Sunday, November 18, 2012

A Little Excitement



The Hay Field  (last month)

Early this morning I got a wake – up call from my daughter yelling to me to get dressed quick (I believe the direct quote was "Hey, put some pants on!  We have a horse emergency!")  Seems a few of the horses were, for some mysterious reason, loose in the hay field behind our house.  She was just getting up to see if they had come up for breakfast and looked out the window to see three majestic horses galloping across the hay field behind the house, tails up and heading for the road.  Not a minute later our neighbor down the road called to tell us her daughter had spotted them running towards their farm. 

My daughter threw on a coat, her boots and a baseball cap and ran out the door, grabbed a bucket of grain and some lead ropes and headed out across the field towards them.  I got in the car and backed to the end of the driveway.  If they spooked I would try to block the road and keep them from continuing on to the much busier road that intersects ours.  Luckily, the horses only crossed the quiet back road to our neighbor's where they were greeted with a tub of feed from her at the end of her driveway.  She stood with them until my daughter arrived, which was very kind, especially considering she was already dressed for church and the three big, crazy dingbats were all swarming around her fighting over the grain.  Our neighbors are the best! 

My daughter, only having two hands for leading, had only grabbed two lead ropes, so she threw them over Nate and Blue and Donnie followed behind.  Donnie is a Nervous Nellie and a follower.  It was still a little on the dark side so cars coming up the road had their lights on which spooked Nate a tad but he was controllable.  What I like about our neighborhood is that all the cars slowed down and some stopped to ask if she needed help with the horses.  If the drivers weren’t savvy as they were passing the horses it could have gotten ugly.  So a disaster was averted because of good neighbors and sensible drivers as my daughter led Moe, Larry and Curly home from their morning adventure.

Another neighbor who helps us out around the farm took his truck around the fence line without being asked and found their escape route.  He knows the horses well and told us that it was definitely Blue who led the pack.  Seems “he who knows how to open gates” (that’s his Native American name) fiddled with the gate up on the hill by the dressage arena until he opened the latch and pushed it open. Then led Nate and Donnie through the twisting trails onto the hay/corn field behind us. While our neighbor was up there he tied the gate shut.  He and his son were out hunting deer this morning so it was not hard to follow the trail through the frost to the gate. 

Of course, this set the rest of the herd galloping up to the barn to tattle on the Three Stooges.  We promptly locked them all in the catch pen.  Mellon got his medicine and I was able to catch Dusty for a ride.  They have been staying out all week because the inside of the barn was being varnished.  I was hoping they would come up this morning so I wouldn’t have to trek out to the back field to catch her.  So I guess one good thing came out of the morning romp.  Then again, I could do without the drama and could use the exercise walking around trying to cajole Dusty to come with me.  Never a dull moment around here.  

Until next time

Quote for Today

How do you catch a loose horse?
Make a noise like a carrot.

    - British Cavalry joke

30 comments:

  1. Glad you got them all home safely! We've had our horses get out a couple of times as well, tis not a fun event

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    1. We've had horses escape from barns where we boarded but never from home. It is scary and we will have to double up on the security of gates and fences.

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  2. The middle-of-the-night sound I used to dread hearing... the "clop clop clop" of hooves strolling along the drive past our bedroom window.
    Fortunately, it was almost always the neighbour's horses coming IN to our place! If one of ours broke out, they usually stayed in the garden, munching on the lawn.

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    1. This is the first time any have escaped from this farm. We thought we had it all under control and safe. Just never figured the locksmith in Blue would cause trouble. Now the gates will be tied shut as well.

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  3. A happy ending...savvy neighbors. Glad things worked out so well.

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  4. I'm pretty sure an escaped horse is one of the scariest things of being a horse owner. I can't imagine three loose! I have a friend in Europe who's horse got loose and ended up at the local Pizza Hut. Thought I'd share that for a good laugh.

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    1. I'll bet he made a big scene at the Pizza Hut! Very funny, glad he wasn't injured on his adventure and I hope he got a slice of pizza for his trouble.

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  5. Kudos to your neighbors.

    I've just got to say that I was crushed when I got a new computer and somehow lost your RSS feed. Your pictures are lovely, your stories are wonderful, and I always enjoy it.

    I've got my Grey Horse Matters back where it belongs and have enjoyed catching up!

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  6. Hi,

    It's nice to have you back! Glad your new computer is cooperating.

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  7. that comes under the heading of "it seemed like a good idea at the time..." they think they're pretty smart when they escape, but they were pretty freaked out once they got out there. they do get themselves into all kinds of trouble, but at least they didn't do anything too stupid while they were exploring the world outside the fence :-\

    i would have loved to see the horse at pizza hut!

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    1. They really do get freaked out once the escape is a reality. So the galloping commences, "I don't know where I'm going but I'm making good time" seems to be the motto. I would have love to see the Pizza Hut horse too.

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  8. Holy crap!! What a way to wake up! Figures it would be handsome Blue as the head instigator. :-) Glad that everyone is back safe and sound. What wonderful neighbours you have.

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    1. It was a little early and a lot cold to be tromping around rounding up the boys. My job wasn't too bad though since I was mainly the second line of defense they had to get past if they came my way. My neighbors are great.

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  9. I guess Dusty was the good girl this time! Your neighbors sound awesome, by the way.

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    1. Dusty was mostly concerned that her Nate was missing I think. I'm surprised she didn't go with him. She seldom leaves his side but I guess this time he was on his own. (Don't tell Nate but she's a little smarter than he is and she knows where she has it good) My neighbors are awesome.

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  10. This post makes me feel better about how obsessively I chain the front gate every time I leave the property, despite Val being hemmed in by a super hot, well maintained electric fence.

    Sometimes those smarty-pants horses (talking about you Blue) can just let themselves out!

    Glad there was a happy ending to the tale! :D

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  11. I don't think you're obsessive at all. We have most of our gates chained too. Just not his particular one up by the trails because it was easier to open from horseback. That's over now though. Thanks Blue!

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  12. Naughty Blue! I'm thinking his new name should be Houdini!

    I'm glad that everyone made it back home safe and sound. To much excitement so early in the morning!

    ~Lisa

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  13. Hi Lisa,

    Houdini would be another good name for Blue to go by!

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  14. Beautiful, beautiful photo! Terrific having such great neighbors. So glad this has a happy ending and everyone is safely home. Whee ...those rascal horses!

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  15. It's always interesting around here, that's for sure. That is one of my favorite pictures. The colors were so pretty last month. Now it's all gone and everything looks so bare.

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  16. So happy that all turned out well!! Our road is very busy, and it's a fear that I always harbor. I've made a habit of saying a prayer for our animals' protection whenever I leave home...so far, so good! :)

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  17. It could have been a worse situatin than it was. I'm happy it wasn't a big drama and turned out well too.

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  18. Horses are always more majestic running when they are being naughty because they TOTALLY KNOW IT! glad they got caught! Good thing Blue and Dudley don't live near each other.
    - The Equestrian Vagabond

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    1. Hi Merri,

      Blue and Dudley would be a bad combination for sure!

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  19. Wow! Thank heavens you have good neighbors, especially the one who was on her way to church. That's one way to get the adrenaline racing on a quiet morning! I'm so glad that everyone got home safe and sound. As always, your daughter has the calm leadership to keep the herd in line.

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    1. I think one of the reasons our herd is basically calm and mostly sensible is due mainly to my daughter's always calm demeanor.

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  20. Whoa, glad it all ended well! There's nothing scarier than three stooges running loose!

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