Timbit Wars

A few weeks ago I heard a lot of squealing and what sounded like running around from the mares and ponies as I was feeding another pasture breakfast. When I had everyone in that pasture eating I looked across the driveway to see what was going on. To my stunned surprise I saw Traveller, Dawn and Dolly engaged in a battle with each other, and they were each trying to herd Timbit away from the others.

Traveller standing with his "prize"

Timbit seemed to think it was really cool to watch them mightily vying for the right to claim him. After a few minutes though he decided he was tired of being nipped at and herded around. When he had a moment when Dolly, Traveller and Dawn were all consumed by each other and not watching him, he stealthily slipped away. He went behind a treeline and joined Cuff Links and Lily.

Lily studying Timbit in a way that would make you think she hadn't seen him daily for years; "hmmm, I think I might want this little one" . . .

. . . except Cuff Links won the showdown and had the honor of Timbit invading his space

I thought it would all end since Timbit was now gone, but this strange morning kept getting more strange. Cuff Links and Lily proceeded to face off to determine who got to stand next to Timbit. The surprises kept on coming as Cuffie won the "right" to Timbit.

Dolly looking pleased to have won Timbit . . . 

. . . on the mornings she won Timbit she would groom and nuzzle him from his ears . . . 

. . . to his tail

For the next several mornings in a row a different version of this same scenario played out, minus Cuffie and Lily. For a couple more mornings Dawn, Dolly and Traveller continued to "claim" Timbit. After a couple of days Dawn came to her senses and realized this was not a battle worth fighting, and certainly not worth winning. But Dolly and Traveller continued with the Timbit obsession. Some mornings Traveller "won" Timbit, other mornings it was Dolly.

on the mornings Traveller won he would also nuzzle and groom Timbit (that's Dolly watching the victor with his prize in the background) . . . 

. . . and generally express his adoration for his prize

Typically Timbit is part of a clique with Sparky, Bonnie and Sabrina so the whole thing was just weird. I should add that Bonnie and Sabrina seemed content for someone else to claim Timbit, there were no efforts to win him back from them. The daily Timbit Wars continued for a couple of weeks, and then they stopped as quickly as they had started. Dolly and Traveller both realized that winning Timbit was not like winning the showcase showdown on the Price is Right. Winning Timbit is more like winning a day with Steve Stifler from the American Pie movies. For a short while all the stunts are funny, then you just want to push him out of the car and drive on. That's what it is like to hang with Timbit.

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