[spacytracy]

So, I've had Val the wonder pony here for about 2 months, she's been living with my mini, who she bosses around but generally they get along.

Well, my pony gelding came home this weekend from being boarded, and he is a total LAMB. Has never been the antagonizer, is the lowest on the lowest totem pole, is always getting beat up.
He is just a dear.

This is what she does to him.

(He is on the left, the biggest horse. The little black dot is the mini, and Val is the paint with the grazing muzzle on.)
http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y56...=VIDEO0012.mp4

WHAT DID HE DO???????? Poor buddy.

*Note: I have no intentions of changing the herd dynamic or doing switcharoos, I don't think anyone is in real danger, I just feel sorry for the poor guy, because she is such a wench!

[BabyGreen]

What he did was try to make friends with the mini and Val got jealous.

[spacytracy]

Yea that was my thought too. The mini and my gelding are long time buds, and the mini and he get along great. I think she was like "MINE!" and came at him.

[Appsolute]

^^^ Yep, exactly. While he really didn't "do" anything, he got close to Val's "herd mate" and she ran him off - as it sounds like she has not yet accepted him into their "herd".

For whatever reason - my mare tends to be "claimed" by another horse in the pasture - both mares and geldings have done this - and once she is "claimed" if she tries to hang out with another horse - her "protector" (the one that claimed her) will chase off any horses that she tries to make friends with.

Much like Val did when the mini approached your gelding.

[spacytracy]

The first meeting, she connected with his chin. For a little turd, she can buck high! He was fine, btw.

This is the pony who stands stock still to be ridden by my 5 year old.

Hoping it dies down a bit. As long as no one is hurt, its kind of comical to see this little mare chase off the big boy.

[drawstraws]

Awwww, poor boy! I have 8 yr old and 10 yr old homebred half-brothers at home, along with a 16 year old gelding who have lived together their whole lives. I brought home a three year old gelding who had no clue about living with other horses (I believe all prior turnout he had was done alone). He thinks the best thing in the world now is to have friends. The 10 yr old decided from day one that he had to protect the 8 yr old (apparently the 16 yr old is the head of the herd and can fend for himself but his brother had recently started headshaking and I think he took it upon himself to take care of his bro since something wasn't quite right) from the young whippersnapper and spent the first few weeks herding the young one away from his brother. It was really quite interesting (and comical) to watch the way he would get in between them. And then other days it was full blown "meanyhead" (LOVE this term!!) and the poor three year old would have to make a run for it to get away. It's been about six months now and things have settled down but the 10 year old can still get all "MINE" about his brother occasionally.

Here's a video from a couple of weeks ago. Black horse is the 8 yr old, 3 yr old wants to play and decides to ignore the signs of black horse saying "no thanks", 10 yr old decides he has to butt in. Cracked me up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cox2V...D4g&playnext=1

[spacytracy]

Awww, so cute!!!! Love that they played for so long!!!

Yea, I'm sure it'll calm down, she was pretty fiesty when she was first introduced to my mini. And in that case I was pretty happy because she was so thin back then, I didn't want anyone picking on her.

Now, she's definitely feeling her oats a bit! It sort of makes me happy because of how far she's come. On the other hand I wish she wasn't taking it out on my favorite boy in the whole wide world, who also has come such a long way.

[TheJenners]

Yep. When I first got Odie (mini donk) for Rory, as he was being a huge pest, Rory bonded to Odie in about, ohhh, 20 minutes and decided Odie was "his."

This included running circles around Odie whenever Odie got too close to the fence they share with another gelding, or when the other gelding came over to inspect said tiny long ears. Rory being the doll baby and lover he is, I suspect running in circles and herding would be the extent of it. He has since stopped being an Odie whore.

Funny(ish) story: One time, a group of us went to the barn after a wedding, including a very intoxicated friend of mine. Friend had met Rory before, and had fed him treats, which put her in the good column in his book. Friend was now wearing a white dress and stumbling everywhere and nearly falling and being loud. Friend was hugging on Odie, who in typically stoic donkey manner, was like "okaaaaaaay..." Rory had been chilling with the rest of us normal folks, checking pockets and licking hands while occasionally looking worriedly at his BFF Odie. He finally couldn't take the dress, the noise and the flailing anymore, and ran over to Odie, inserted himself carefully between them and then herded Odie away to the OTHER SIDE OF THE PADDOCK.

[drawstraws]

Huh. That somehow linked to the wrong video - that was the 3 yr old and the 16 yr old who apparently have become BFF's. Here's the one it was supposed to be:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZymiVj3rOI

[JWB]

My mini!!! You get away.

[spacytracy]

HAHA! ^ Yep!

This morning there was less fanfare. Maybe a peace offering was made...shared custody of the mini, perhaps?

[TheJenners]

Court ordered parenting plan??