I tend to graze Dude and Bestie quite a bit since they only get half day turnout. I find it very relaxing. There's just something about standing there, lead rope in hand, with not much else to do except maybe curry or brush them if I've managed to carry the necessary items out. But mainly I just stand there and watch them eat. There's something mesmerizing about it. They're just so totally focused on that single activity that I become totally focused on it also for the time we're out there together. And I've noticed that other people do the same thing. If there's no one to talk to, it just seems pretty common to stand there and idly watch the horse do his or her thing.
Today I grazed them both (separately, of course; I'm not crazy) and watched their eating styles. Bestie tends to be very methodical, covering an entire patch and taking huge bites before moving on to the next patch. Dude grazes a spot, then moves to another spot, then might move back to the first spot; totally random. Maybe it's like when people eat corn on the cob (now available fresh locally!) ... there's the typewriter style of eating straight across the cob, then starting a new row (me); the people who rotate the cob in a circle; the people who eat totally randomly all around the cob. What makes horses (or people) methodical eaters or random eaters? Who knows? That's a bit too deep to get into when I'm on the end of the lead line. The zen part of the experience is standing there with my head totally empty of any other thoughts, just watching my horses happily eat their grass. Grass is good. Life is good. Ommmmmmm.
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