I made a mistake yesterday in turning Peechay in with the 'in' horses. Whether Théoden thought that he was Nettles, who he hated because he was a romancer, or just resented the intrusion into his herd, he was absolutely set on expelling him.
I hastily removed him from the field again by diverting him through an open gate and had a re-think.
Théoden's angst lasted for a good fifteen minutes after this perceived incursion...
...and he was cross with everyone.
A great opportunity to see some of the behaviours that Lucy Rees highlights in her book. Protection expressed through aggression. horses moving as one, a metre or so's gap between them, cohesion, synchrony, and collision avoidance,
Henrietta works on a different algorithm.
I tried putting Peechay just with Jack but Jack soon got bored and tried to force his way through the fence to get back to the other horses.
After a torrid day, I resolved the situation easily. I put Peechay on the Ifor Bus and took him over to Hale to live with his mother and brother.
