Horses have unique and sometimes challenging individual characteristics which define themselves to the world. Horse trainer Pat Parelli coined the phrase “Horsenality” in a marketing attempt to create a user-friendly flow chart defining a simple cubby hole set of definitions allowing people to better understand their horse and why they do what they do. Not a bad concept overall, but if you’ve ever spent time in the herd, it doesn’t take long to appreciate the intricate layers of ‘horsenality’ brought to the hay munching table. Like people, each beast is a complex being with no two alike. Generalizations of what makes a horse tick only go so far. Then along ambles a donkey. In the case of EPH, his name is Spike.
What strikes you first about this donkey is his relatively diminutive stature. Overall, he stands below the rest of the herd at the withers, but it is hard to truly believe he understands this fact. The way he carries himself with head held upright, disproportionately long ears forward (or equally laid back against his neck in a posture alerting you of his current lack of amusement) and guttural vocalizations you might guess he is the ruler of this kingdom with final say on all horse-related events. Spike is also not a bit shy about alerting the 100-acre woods that the distribution of hay is not proceeding at his liking as he winds up to release a characteristic bray that only donkeys can produce. With several successive inhalations to fill the lungs like a swimmer about to jump in a lake, Spike expels this energy in a high decibel hee-haw cacophony to make his case. The sheer volume of this call rides along the same frequency of a human wearing headphones who hasn’t a clue as just how loud they are speaking. In fact, there is an eerily similar expression of satisfaction on the face of Spike that you see on that earbud sporting person. Obviously, the only one with the problem here is the one who’s shattered eardrums were tragically in close proximity to this kingly long-ear. Years ago, early one morning in a dense fog, this donkey’s call came piercing through the moisture-laden dew conjuring up visualizations of a velociraptor searching for a hapless meal, namely me. To this day I contend Spike secretly high-fived, neigh (pun intended), high-hooved his buddies around the feeder.
So, what can be learned from a little donkey with apparently high self-esteem and a boisterous nature? As the EPH equines consistently offer life lessons, perhaps we can appreciate the concept of taking the hand we’re given and using that to move forward, to make the best of our current situation and putting very little emphasis on how we may be perceived by others. We are, after all, distinctive individuals with much to offer, even if that is only at times an opportunity to entertain ourselves.