Horses are like people — they all have distinctive personalities, and some have peculiar habits. For example, police mount Stewart, a red bay gelding with a white blaze and a roman nose, was a stargazer, which meant that he liked to travel around with his head thrown back, looking skyward. King, a golden chestnut with white mane and tail, was a ‘fiddle foot’ — he liked to dance on the spot whenever you stopped him.
As well as being a mooch, Old Major was obsessed with pawing the pavement. You would have to hold him with both hands whenever somebody passed by with a bag of groceries in their arms, especially if he smelled apples or carrots. He would start nickering in a pleading tone and often people who knew him would give him a treat. Whenever you stopped him at an intersection he would become impatient while waiting for the light to change and start pawing the pavement. If there was a bunch of kids on the sidewalk waiting for the light I would shout as I reined him in, “How old are you, Major?” and he would start pawing. He was usually about twenty by the time the light changed and we moved on.
Some of the habits the horses acquired were amusing, but others were downright annoying. Take for example, Joe — he was a nudger. Every time you tried to groom him or put his bridle on, he would persistently bump you with his nose. There was nothing he liked better than to pin you up against a stall wall and lovingly nudge the hell out you. It didn’t matter who you were or what you did to avoid it, he would have his nose up against you nuzzling away; even if you gave him a push he would just look startled and hurt for a second or two and then be right back at it.