Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

I don't know what that phrase is from but I've always liked it.

It's been getting mighty toasty here. I do like to complain about the weather, in case you hadn't noticed. All that rain cheated us out of the really nice spring, so we seem to be moving rapidly into summer. Woo wee, can't wait for those 100+ degree days (me? sarcastic?)

Things are still tense in the horsey world here. Patrick and Shylah are getting along spendidly. They have been turned out together a few times and after the initial kick-and-squeal-fest all is well between them. But then there's Gwen. Oh Gwen... I don't understand her. She seemed to be in heat at first, and therefore spent most of her day trying to murder Patrick over the fence (that is, after all, her response to horses of the opposite sex, although I guess she exempted Sampson from this rule). She's calmed down somewhat, but is still being a complete weirdo. Normally the three horses are separated--Gwen in the big corral, Patrick in the small corral, Shylah in the pasture. Patrick's corral is in the middle, so if each horse stands at their gates, they can be about 30 feet apart. If Shylah is out of sight, Gwen can be civil. She still looks a bit pissed off and swishes her tail a lot, but she won't actively try to kill anyone. If Shylah is near Patrick, Gwen gets super agitated, runs around, pins her ears, major tail swishing. If Gwen and Shylah are together (I turn Gwen out for a couple hours every day on the pasture) she will NOT let Shylah get near Patrick. Gwen will make extraordinary efforts to keep herself between the two of them. This just boggles my mind, she has never had the slightest interest in what Shylah does, and Gwen has never seemed interested in another horse (other than to beat them up). So why she's doing this, I don't understand. Is she jealous? Insecure? Does she want Patrick all to herself? (I thought she hated him!). I don't understand, this is not the Gwen I know.

I've certainly never thought of Gwen as an athlete, but her skills at "cutting" Shylah are quite impressive. That mare can herd!

I think the cause of this is that he acts "studdish" although he is gelded. I don't know if there is some sort of residual leftovers there, or if he's just a dude with a 'tude, but he certainly does get her all riled up. I have no idea whether the three of them can be together, and that will be the deciding factor in whether Patrick stays. It won't work if Gwen is going to terrorize him constantly (for his own sake, and also because Gwen's new personality is horrendously annoying), and it definitely won't work if Gwen is going to take it out on Shylah. So... we'll see. To watch Patrick and Shylah gallop laps around the pasture is pretty awesome though, they look sooo pretty. He's definitely faster, but her short legs sure can move quickly when they need to!