Those of You With More Than One Animal.....

Flipo's Mum

Flipo's Mum

Heavy owner of a Heavy
Aug 17, 2009
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Perthshire, Scotland
Do you prioritise/ love one more than the other(s)? Do you think thats ok?

It really frustrates me to see the attention and care some folk seem to have for their favourite horse, dog, etc. and the other animals they own seem to take second best.

Can you love each animal equally or is it just human nature to have a favourite? Do you prioritise the needs of your ridden horse because he is ridden?
 
I clearly have a favourite. I only got Littles as a companion for Joy. That doesn't mean he's not loved and he has a home with me for life. Joy is my horse of a lifetime so I was never going to find one I connect with as much.

Over the years we've had load of cats as we usually have at least 4 and get rescues who are already adults and struggle to find new homes as they aren't cute kittens or have to be rejoined together. Love my existing 3 as we do, I had one in the past who was my boy and my heart was his completely.
 
Ooo right then...I have 3 horses, 2 dogs, 2 cats. I must admit I do favour the little black cat, I feel we have more of a connection as she's very timid but is so affectionate to only me...hard not to favour her tbh, but saying that I don't do anything different between the care of them both, and I try to give the same amount of attention to each.

My dogs - I suppose slightly more favour to Barney as he was our first and he is older so we fuss about him more (picking up/down into car, joint supplements etc), but we care for them the same, they get the same exercise etc. and I suppose as Toby is so sensitive I fuss about him too!

My horses - same level of care, except Moët does get more attention as I ride her more, so she comes up more etc, Rosie often left behind in the field. Hence why I'm currently exploring the options of a part loan for her to get her more 1 to 1 attention.
 
My dogs and cats and hens and sheep all get equal treatment, then if any need extra care that's what they get.

The horses that are not riden do not get their feet trimmed as often as the ones who are working, everyone is one the same worm regime. Any that need medication get it regulary no question.

Though we don't treat most of our horses as pets, our working hroses get appropriate care as necessary as do the breeding horses.

So yes, they are treated differently but appropriately.
 
I have 7 horses, one dog ( but used to be 3) I will allways love Eva as she really is my riding pony but I still love the others and look after them. I tend to look after Eva, Sweep and Darcy and help with Kira and Charm. My partner Looks after Faye, Stormy and also does a lot of the chores up the farm.

I do know that my partner clearly favours Storm but they have a wonderful partnership together.
 
I try to give individual attention to all my animals.

I have 4 dogs that I look after in the house but only 2 are actually mine. I try to give them all individual love and attention although my 2 are 'special'.

With the horses there are 5 in total, 2 are mine and they are a bit more demanding than the others attention wise and I do spend a bit more time giving them bum scritches and such but I always try to make time to give the others a cuddle.
 
I have 4 horses and love them all pretty much the same but in different ways according to their character.
For instance, my arab loves attention and follows me around everywhere being friendly but sometimes cheeky. She gets lots of cuddles and scrats but I love her as you would a child.
My haflinger is much more self sufficient so doesn't follow and doesn't require as many cuddles but she does adore scrats which she gets lots of. Even though she makes me work harder my love for her is much more adult in that I know her evry quirk and character fault and strength and admire and respect her for that.
I do treat them as friends (not pets) and have no problem loving them all and prioritise whoever needs it at the time (or depending on my mood). They all get whatever medical treatment they need and I sort of keep a mental check to make sure that no one is getting more time than the others.
I asked my Mum how you divide up your heart as you have more children and she said that you don't divide your heart, you grow another bit :wub:
xxx
 
Good thread FM.
I have 15 dogs and 3 ponies. Only 1 of the ponies is mine but the other 2 probably take up more of my time than my own one as he is just so easy.
I treat them like they are my own though.
Must admit I have favourites among the dogs but as our pack is joint owned, some of the dogs are closer to OH and some are closer to me and I have one very special boy who is kissed more than the rest but they all the get same attention and walks and training.
I dont like to see blatant favouritism though and when one gets all and the other nothing. Do the animals actually mind though? Humanising them maybe?
 
dragonfarmgirl said:
I asked my Mum how you divide up your heart as you have more children and she said that you don't divide your heart, you grow another bit :wub:
xxx
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Thats lovely DFG. I agree. My mum always drummed it into my sister and I that we are kept both the same and I think its something I'm quite passionate about now. This is related to a situation with a sick animal right now and I feel a tad frustrated with my mate for not appearing to care so much as she would if it was her other animal.

clashnoir said:
I dont like to see blatant favouritism though and when one gets all and the other nothing. Do the animals actually mind though? Humanising them maybe?
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Yeah, I get the whole humanising thing, I don't know if they mind so much, that might just be my perception!! I guess I'm really interested to know if a non favourite animal was ill, would you put in as much time and money into making sure they weren't in pain? Do they get second best treatment because they're not the ridden horse, or the favourite animal?
 
Wally said:
My Collie does not want to be treated the same way as the Labbidog.
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I appreciate that we respond to personalities and some animals aren't as coothy as others, but that doesn't mean to say that they are not held with the same regard or love, does it? We give them attention in other ways but do we still feel for them and care for them the same way?
 
Flipo's Mum said:
Yeah, I get the whole humanising thing, I don't know if they mind so much, that might just be my perception!! I guess I'm really interested to know if a non favourite animal was ill, would you put in as much time and money into making sure they weren't in pain? Do they get second best treatment because they're not the ridden horse, or the favourite animal?
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All get the same treatment and time spent on them when ill.
I've had kennel dogs living in the house till they have recovered from whatever was wrong with them.
Although we sometimes have to make decisions based on whether the dog will have a quality of life and be a working dog. We've had to destroy some terriers that wouldnt have survived and as they are pure working dogs and couldnt be pets due to their nature. My favourite lab was 2/10ths lame for 3 weeks and I'd cut all exercise, dosed him up on Metacam for any pain/swelling and after 2 weeks he was no better so vet said try another week of rest or it would have to be xrays and possibly some sort of an op and if this was the case he would have had to retire. Luckily he is trotting up sound now and I'm gradually increasing his exercise as I need him to start work soon.
I know where you are coming from with the second rate care given to some and I have seen this. Also bought in dogs from people who trial and the dogs have been in disgusting states, fleas, worms, thin, sores from lying on hard ground and they expect these dogs to work. They were well trained mind you but not a thought given to its health.
 
Second best treatment? Not sure what you mean?

Mine are treated differently. When I take joy out the field to ride, Littles is left in the field but on the long winter side as he needs more grass than fat bum does! I'm sure he'd rather be there than tied up on hardstanding getting a grooming that isn't necessary.

I only groom mine when they need it. Joy needs it more often because of tack rubbing.

Littles gets more hugs and scratches. He's a very snuggly boy who likes attention...if he thinks Joy is bust eating!

Joy isn't remotely cuddly and can't stand fuss. She does however like company. She'll follow me around like a dog and just stand with me sighing and surveying her world.

Littles gets special food, expensive meds, rugging, extra attention to his feet as he isn't shod, needs his teeth doing twice as often and needs sedating for it, gets lots more scratches and tickles but is a retired companion. he's a babe but he's not Joy.

It's like asking me to say who I love most, my hubby or my daughter. Both mean the world to me. Love isn't rationed.
 
You've indirectly answered what I was asking JC!! I wanted to know that, although Joy is your horse of a lifetime, would you still provide Littles with the care and medical attention that he might need, even though he's not your ridden horse. Would you do more for Joy if she was the one with the conditions that Littles has?


Really, what I'm doing here is venting and b*tching - I'm sorry!! :redface:. I just hate to see people obviously not give an animal as much care and attention because they are not their favourite. It frustrates me that they just don't seem to care as much and I just wondered if anyone had similar feelings that they could explain it to me. I'm of one opinion, but I want to better understand other folks opinions as I'm sure there is justification.
 
Nope. Wouldn't make a difference.

Do you remember back when my cat Ceefa got run over? We'd only had him a couple of months at the time but his bills came to £6000-£7000 to try and save the leg. We knew him enough to know he'd be ok with a prolonged stay at the vets.

Our girls we'd had for longer but I'd not have done the same for them as all that cage rest and faffing would have driven them mental. We'd have amputated and gone for quicker recovery as it would have best suited them.

If you commit to an animal then you commit to an animal.

Just to add, Littles is still not actually MY pony. He's in long term loan. It would have been very easy to hand him back and get something younger, cheaper and a very doer (which is how he was when I first took him) so that it makes management of Joy and the companion a lot easier. This is easily the longest he's ever been in a home as he's been passed about a lot. I meant it when I took him on and swore he'd be taken care of.
 
I clearly have one that is most special to me with the horses (Rhia) but that is mainly because she has been with me for a lot lot longer than the others. Holly and Albert get plenty of love from me, infact in a way more than Rhia, they definitely gets more cuddles than Rhia (because of personality, Holly especially). Albert gets the most love from my husband, and plenty from me when he wants it. Freja gets some love from me, but she is fourth down the list. When I knew I was getting a forth, I was worried about that, but she has always had her sharer who loves her so so much. I know she doesn't feel left out.

The reason Holly ended up here is because she was depressed with her owner and was low down the line. She is very happy here and very very loved.

In the house it is a bit more complicated. We have one dog and 4 cats. Oz dog is very special to me. Oz dog is quite needy but only in his own way. He hates sitting on knees or being cuddled, apart from about once a month he decides that's what he wants, but he does cuddle up to your leg. When he does this the cats aren't allowed near, which is fine because my husband is the cat person. His best friend is one of the cats Monty. All our cats get their chance though. Last night I had 3 of them on me. (The 4th hates me and only talks to OH :( ) One of the female cats Millie prefers being with me (is sat here now).

I suppose with all our animals we let them come to us - and are always open to them, so I don't think they ever get left out. They all know they are loved.
 
Flipo's Mum said:
Yeah, I get the whole humanising thing, I don't know if they mind so much, that might just be my perception!! I guess I'm really interested to know if a non favourite animal was ill, would you put in as much time and money into making sure they weren't in pain? Do they get second best treatment because they're not the ridden horse, or the favourite animal?
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All get the same treatment as each other in the sense that if they are ill, get the vet, treat myself etc.

However that said, if Rhia looked to be in low level pain, at the same level as Albert, Rhia would most likely get a vet and Albert would wait a day. Nothing to do with how much I love them and everything to do with personality. Rhia is a proper hard case who refuses to show pain unless it is really hurting. Albert is a wussie and complains of any slight thing. Same with attention really, you have to take each one by their personality.
 
We have 1 horse, 4 ponies, 2 dogs, 2 cats, and 4 hens. All have different personalities and are treated accordingly. Muppet Fraser, for example, doesn't like being fussed and cuddled, but he loves being spoken to. Wubby, on the other hand, would be cuddled all day without complaint. It's a case of getting to know them. No-one gets left out.

To me, treating anybody/animal equally does not mean treating them the same. It means treating them in the manner they require to have same opportunity or outcome. It's recognising the differences and working with them, not trying to iron them out. OK, I'll get off my soapbox now!

Having said all that, I will admit that Wubby is my special pet. He was bought for who he is, pure and simple. I met him when visiting Wally and Frances while on holiday, and just couldn't get him out of my head.
 
I love both my girls equally. I kiss both noses at night and say the same thing; "I love your "dad" first, then both you ". Sad isn't it..............(runs away and dies of embarrasment.................)
 
Just wanted to add; I guess I know Storm a LOT more than Chloe, but I do love them both in equal measures - and I do treat them the same with regard to care and maintenance. Of course Storm and I go a lot further back and have a "past" together.
 
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