Caught in the Act!

Hokey sure looks innocent, doesn't he?

He and Diablo have been squeezing through that narrow opening to get to the west field! I saw Hokey coming up today when I arrived to feed everyone, and so I hustled out into the pasture so I could see how he was getting in and out. He has pushed over a post that was there (and supported by concrete blocks).

Mystery solved!

They're Ba-ack!!

I went out this afternoon to feed and check the horses, wondering what I would find after yesterday's game of "pasture roulette."

Sure enough, Hokey and Diablo were back in the west pasture again! But Sultana was where she belonged, thank goodness. I think I know how the chain on the gate broke yesterday - she rammed the gate hard enough to do so. I saw her run into it today. It happened shortly after all the horses' heads snapped up and every one of them froze.

Sultana and Trouble

I suddenly heard a tremendous crackling sound in the underbrush north of the pasture and along the grain elevator property.  At that, all the horses bolted and galloped around in a frenzy, including Tanna who rushed the gate and rammed into it.

Out of the underbrush emerged one of the largest dogs I have ever seen, and it was loose.

His head was massive, and I felt uneasy and afraid myself. The dog pushed through the brush along the fencerow, making more noise and causing continued chaos among the horses. As the dog got closer, he paused, and eyed me for what seemed like an eternity. I turned and quickly hustled toward the safety of the barn.

A man at the grain elevator realized the dog was bothering the horses and called him to heel, then shouted an apology to me across the field.

While I am not happy to have a dog bothering the horses, especially one that large, at least now I have an idea of how Tanna got in with the other horses yesterday.

Now, if I could just figure out Diablo and Hokey's trick for getting into the west pasture...

Horse Wrangling

Tim's out of state, and I am in charge of the barn for the week. And wouldn't you know, there was a problem the very first day.

Sultana, Dolly's yearling filly, is home and in a separate paddock from the older horses to keep her from getting injured while Tim is gone. The other horses are in the pasture right next to her, so she has company and isn't alone.

Sultana

But, when I arrived this afternoon to check the herd, she was out in the main pasture with Abby, Trouble, and Persuasion. And Diablo and Hokey? They were in the west pasture that Tim has closed off so the grass can grow up.

Naturally, I was wearing a dress and sandals - I'd come straight from work and had thought all I'd need to do was throw some flakes of hay out and check the water troughs.

Slogging through the mud catching horses and switching up pastures was not on my agenda!

I went home to change and to recruit Craig to come back to the barn with me and see if we could get the horses juggled back into the correct pastures.

First, we got Abby, Trouble, and Persuasion out of Sultana's paddock where they'd gone while I'd been home. Craig held the gate while I led each horse through. Abby saw no need to leave - after all, she is usually my shadow, so why did she have to go?

So, she hung around and helped me repair the gate closure (the chain that holds it closed had been snapped in half - one of them must have run against it to do that!)

"We" worked hard to secure the gate with a lead rope, wrapping it several times around the post.

I sure love this girl! Even when she's more in the way than a help.

Next, it was time to go get Diablo and Hokey out of the west pasture. Just in case Tim had changed his mind and put them out there deliberately before he left, I checked the water trough. It had been scrubbed clean and overturned; no, he did not mean for those two to be out there!

With help from Craig who again did gate duties, I rounded the two up and shooed them into the right pasture. Craig closed the gate, and everyone was back where they were supposed to be.

But how did Diablo and Hokey get in the wrong pasture? I walked the fence line to find out. All the gates to the west pasture were closed and chained shut. All the boards were up on the paddock fence and in good repair. The high tensile wire up and in place. Everything checked out as it should.

So how did they do it??

I don't know, but it will be interesting to see if they're back there again tomorrow when I check the herd. Only this time I'll be ready and have barn clothes and boots in the car!