Frenemies

Remember the cute pictures I posted of Tessa and her new buddy Dez?  Yes, well, much like friendships between middle school girls, the relationship between Dez and Tessa has soured.  It started with Dez kicking at the wall separating her stall from Tessa's.  There was much ear pinning and squealing.  At first we assumed it was because one of them was in heat.  But it persisted.  Dez put up such a racket that Tessa ended up moving to a different stall.  She had become very cranky about people going into her stall.  She's been in the new stall about a week and already she's less crabby.  I'm glad my barn has folks who notice things like that.  I know a lot of barns would have just disciplined her for being crabby and left it at that.  My trainers and my barn are really invested in my pony's happiness and that's so important.

Dez and Tessa were still getting along okay in turnout, so after my lesson on Thursday I put Tessa back out in her usual pasture.  As I was turning to go I heard the sloshing sound of horses galloping through the mud.  I looked back to see Tessa with her tail straight up in the air, galloping around the turnout with Dez in hot pursuit.  They did this for about five minutes, but then seemed to settle into a truce.

I walked back to the barn and watched them for a few minutes.  Just as I was turning to go, they started up again.  Laura was already on her way out, having seen the ruckus too.  So we pulled Dez out so that Tessa could have some turn out time.  Poor Tessa stood by the gate giving me the most pathetic look.  She's not a fan of mud and she's not a fan of 'alone time.'  Though there are horses right next to her in the other paddocks, she prefers a buddy with her.

So that's the end of that friendship.  I think it's interesting that they started out okay and the relationship deteriorated after a few months.  Tessa is very submissive and Dez is only three so maybe Dez figured out she could push Tessa around and is being a snarly middle school bully.  Our paddocks aren't big enough to allow this dynamic to continue.  My pony also hates the mud so I'm sure she was unhappy about now having mud all the way up to her hindquarters from all the galloping.

I don't know who she'll get turned out with next.  Hopefully a pony who will be nicer to her.  A lover, not a fighter.