I let Rocky and the donkeys come together for an hour this afternoon. It mostly went well. Simon is clearly claiming Lulu and Fanny as his, and guarding them as he should be doing, as is natural. Once or twice, he charged at Rocky and tried to nip him, although he didn’t make contact or pursue it. Rocky turned and kicked Simon squarely in the head (I confess to cheering)  and Simon seemed to lose some interest in him. Then, they all grazed together for awhile. I brought the donkeys into the other pasture.

Big difference from yesterday, when I was not paying enough attention.  Things are getting calmer, Rocky is much easier than he was yesterday, Simon less belligerent and threatened. This is precisely what happened when Red came, even the chickens. Also when Simon came – he was bitten and nipped for weeks.  Simon is very protective of his tribe. I talked to our farrier and two friends with long experience with horses yesterday and today and they all encouraged me to keep putting them together and also watching them and giving them some time to adjust to one another. The vet also agreed. These are also my own instincts, very important to me. A number of people e-mailed me some accusations of being cruel. It seemed to me their messages were crueler than me.

These animals need to work it out themselves, not by human intervention. The different factor here is Rocky’s age and blindness, reasons to go slower and more cautiously. Rocky is alert, energetic, eating well and very interested in the donkeys. He seems to be looking for them. He gave Simon quite a shot to the head. This boy can handle himself.  His dental work seemed to make life a lot easier for him. More later.

I feel very good about our care for Rocky. I think this is one of the greatest gifts we can give him. As Ken Norman said, this is how they work it out. This is how they need to work it out.