My Little Pony, Part 3



Sunday morning, we let Rogie out. We were expecting fireworks, but it was pretty much a non-event -- thank goodness! Rogie wanted to see Twister, and Twister wanted to see Rogie and boss him a tiny bit, but Gryphon stepped in, chased Twister away, and Twister went to hide behind her savior -- Michael. As Gryphon started to give chase, Obie tried to step in front of him and pinned his ears, but Gryphon just ignored him and did what he intended to do. It was pretty funny, really, as it was Gryphon protecting Rogie from Twister, Obie trying to protect Twister from Gryphon, and Michael protecting everyone from everyone else.

Rogie took the pressure off the situation by leaving the paddock to nibble grass on the outside, and then he controlled exactly how much contact he had with Twister by sniffing noses with her under the electric tape. You could see the gears in her head turning as she was trying to suss out whether or not she could fit under the tape like Rogie does, but she wisely realized she couldn't. Interesting to see her intelligence at work like that. You can see Obie do that at times -- actually think through a problem and figure out the best way to deal with it.

And, I just took Twister for a short walk outside the paddock. Now that she's a little more comfortable with the environment, it seems she can be a little bit pushy and a fair bit stubborn when she gets a mind to, but I was quite clear and firm about what I wanted from her and what was not acceptable. I think that she, like most horses, just needs to test the boundaries a little and find out where she stands in the order of things.

Obie continues to do what he can to stave off and diffuse attacks from Gryphon, always watching the situation with and slipping in between Gryph and Twister just enough to let Twister get away unscathed. It is very cute and quite fascinating to watch.

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