The Wonder Twins

 With the addition of Nykur, the icelandic horse gelding, to our co-op, Pyro found a friend his own age to play with. We refer to the pair of them as "The Wonder Twins", as they can often be found cavorting together in turnout.

The bromance is real

"Did we just become best friends?!"
"Yep!"

As Nykur settled into the herd, it became apparent that he wants to play at least as hard as Pyro (if not moreso). 

If you look closely, you can see the Wonder Twins playing bitey face in the shed.

Of late, it appears that Nykur might be Pyro's penance for incessantly playing with the older horses... whether they were willing participants or not.

Exhibit A: Pyro pestering poor Ivan

Last night, I got to witness our tiny resident Viking lay the WWF SmackDown on Pyro in turnout.

Bounced him off the "ropes" and everything

Pyro didn't seem as enthusiastic about returning Nykur's advances at play as he normally would be, so it appears he's getting a taste of his own medicine. 

"Buzz off!" in a very polite way

Nothing I witnessed was overly aggressive, so I'm not too concerned. Hopefully Pyro learns to say "no" and have it stick... without any injuries involved. However, horses will teach horses, so I think (hope... pray...) both of them will come out of this with better social skills. 

Best frands
...I'm thankful it's muzzle season

In the meanwhile, I get to enjoy watching Pyro have his ass handed to him by a horse 3/4 his size, knowing he's getting plenty of "exercise" even on days I don't work him. (I'll also be checking him for any bruises/soreness from the nightly wrestling match.)

Impressive flexibility on Pyro's part, but Nykur definitely "won" that round

"Sweep the leg!"

Ivan looks thankful he hasn't been tagged in.

They couldn't be more different in appearance.

But they're so similarly driven by play.

Chasing intermission

Though his is small, he is mighty.

I'm so grateful these young geldings have each other to pester, and I try not to cringe too much when I witness them body slam each other, reminding myself it's good for their mental health to have these social interactions as an outlet. Horses gotta horse!