mayhem on the farm
Yesterday we were watching football and napping when a neighbor called. HORSES WERE OUT! We jumped up and ran outside to see that 3 of John & Rachael's 4 horses were out (at least it was ours and not the boarders...). Panic ensued. I immediately called Rach and yelled something like "Horses out! Come NOW!" and hung up the phone. My telephone manners just aren't what they used to be...Scout was still in the run between all of the paddocks (he had managed to get the gate open, but wasn't smart enough to go under the ropes stretched across the doorways in the barn. We made sure he was secure, then flew back across the road where the other 3 were standing in front of the hay barn. When they saw us coming, they took off across the field...only they didn't see all of the electric fence that Fred had recently put up for the cows.
They ran through the fence, popping it out of all of the insulators on the posts and dragging the wire the length of the field. NOW we were REALLY panicking. Not only were 3 crazy horses on the loose, but the fence was out and there are nearly 100 cows out of a fence.
Aari ran back to the barn, and Shirley and I took off after her. I managed to get close enough to her to get her halter on. PRAISE GOD! Aari is usually the hardest to catch. Her chest was cut up and bloody from running through the barb-wire fence, but she was mainly scared.
At that moment, Rachael (and Mr. Donald & Mrs. Jenny) arrived. PRAISE GOD! Lilly and Cole ran to Rachael and she was able to get them into stalls. Cole seemed to be OK, but Lilly had also run through the fence and was terribly bloody. As the cows were still out, Rach didn't have time to check her. We were headed back across the road to contain the cows.
Fred jumped on the tractor and got a huge round bale of hay on the front in an attempt to lure the cows back into the permanent fence. They followed the tractor, and we all walked behind them to ensure that no stragglers escaped. At this point, I had settled down enough to take a few pictures with my phone (since I KNEW this would be blogworthy). Here, Rachael drives the last cow into the fence:
Once the cows were back in a fence, we took a few minutes to catch our breaths and rejoice. I also took a moment to whine that I'd just tromped through mud and poop in my good tennis shoes. Oh well.
We all rode back to the house and began to repair the fence. We had to walk across the field and FIND the wire, then untangle it (keep in mind that this is BARBED WIRE), then walk it back to where it belonged. Here's Shirley standing in the middle of the line and Rach pulling the end of it:
At that moment, John called. Rach explained what had happened, and I think this was the first time he was actually glad to be in Iraq rather than at home! Rachael talked to him as she stretched the wire back towards the pond:
After we got the wire back in place, we had to replace the broken insulators and straighten and tighten most of the posts.:
I've never seen such a beautiful fence in all of my life:
Nearly 3 hours later, the fence was back in place and electrified again. PRAISE GOD! Rachael was so relieved that she just laid down in the field. I was eventually able to revive her with chocolate covered cherries and a taco.
And what of our perps? Well...
After opening the gate, but not making it out of the barn, Scout (aka Idjit Horse) was deemed not competent to stand trial. He has been sentenced to hard labor in the training ring and is currently being housed in a maximum security facility.
Aari (aka There and Back Again) turned herself in and agreed to testify against the others in return for a reduced sentence. She is on probation until John returns (because Rach and I have no desire to deal with her) and is being investigated for suspected ties to terrorists.
Lilly (aka Image of Battlecry) is presumed to be the ringleader. She is currently nursing her wounds and ego. She has been charged with inciting a riot, destruction of property, and disturbing the peace. She has been sentenced to hard labor in the training ring.
Cole (aka Drums in the Deep) is still not sure what happened, as he was following Lilly. He has been charged as an accessory to property damage and with 100 counts of attempting to rustle cattle. He has been sentenced to hard labor in the show ring and has been ordered to stay away from peach ring candy for the next 60 days.
posted by Carroll @ 9:49 AM
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