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RE: [RC] Irish, weight, making friends - heidiHe is learning how to bond with other horses and this makes me feel so good because I know how lonely his life was previously as a stallion. Even though I know in the wild that stallions are independent, they are living in a natural environment, not a sterile one consisting of a stall or paddock and kept from other horses. Actually, in nature, stallions do not live alone. If they do not have a mare band, they live together in bachelor bands. They are every bit the herd animals that mares are. So the isolation that is inflicted on so many of them in our culture goes completely against their mental makeup. "Sterile" doesn't even begin to half describe it, IMO--but it's on the right track! Over the years, the only stallions we've had that could not live nose to nose to someone else were a handful that were brought up in isolation and simply could not socialize. On our "stallion row" everybody is in adjacent pipe paddocks with another stallion right over the fence, except for two who have driveways between their paddocks. We just split up a pair of 4-year-old stallions, not because they didn't get along, but because we gelded one. They also live right across a driveway from the mares, who come up and tease routinely. They are a part of the "herd" on the whole place, taking in the sights and sounds. Good luck with your fellow. Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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