Why Prey Animals Don't Herd Sheep

We watched the storm roll in as we sat eating dinner on the back porch. Lily, the Haflinger, trotted a circle in the pasture and nosed the Five Virgins. The sheep complied and walked toward the barn. But the 850-pound Lily couldn't hold them there. About three minutes later, the sheep, finding no food in the barn, ambled back out to pasture. Again, Lily rounded them up and nosed them toward the barn. We suspected she wanted company in the barn. As a prey animal, Lily takes comfort in the herd. Having no other horses for company, she has decided the sheep will do. If only she could persuade them to stand in the barn with her and wait out the storm.