ok..it is cooler and jenn is busy doing something besides posting pictures.

ziggy is thinking he would like to sleep with the cows. he hangs out with them a lot during the day...they are a nice family, percy is kind and fun...emily and joy are totally sweet. he could choose worse friends (well probably not here because all of the barn guys are nice.)

tonight at bedtime instead of tossing a royal fit to get into the barn, he quietly hung out with the cows who were waiting for their turn at the dinner bowls. i feed the cows last so i can get everyone else settled and fed first and that way the goats don't get pushed out of their food.

when i let the cows into the riding ring...ziggy went with them. i tried enticing him out with his dinner, he said, nope..i am staying out with my friends.
luckily today, i had bought him his own new purple halter (the one he came in with is too small)...so i got the halter...which is too big and needs adjusting but still worked...and led him into the barn to bed.

hmmmm...i think he should be with the horses at night...species-wise he is closer to a horse than he is to a cow. but, in the end, i do believe that ziggy should be able to make his own decision on this.

it just worries me a bit...fine for him to decide now, while he is relatively well and the weather is hot and dry that he would like to be with his best friends at night. but the cow barn has 24 hr open doors...the undercover shelters are not enough for a sickly little donkey in the wet or cold weather...he has way too much freedom out there to not sleep in the best possible place for him.

i think, in this..i must assume the role of a parent and choose what is right for him in the long run. he can be with his friends during the day but at night, i want him inside the main barn warm and dry.
no point letting him get into the habit of one bedtime place in good weather and then making him switch when the weather turns bad.

sorry ziggy pop..i think i have decided not to let you choose in this...you just do not understand the risks.