#rottenbanana

Ms Sophie is back in Pony Jail as of last night. I arrived to find an extremely frustrated barn owner out repairing broken fence boards, and Sophie back living in the round pen.

She's taken to double barreling the fence rails. I think it started as her being a bit stupid about dinner time and thinking she needed a huge neighbour free perimeter around her. Never mind that they're all minding their own business eating in their own paddocks. Typical grumpy mare thing, though.

It's not like they're big beefy rails, but all the other horses seem to be ok with the electric plus the wood fence.

Now I think she's doing it just because she thinks she's pretty hot stuff and isn't otherwise preoccupied. The end game doesn't seem to be escape, because she doesn't go anywhere. I think she just likes to be dramatic and pretend she's the boss of the horses next door. I've worked at and managed barns before, so I'm all too aware that I'm the owner of the pain in the butt horse everyone kind of wishes they didn't have to deal with.

She has lots of space, just chooses to spend a lot of time up against the shared fenceline with her neighbours.

This obviously can't continue. She can't live in the round pen without shelter when the rain comes back.  She also can't keep wrecking stuff. Plus, I worry she's going to get caught up in a fence or otherwise hurt herself.

I've got a temporary 2 phase plan. Part one is to put her in with Bridget for a bit and cross my fingers hard Bridget still feels like being dominant mare and disciplining her for kicking at her.

In jail.

Part 2 is she's going back to work, effective immediately. Tired ponies are good ponies.

Back up plan is to send her back to the full board place I had her at last winter. She lives out in the herd there and there are two geldings there that don't take any crap from her. She's got scars to prove it, which sucks, but neither are unfair to her, so there's that.

We went for a walk to a different lake last week. It was so pretty. Sophie needs to go back soon - its about a 3-4 hour round trip leading her.