This little girl, Mairsiedotes, has a bent towards getting close to Honey, but Honey’s usual reaction is to squeal, feign a kick, and run away.  Mairsiedotes will continue to trail her, and stand very close to Honey’s hind end, until Honey squeals, feigns another kick, and runs away.  I am not sure exactly why Mairsiedotes is doing this, but there is definitely something controlling about it.  She will bother Honey continuously if they are together, unless they are busy eating, of course.

Last night, we had finally finished the floors in the three stalls, and Cheryl shut Honey in one stall and let the others wander in and out of the stalls and corral.  This is the way she keeps peace between the horses at night.  In the daytime, we usually put Mairsiedotes in a separate pasture.  Well, one of the horses must have let Honey out because in the middle of the night, they were all out and Mairsiedotes was chasing Honey around, in and out of the stalls.  Cheryl was exhausted from working on her school projects but she got up and tried to get Honey into a stall.  Honey was having none of it so Cheryl went back to sleep . . . or tried to.  She was constantly being awakened to the rumpus of squealing and banging of hooves on wood.

When she looked down, she saw Mairsiedotes chasing Honey in and out of a stall.  Then, finally, once Mairsiedotes had Honey cornered in the stall with her, Mairsiedotes slid the door to the corral shut.!!  She had Honey trapped.

The rest of the night she spent standing close to Honey.  Like the pressure training.  When Honey would relax, Mairsiedotes would relax.  When Honey moved away, Mairsiedotes followed and stood close again.  Mairsiedotes was not trying to hurt Honey, she seemed to just want Honey to accept her . . . ?  Or maybe to establish some sort of dominance . . . ?  I’m not sure.

By morning, they were both relaxed and appeared to be getting along!

Amazing.