It was the day before Christmas and Echo got a new roommate.
I thought it was time that Echo and Dandylyons spent some time together. Dandylyons is a good influence for horses because she's so calm and steady. I plan to walk Echo around the farm yard and expose him to scary things and it would be so much easier if Dandylyons is with us.
But first I have to get them bonded. The only other time she was with him, he chased her and she's never forgiven him for it. She spent the night in a small pen next to a him. This morning I let her out and she went right into the barn to clean up all the hay bits on the floor.
We have been storing hay in there. Echo will not go in the barn and so the hay was perfectly safe from him. We had to move it into the next stall because Dandylyons would try to eat it all at once. Echo watched her and was very interested, but would not go in.
Brad tried to coax him in but I don't think he'd go in the barn even if he was starving. He does have less cozy shelter in the pasture that he uses.
Dandylyons keeps close to Brad and Echo acts indifferent to her.
She remembers people, other animals and events really well. She kept a close eye on Echo.
Teddy wanted to herd her about really bad.
It was pretty hard to leave her there, but I trusted Echo not to hurt her. She peeked between the boards and mooed as we drove off. Later I checked them and this is what I saw in the corner pen!
On Christmas day the two new roommates were getting along really well. Echo shared his hay with her and not once did he put his ears back. After they ate I had Brad come over and we turned them out....big mistake! Dandylyons started walking in the direction of the other cows and Wildairo. Echo wouldn't leave us so we sat in the Jeep and then he left to catch up to her and that's when we saw his dark side.
He was horrible. He galloped up to her then raced passed bucking and kicking his feet in her direction. She started trotting in an effort to escape and that really set him off. If she just stood still he would have settled down but she decided to make a dash for the trees and took off at a canter. She only walks slowly these days so I was pretty upset to see Echo making her canter. I don't know what he was trying to do and I don't think he had a plan either. Once she got to the trees she was safe from him.
She found some tasty weeds there.
Echo was waiting for her to break cover.
We brought them back in. I will try turning them out again in a few days and see if he can behave himself. She's too old to be chased by some young scallywag.
I have many photos and farm adventures I want to write about and badly need to catch up and will do.
