Showdown at the 7MSN Corral

Update: Now that I've posted these pictures and looked at them a few times, I realized it's only a matter of time before one of the boys does get a leg hung up in one of the panels. So I spent a few hours today moving the portable pen out of the big corral. They'll find another way to get themselves into trouble, but at least I've removed the obvious one.

When the burros play, it's a gentle pas de deux. When Hank and Lyle play, it's a WWF smackdown. My heart stops a few times and a few more gray hairs pop out of my head, but in the end, nobody gets hurt. Hank and Lyle are best buddies, and you'll just have to trust me that they are not being aggressive here - this is just what geldings do.

In these photos, neither horse is confined to one side of the corral or the other. They could move back and forth if they wanted to, but they've agreed to some sort of equine ground rule that Hank will stay on the inside and Lyle will be outside the ring. As always, click on any of the pictures to enlarge them.

In the left corner we have the veteran Hank, a 15-year old Paint. And in the right corner we have Lyle, a 7-year-old upstart Quarter Horse.



Round one begins with Hank making a sneaky move through the panel.



He brings Lyle to his knees!



Lyle is back on his feet, calculating just how far away he has to stand to escape Hank's grasp.



Hank rears up and tries a sneak attack from above! Rancher Woman cringes as she envisions his hoof getting caught on the panel.



Lyle counters with a fierce look and Hank backs off.



The bell rings ending the round, and not a moment too soon for Lyle.



Lyle recovers and races around the outside of the corral. He comes in with a left hook.



Look at that follow through!



Lyle is still on the attack! He comes at Hank with a mid-air right hook!



But Hank counters with an airs above the ground.


Lyle decides he has met his match in this Lippizan-wannabe and throws in the towel.