Walker: Secrets

Chapter 60

'So you see...' Maddie finished in conclusion as she showed Elizabeth the new feeding regime she'd written up for Diablo. 'With this new feeding schedule he'll be able to eat all day but at the same time what he'll be eating won't make him hot. Adjusting his food is the first step at getting him calmed down.'

Elizabeth nodded in understanding, reading over the chart Maddie had handed to her. 'But won't him being off his supplements make him loose condition?'

She shook her head. 'Everything he needs is included in this new diet. Swapping out the alfalfa for a grass hay mix and increasing that to account for taking him off the hard feed, he'll be just fine. Trust me.'

'Alright...' She let out an unconvinced sigh, handing the chart back to Maddie. 'What's next?'

'Letting him be a horse.' The folders went back onto the shelf in the feed room and she hung the adjusted diet up on the wall then they headed back out into the stables. 'When's the last time that Diablo was allowed to have turn out time and graze?'

Elizabeth thought for a moment then shrugged. 'Um.... For as long as I can remember his routine has been the same. I don't think he's ever had turn out. He can't. If he has turn out time he might get hurt.'

'Every horse needs to have time to just be a horse, no matter what kind of work they do.' Maddie replied, wheeling herself down the aisle back towards Diablo's stall. The stallion heard them coming and once again began to cause a ruckus, the two of them stopping across from his stall. 'Look at him, Elizabeth.' She said softly as the stallion began circling his stall again. 'Does he look happy?'

She shook her head.

'We have to think about this from his point of view.' She continued. 'Think about it. Since he was broken in he's been kept in this kind of environment. While he can see Buster across from him, what other interaction does he have with other horses?'

'None at all.'

Maddie nodded. 'If you were in his place, how do you think you would feel?'

Elizabeth let out a long sigh. 'I would hate it too.'

'Exactly. He's acting out in an attempt to try to communicate with us.' The stallion stopped for a brief moment and stood watching them then kept on walking around his stall. 'There is so much to his behavior, think of it in layers. We have to start at the top and work down to the root cause. Already we have identified one contributing factor, his feed. What do you think another one might be?'

'Being kept isolated.' She replied after thinking about it for a moment. 'I've never really thought about it before... I mean, he's a stallion. Stallion's are always kept by themselves. They're dangerous.'

Maddie shook her head. 'That's a misconception. Stallions can be unpredictable, yes, but they shouldn't be kept isolated. They still need interaction with other horses. Take mustang herds for example. A stallion will be in charge of a band of mares and helps to raise the foals. Stallions without a herd form bachelor herds with other stallion's. It's rare to see a stallion on his own for an extended period of time. It's not natural. They need interaction with other horses.'

'I guess that makes sense.' Elizabeth finally replied after a moment as she began to see what Maddie was trying to tell her. For the first time she was looking at things from her horse's perspective and it was dawning on her just how miserable his existence really was. 'But this has been how Nan has always had her stallions. It's just the way it is.'

'But that way is causing stress on each of these horses. Look around you-' She motioned to the other horses in their stalls. 'Do any of these stallions and colts seem happy?'