Boys will be Boys....

Well, today I turned Prize out with Louie and Marie. He is used to living with another gelding, a mare and molly so Tracy and I thought he might like being turned out with my two. And he and Louie are both very playful so we thought they might enjoy each other's company.

The farrier came this morning and took shoes off Marie and Louie. Louie was very good for the farrier. I was pleased as the barn owner was there and it's nice when they behave when there is an audience as that is when they usually do something embarrassing. Anyway, I put Prize out in his paddock until the farrier left. Then I put Louie and Marie in their pasture. I did notice today that Louie did not hesitate or make faces being led out. So, I may be right in my thought that his behavior is from not wanting to leave Prize behind in the barn. I then got Prize and put him in with Marie and Louie. Well, as suspected, that stirred them all up. Marie went into instant heat and both boys had to act a bit stupid about that. Louie was quite interested in Prize but feeling a little bit possessive of HIS mare. Prize was very interested in Marie and not so much in Louie. He made a few attempts to drive Louie off but Louie pretty much stood his ground. They didn't carry for more then 4 or 5 minutes then settled down to eat hay and seemed to be fine. I hung around for 15 or 2o minutes to watch them but all was quiet so I headed home to help with the barn building.

My friend Bonnie texted me that afternoon and and asked what time I was heading to the barn. She wanted to come over and meet Prize. I wasn't heading over until around 4:00 pm so she decided to over just a little bit earlier so she could see Prize while it was still daylight. She texted me again when she got there to tell me that Prize was very persistently mounting my mare and Louie was standing alone in a corner appearing to feel very sorry for himself. Louie wanted to visit with Bonnie but when he tried to approach her, Prize came right over for the attention and Louie wouldn't come near him. Poor Louie! When I got there, sure enough Prize was acting very studdish with my mare. He came right to me though when I came into the pasture with his halter and he led up to the barn like a complete gentlemen. As soon as Prize was out of the pasture, Louie went right up to Bonnie to suck up some attention. I brought Louie and Marie in and for once Louie did not fuss about going into his stall. And once in he was quiet and not looking for Marie but went right to eating his hay. Hummmmmm. Quite a change of attitude. He had a bit mark on his hindquarter. It was bloody but not deep or serious. So much for the playful boys enjoying each others company. They might be fine without my mare in the mix. Karen and Bart, the stable owners, said they had checked on them a couple times during the day and they had been quite and doing fine each time. I was relieved to hear that they hadn't been driving each other around all day. But I'm not sure if I'll put them together again tomorrow or not.