And Then There Were Three

I was very happy when I drove up to the barn on Wednesday to see Phantom and Cisco within social distance of their field-mates. I mean, they weren't standing right next to one of them, but everyone seemed happy and it was again showing progress in having them accepted into the herd.

That's Cisco on the left.

I decided that I would bring Cisco in first. It was a pretty hot day, and since I had been lazy in the morning and didn't get out early to ride before it got hot, I was still deciding if I would actually ride Phantom. I don't do heat well. Plus, I was also concerned that if I brought Phantom in, Cisco would just run the fenceline, and I really didn't want him doing that in this heat.

He came in and stood pretty good for a quick grooming. I need to work on getting him to come forward off a whip, so that when I ride him I hopefully have a way to get him moving when he has his feet planted. So off we went to the arena. Where I discovered that the footing was being worked on. So we toodled around a bit (by toodle I mean walking really fast while screaming at whoever will listen) and I called it a day.

I totally thought the loose pig would be terrifying to Cisco, but he totally wasn't. Also, don't leave bagels at pig height.

I discovered that while I had been in the arena another horse had been added to their field - Phantom's best bud, Ned. They've been best buds for the last 3 or 4 years and are almost always eating next to each other. When I took Cisco back out to turn him out, sure enough Phantom and Ned were side-by-side. With everyone else staring at them from the opposite side of the field. The field was split into two groups again.

Cisco joined them and they are now their own little herd of three. Which will hopefully mean that when one comes in, the other will not be so worried since they still have a buddy. Although when I brought Phantom in, Ned was pretty upset that she was gone.

The Three Amigos

I decided that because the footing was getting worked on in the arena, it was a good enough reason not to ride. So Phantom just came in for food and fly spray. My farrier had magically shown up without warning on Monday and replaced her shoes, so we should be able to get back to work on Friday.