
Our 17-acre Southern Vermont property provides our horses with several grazing areas, one of which takes them up to what we refer to as the “back pasture”. The pathway leads along a brook, over a bridge, up a little rise and through the gate.
Over the past 7 years their ritual has been to graze for several hours, head back to the barn for water and brief respite, and return to grazing until being called in for dinner. Scout is the herd leader and in general dictates their schedule, which they dutifully follow.
This past summer something changed. They would follow me up to the back pasture only to return to the barn within a half hour or so. Then they would stand around in the shelters for hours. Not normal behavior! I would go out, walk back up, they would follow me, graze for a bit or sometimes not even at all and head back to the barn. I searched the field multiple times never finding any reason for their behavior.