Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Gate Open Horses Gone

Just last week I was SO thrilled with how well S has been doing with horse chores. One day I had forgot to mention I needed her to do chores, and not only did she do them, she did them correctly. Last week I also had N run out to check the gate. She protested because she thought I was being worrisome.

Sunday night I got a call that I would need to work early on Monday morning. The sub position is easy and it's a 7.5 hour shift so I am happy to do it. Unfortunately it means I need to get in the shower at 5:00 and do chores by 5:45. At 5:45 as I marched across the yard with my flashlight in hand and dog at my heal I came around the corner to the unwelcome sight of a gate wide open.

I hurried in through the gate and shone my flashlight around their pen. No horses. Where would they go? I rushed across the yard and street to the open field, flashing my light and whistling. No horses. The flashlight caught the mounds of dirt and equipment that the pipe-line company has had in our field since spring. Last Thursday they finally showed up to finish burying the pipe. This means in my field are 20' deep trenches. I was relieved they weren't in the field. Where would they go?

I looked down the road where I thought I saw a flicker of something. Classy has a half bald face and has a blue eye, so I thought perhaps it was her. No more flickers. No movement.

I turned East and thought I would try the alfalfa rich field there. I whistled and flashed my light, and thankfully I saw movement. I rushed back to their pen and grabbed some oats. By the time I got to the gate on the other side of their pen Dixie was waiting and nickering to me.

I opened the gate and let them in. They rushed in as happy to be back as I was to see them. Classy and Catfish both seemed very bloated. I coaxed them into smaller pen because our construction man was coming to begin work on Classy's birthing shed. They ate the meager amount of oats I gave them and sauntered to the corner of the pen and went to sleep.

When I got back in the house both girls were up. S was sorry about the gate, but hadn't remembered leaving it open. N was sorry she questioned my double checking methods. I was sorry I hadn't double checked the night before.

At noon I came home from work and checked each horse out extensively. No knicks, no scratches. No swelling of legs. I made my lunch and ate my soup as I peered out the window at the horses. Dixie rolled. Gunner rolled. Classy kicked at her belly. Catfish rolled. That was it. Time to go back to work.

After work I again went straight to the horse pen to check them out. No signs of stress from the incident except a few runny stools.

So this Thanksgiving I am thankful that my horses survived another bout of our carelessness. I am thankful they didn't run down the road. I am thankful I found them before dawn, as it's gun deer season in our state this week and each one of my horses is browner than the next.

I hope your thanksgiving is filled with a day full of thanks giving.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

whew, I got very worried reading that, and this led me to think that you are a talented writer. Lately since you have been "just" writing about the farm and the animals your voice really comes through. You have a clean, spare style that says it all. I love your posts.

I am thankful for you. :))