I Have Had Enough

I've been threatening to move Ivan for almost a week. I've been watching him bully Bo and Zeke for a month now. After Tuesday's biting episode and his subsequent shaming by being kicked out of the barn, I thought he would have learned.

Nope.

Instead, this morning I was throwing out hay. Of course that darn wagon tipped over so I'd already heaved and hauled and swore at the wagon and hay for tipping over. I got maybe ten feet from where my wagon tipped over and WHAM.

I knew there had been a horse to my right and behind but I didn't know who. Apparently it was Bo. And Ivan was behind him. Ivan threatened/bullied Bo and Bo, who has absolutely no ground manners needed/wanted to get away. His only escape...through me (so he thought). Bo's shoulder and my hip collided. It's a good thing I didn't get shoved any harder, otherwise I would have been face planted on the ground with the wagon toppled over on top of me.

Don't get me wrong. It IS Bo's fault for not respecting my space. But I blame Ivan. If Ivan hadn't been threatening Bo, I wouldn't have gotten pushed/trampled. It's been a few hours (of sitting) and now I'm starting to feel sore.

Tonight, Ivan is going in with the mares. I have had ENOUGH. It may be that I put him in with the ponies or I divide the pony pen and he'll be alone in a pen. I know some won't agree but he is simply bullying. Now Dude, Rain, and Chaos all push. They are more dominate horses but they don't outright bully. They don't go from one pile to another pushing one specific horse just to be mean. They will eat at a pile until they want a different pile but don't zone in on one horse just to torment. Ivan does. And that's unacceptable.

There will be NO bullying at the Sanctuary.

If it hadn't been that I needed to get to the paying job, Ivan would have been in timeout ALL morning. I was seeing red. Junior and Bo will go in the barn tonight for their grain and then tomorrow Junior will join the big herd. Ivan will be demoted to the mares' pen. If I see Brego bullying anyone, he'll be kicked out and sent to the pony pen (or some place else). I may simply put two separate time out pens away from the big herd and stick Ivan and Brego in their own timeout spot.

I have had ENOUGH.