Last night when I went out to bring the horses in from the pasture the neighbors’ cows were in the backyard. So I decided that since I have a actual real-live working cow horse I was going to go round them up. Of course it would take too long to saddle her up so I decided to chase cows on foot with her.

If I hadn’t have worked cows with her already I don’t know what I would have thought about her behavior. I’d probably be scared to death to even try. It was almost fully dark so I don’t know if she couldn’t see the cows very well or if she just didn’t care or was mad that she didn’t get to go to the stall for her dinner as expected. Here’s how chasing the cows went:

Step 1: I point her towards the cows and say, “Prize, get the cows.”

Step 2: She starts snorting. She has a very girly nickering voice but she snorts with a very loud and deep voice that sounds like there should be fire coming out of her nostrils. This gets the cows’ attention.

Step 3: She starts prancing in barely controlled circles around me. Her head is high. Her tail is up. She is in full Park Horse Diva mode. Just when I think that she is about to totally freak and bolt –

Step 4: Stop suddenly and graze calmly – seeming to forget that there are even cows there.

Step 5: I pull up her head. She looks at me blankly. The cows are standing stock still and staring because Prize is putting on a good show.

Repeat all steps until cows decide to go home on their own.