Samurai

You are never too old to take on new situations

As is so often the case, an animal had to find a new home because the owner was not doing well financially or in terms of health. Unfortunately, in Samurai’s case, both were true: his owner’s health and financial situation were increasingly becoming a disaster for both humans and animals.

Friends of the horse’s owner were very worried about Samurai, who was very thin in the stable. His owner had not been able to pay the stabling fee for months. Dieter Ehrengruber took notice when he was informed of this situation, and despite the fact that the Aiderbichler stables are full of animal residents, Samurai was taken in.

Chapeau dear Samurai - A new home at the age of 29

Samurai’s owner loves him more than anything. He brought her joy for many years and they were a great team. In the lives of many people, unfortunately, there are always events that are hopeless. Situations that make people despair of life. Worries and fears make you ill in the long run and at some point you find yourself in a dark tunnel. Although we know that there are people and – as in this case – also an animal that needs us, for whom we have taken responsibility, we have the will but no strength left to manage everything around us physically and mentally. Now the former owner has at least one worry off her mind. She can visit her samurai whenever she wants.

Samurai himself has now settled in well. For the first few weeks, he preferred to stand a little apart from the new group of horses. What does he think about? He won’t tell us his secrets. We have to keep an eye on him.You can tell from his appearance that Samurai is getting on in years. His eyes overlook nothing, his elegance and restraint still make Samurai look beautiful. Samurai is 29 years old, which is 91 years in human years.
We humans like to dye our first grey hairs, horses like Samurai don’t mind their grey fur on their face and body – they wear it with pride. The first grey hairs are particularly visible on the ears, eyes, around the mouth and on the forehead. The horse’s metabolism also changes with age and the youthful fat deposits are reduced. The muscles also become weaker and lose their youthful appearance. The horse’s entire body appears somewhat flabbier and narrower. None of this seems to bother Samurai. His movement is no longer that of a young horse, but rather duller and perhaps it takes him longer than a young horse to get going in the morning.

Age-related stubbornness also exists in horses

Samurai knows what he has achieved and enjoyed in the past, so he can also be proud and stubborn. Samurai’s old-age stubbornness also has a positive side, as it is an ideal way to avoid stressful situations, and Samurai can do this perfectly.

Horses like Samurai take longer to get used to new conditions, as they are no longer as physically and mentally flexible and perhaps no longer as full of vigour as they were when they were younger. Our horse trainers keep an eye on Samurai in the group and he is carefully introduced to the new life situation.

Social grooming - cuddling is essential

The almost 3-year-old Noriker David was actually the first horse to signal to Samurai “Welcome to Gut Aiderbichl. We have pretty much everything we like here!”. Perhaps the young David reminds Samurai of his own young, impetuous years? In any case, David is the horse that Samurai has no problem approaching.
Does mutual grooming also have a deeper meaning? Horses do not groom each other with every other horse. The relationship of trust is crucial. If the animals do not know each other, they tend to keep a polite distance from each other. This also applies to horses that have different ranks within the herd. The nibbling of the whole body, from the neck to the tail, over the belly and withers – this is the small, tentative trust that can slowly be read from the encounters between Samurai and David. Here and there, you can also see them stroking each other’s manes.

While Samurai is starting to like his new forever home, the grooms are thinking about transferring the elderly Samurai to the A stable. A-stable means old people’s stable, and this is where our horses that are getting on in years live. Blind horses also live in this special stable, such as Koby, who has been blind since birth, and our hay allergy sufferers also spend their lives in the A stable. Everything is calmer and even more careful for the horses. We want them to be well, so we do everything we can to ensure that the animals have everything they need. Let’s see how Samurai settles into the senior stable. We are very confident that he will like it and we will report back to you.