in a hurry. Gail is seething inside, but she isn't the confrontational sort. Clash of the titans Gail returns to the parking lot. While she was gone, yet another hauler has showed up in his rig, and now that parking lot is really crowded. That hauler's client Kate (another boarder) runs a Manhattan real estate firm, she has 7 horses at the facility, and she has serious social capital at the barn. When she hears what is happening, she marches away, full of purporse. Moments later Gail hears Kates booming voice in the distance. The three of them -- Gail, her friend, and the hauler -- share a chuckle. Kate returns and announces tha the truck will be moved out of the way. Her hauler graciously lets Gail and her hauler go first around the driveway. They're on their way... I guess my main reaction to this story is WHY? Why not just move the freaking truck? Why didn't the owner feel embarrassed and selfish for inconveniencing Gail? Why did the farrier pretend not to be a part of the situation? I've seen instances of territorial weirdness at barns before. People park in wash stalls for an hour when others are waiting; Trainers lead a string of clients and horses through an aisleway where a vet is trying to take x-rays of a fractious horse; boarders "claiming" grooming areas as theirs. Do you have a tale of territoriality? What do you think motivates this behavior?  |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Behind the Bit To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment