05/09/2026
A little forage walk with Champ today, and apparently this old olive grove had something rather interesting going on.
Every now and again he would put his nose into one of these little holes and really work at the scent. At first I thought perhaps he'd found something edible because he seemed very determined to get whatever it was out.
Then I looked at his face.
That's the Flehmen response, where a horse draws an interesting scent into the vomeronasal organ to process it.
So now I'm wondering whether he was actually investigating the scent of another animal.
I don't know.
And I'm quite happy with that.
One of the things I love about spending time with horses is that sometimes the most useful thing we can do is watch before deciding. What has caught their attention? What changes? How much interest do they have in it? What are they telling us through those tiny changes in expression and behaviour?
This little moment is actually part of something much bigger with Champ at the moment.
We are starting to do more together after his summer break, and that preparation isn't simply about getting his body ready to carry me again. It's about paying attention to the horse who is actually standing in front of me.
I'll be talking about that more in next week's Field Note.
But today?
We were just following a nose through an olive grove.
And admiring the most expensive mane in living history. 😂❤️
