Blood Brothers

Twice a year our boys go through bouts of head slamming, raging headaches, nose bleeds, aching limbs, and wounded egos. We patch up the battered and bruised and try again to effect a peaceful family reunion.
It doesn’t really seem to matter how many times the boys have met – or under what circumstances. There is always a score to settle. Not a personal grievance or memorable offense – just a score. There is something about testosterone that just makes the boys, well…testy. They test their strength, they test their boundaries, and they test the limits of my patience!
As their shepherd, it grieves me to see them bleed. I want to keep them from pain, I want to prevent any conflict between them that could ever arise. Doing so would go completely against their nature. It just isn't possible. The fights will occur, it is their way of communicating and establishing order. It is the same with us, and with our children - in order to find our place in this world, sometimes we have to experience being out of place - and the pain of being put back in it!
We’ve tried reuniting the boys in spaces too tight for them to move. We’ve reunited them around obstacles to prevent them from getting a running start at each other. We’ve reunited them in wide open spaces – big enough to avoid each other completely. We’ve reunited them fully hungry with a banquet of food spread out around them. We’ve taken well-meaning counsel to “anoint their heads with peppermint oil” so they couldn’t scent one another…which resulted in a fragrant battle between bloody candy canes.

Regardless of the efforts we’ve made to ensure peace, it seems that there is truth to the adage “boys will be boys.” There is no reunion without blood. Once sufficient blood is shed, and everyone is knocked practically senseless, the rams get on with the business of life in the bachelor flock: eating, drinking and lounging in the sun. They enjoy a peaceful camaraderie (likely brought about by trauma-induced amnesia)…at least until summer ends, and fall returns. They notice a ewe on a distant hillside, remember that they are indeed boys...and the battle resumes.
Facts from bioweb:
The battle between rams is intense. The two males rush at each other at a combined speed of 40mph, lower their heads, and clash with a force of 2400 pounds! The impact causes their hind legs to lift off the ground and the sound to echo for over a mile. They may charge one another on their hind legs or on all fours. The thickness of the skull and density of their horns, prevents serious brain damage from occurring. The osteocytes of the skull are spaced apart and act as a cushion for the blow. The endurance of these magnificent animals is parallel only to that of a machine. These battles can last for over 20 hours, stopping only to feed or regain comprehension. A male loses when he walks away from the fight or simply does not charge, but is not outcast. Instead, he must accept his role amongst the herd.