Ivan and the Herd

No pictures yet of sweet Ivan. Saturday when we brought him home, I put him in a small pen with a gate separating him and the rest of the herd. Sunday I put Zeke and Ivan together in the mares's winter pasture. They got along just fine...in fact...best buds.

Leaving for vacation really put a hitch in introducing Ivan to the herd. Unfortunately he got a crash course instead of my prefered month introduction. Knowing that we'll be leaving Wednesday morning, I wanted to introduce Ivan to the herd so he could adjust for a couple days.

Dude, Chaos, King, and Brego came up early so I locked them in and let Ivan and Zeke into the drylot. Not too much ruckus as I had worried about. Chaos picked on Ivan for a little bit and then they settled down to eating hay. Ivan and Chaos are the same height. Mike said he's going to have a heck of a time telling the black horses appart.

I let Sam out and there were a few more issues between those two. I think Sam is used to being challenged because of his size. Unfortunatley Ivan doesn't want to challenge. But it's all in establishing the pecking order.

After a little bit everyone else came up so I locked them up. Not too much ruckus. Ivan is a kicker. He's quick. I think if I take him on a trail ride I'll have to red flag him. He's fast and could really hurt someone. I don't think Ivan is a kicker unless provoked but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Throughout the entire "initiation", Zeke stayed close to Ivan's side. I think Zeke was trying to protect Ivan. It was rather sweet. I think Ivan and Zeke are going to be best friends. I had hoped to put Ivan in with Thor but that didn't work out.

Last night while I was throwing out a little hay to distract the herd, Maverick and Jim stood side by side. They were so close they were bumping bellies and swishing their tails in unison. Oh what I would have given for a camera right then. It was simply too cute. It did make me realize that Maverick (5yrs old) is much taller than Jim (21 yrs old).

I checked on the herd last night about 11pm and everyone was quiet. This morning I think Ivan got stuck in the leanto and couldn't get out (pinned in by naughty horses). I heard a little squealing and then saw Ivan come rushing out. I'm sure Dude was trying to put his "Bossman" attitude on him. But all in all Dude didn't really seem like he cared one way or another. As long as Ivan moves out of his way, Dude is happy. Dude seems to be mellowing out in his old age. He sort of reminds me of Dictator when he got older and I introduced horses into his herd.

I'll be intersted to see how everyone is when I get home tonight. Unfortunately I have to haul Thor and Joe to Madison tonight. The pasture I planned on using bother's Joe's hips and the lawn pasture is dried up. So I'll haul them to mom and dad's pasture which hasn't had a horse on it all spring/summer. I'm a little worried about hauling in this heat (heat index of 100+) but maybe if we wait until evening it won't be as hot. I'm also worried about taking them up to a new pasture when I can't keep an eye on them. I am sure they will be just fine. I'm simply over protective of my "kids".

Not sure if I'll get a chance to blog again before we leave. So if you don't hear from me for a few days it's because we are finally getting a well deserved vacation. This will be the first vacation I've had since last year around this time. I can say without a doubt, this year I am much less stressed and much more willing to rescue. Now if I could just take all my "kids" with me so I wouldn't have to worry!