Sheldon has been trying hard to make friends with our herd of four. I’m a big believer in slow introductions so this is happening slowly.

Most of the time Sheldon is kept in a separate paddock that attaches to his stall. He can touch noses with the “girls”, Fortune and Curly, but for the most part they ignore him. Every morning, though, I’ve been turning Sheldon out in the larger pasture so he can stretch his legs and approach the others.

During this time, Curly looks like she would like to make friends with Sheldon but Fortune will have none of it. Every time Sheldon approaches Curly, Fortune herds Curly away from the fence, positions herself in-between Sheldon and Curly and then chase him off. You can almost hear Fortune muttering, “stay away from her she’s MY friend.” Luckily, Sheldon is able to take a hint and he keeps his distance

Sheldon has better luck with Freedom and Willow. He and Freedom got friendly in the trailer and Willow is curious about everything. I thought that Freedom might be more possessive about “his” mares but so far he seems unconcerned. Or maybe he’s just secure in his position.

This weekend I’ll try turning Freedom and Sheldon out together and see how they do. I haven’t seen any aggression from him so far, and Freedom is generally pretty mellow so hopefully they’ll get along fine.