Saturday, June 18, 2011

The second weirdest thing that's ever happened at the 7MSN

It was 9:45 Friday night. I had yet to turn the boys and Lucy out into the pasture for the night. Smooch started barking and carrying on so I walked outside to see what was up. Hank was running around the corral being afraid of something; the burros and Lucy were in less of a frenzy but I could tell they were very worried about whatever had Hank in a panic.

It was too dark to see what evil lurked beyond the fenceline, but I assumed it was probably just a herd of pronghorns. I tossed the boys and Lucy some hay, hoping that food would take their minds off the problem. No such luck. Ten minutes went by and Hank was still in a frenzy, so I figured I'd best go out to investigate. I got my gun, hopped in the Ranger and headed down the road. I truly did not expect to see anything, mainly because it was just too dark.

I got about a quarter mile down the road and saw something large and white in the headlight beams. As I got closer, I saw there were two large white things. Then the two large white things started running. Horses! Wearing white fly sheets and fly masks. Hmm. Where in the heck had they come from? Don't they know this is the middle of nowhere?

I drove back to the house not sure of what I was going to do. My closeby neighbors are on vacation, so I called the 9-miles-away neighbors to see if they might know who the horses might belong to. They mentioned they had seen a truck with two city slickers pulling a fancy horsetrailer coming down the road around 4:00 and theorized they were the type of people to put fly sheets on their horses. That wasn't much to go on, and when we hung up, I still wasn't sure what I was going to do.

I decided to grab a couple of halters and see if I could catch them and pen them up somewhere for the night. When I walked back outside, they were standing behind the house. Alrighty then. I closed the gate at the end of the driveway and now they were safely contained. I fed and watered them, then got out my flashlight to see what I was dealing with – a mare and a gelding. I should mention that by now, Hank had calmed down, though he wasn't at all interested in going over to the fence to check them out. I think he's afraid of the fly sheets.


I called the state police asking if anyone had reported two horses missing, but no one had. Then I got in the truck and drove around for awhile, thinking I might run into somebody looking for their horses, but I didn't. I sure hope this mystery solves itself in the morning. I'll post an update whenever I get it figured out.

***

Update: The horses have been reunited with their frantic owners. I went out on the Ranger this morning and followed their tracks. All hoofprints led to a horse trailer down the road. Their owners were horse camping and had set up a hot-wire corral, which the gelding (an off-the-track thoroughbread) broke through, taking the mare (a Dutch warmblood) with him. (Good guess, AutumnSkyRanch!) The owners were relieved beyond measure to learn they were safe. I love happy endings.

39 comments:

  1. Could they have been "dumped" off by the city slickers thinking you'd give them a good home? Out here in WA people have dumped off horses they could no longer afford onto the military base. It's sad.

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  2. Maybe you just got a gift of two horses, complete with accessories!

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  3. I have to say that for living out in the middle of nowhere, your life is not boring! Wonder where the horses came from and who on earth doesn't realize they're missing? Will be looking for the update .....

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  4. Smart horses! They were heading to the all inclusive 7MSN for a weekend getaway! (Word travels fast on how great the accommodations are!)

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  5. I have hear of people dumping dogs and cats out in the country but not horses!!!! I am hoping for a happier ending to this story! With my early morning bleary eyes that has not had its quota of caffine, I read your sentence as horses with white sheets(?) That woke me up,,,I thought you were being visiting by the KKK :-0

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  6. I certainly hope that nothing awful happened and the owners are alright....their horses are fine, anyway. Will be waiting an update.

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  7. Oh my gosh!!!! Either the people were horse camping and their horses broke out of the pen....or they've been dumped? Thank goodness for Hank (yes, of course, and you) or who knows what might have happened to them. Poor scared horses, they landed in the right place.

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  8. I hope your mystery is resolved soon. I'm wondering if their parents didn't drop them off for a permanent summer camp at your place. Good luck with all of this.

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  9. And here I thought I'd find a Saturday repeat post! How intriguing is THIS!!!!!
    I'll stay tuned and check in regularly!

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  10. Another mystery!! I hope someone is frantically looking for them rather than them being dumped. Can't wait to hear the rest of this story!

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  11. Wow, Hank certainly had good reason to get excited. You definitely have to stay on your toes. Planets must be lined up weird over 7MSN the last couple of days.

    Doesn't make sense to abandon horses with covers on them. Of course abandoning doesn't make much sense anyway. Mystery upon mystery.

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  12. Yesterday was a day of "what could have happened, but didn't" for you, huh?
    I'm so glad you were able to get the horses to calm down enough to gather up and rescue. The owners must have been out of their minds with worry.

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  13. My goodness you've been having some excitement lately! Those horse owners were probably terrified when they found their horses took off on them. Good thing you caught them and got them reunited.

    Wonder what'll happen next??

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  14. Estella from Co.6/18/11, 7:54 AM

    Love happy endings :) What a hoot Lucy, George and Alan just played it cool...no big deal. Have a good one.

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  15. Glad you reunited them with their owners, you are such a good citizen to have gone the extra mile. You probably saved those horses from possible death if they had gone onto the highway.

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  16. Such good news! Linda, you are WONDERFUL!!!!!

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  17. Phew! Never a dull moment there at the 7MSN!!SWEET looking horses! GLAD they had a friend looking out for them like YOU!! Maybe Sunday will be a peaceful and restful day!!

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  18. You sure get your share of excitement out in the middle of nowhere! Wearing a fly sheet or blanket will dull the zap from the electric fence. I've seen many a horse escape at ride camps that way. Those owners were lucky their horses headed for your place!

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  19. Never a dull moment, eh? Happy endings are definitely my preference. So glad you were able to catch them and keep them safe. Good work!

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  20. Carol in Colo6/18/11, 8:57 AM

    Boy, you have had quite the week. An almost fire in your bedroom and now the horses. I figured horses with fly sheets must have broken out of somewhere. Thankfully Hank let you know there was something wrong. I am glad the horses are with their owners.

    We have had some "dumping" of horses, donkeys and llamas here in Northern Colorado because the owners can't take care of them anymore which is really sad.

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  21. I surely am glad I read this after you added the update.
    Hank has been taking lessons from Smooch, keeping an eye out for "trouble".
    I'm sure the horses got the "you'll be welcome here" vibe from 7MSN and just gavitated towards you.
    But what I don't get is...what were the owners doing camping on private land? Just wondering. The Olde Bagg

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  22. oh, i bet they were thrilled that you corralled, fed and watered their runaways! good for you!

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  23. I used to camp a lot with my horse tied to the trailer, and it worked well. At one organized ride, the management decided everyone's horse should be tied to a cable, not to their own trailer. I had a 17.2 hand tall gelding. Sometime during the night he walked off, dragging the cable and 4 other horses. I know it was him. In the morning he was standing at "his" trailer with his buddies in tow. It was pretty embarrassing.

    I don't suppose your people realized that if they put their horses in an electrified pen, then covered their bodies with fabric, the horses might not get the full zap?

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  24. A story with a happy ending. Thanks for sharing.
    Best always, Sandra

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  25. Glad you penned them up. Not good for horses to be running around in the dark like that in country they don't know. You're such a good person! Glad it all turned out good.

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  26. so glad it was nothing sinister! and are you in some sort of strange energy vortex or what?? first Hank acting all weird with the fly mask; then the completely random fire; now this.... the events of the last few days could power that space ship in "Hitchhikers Guide...." across the galaxy...... glad all is well...

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  27. Wow! It has been pretty exciting around the 7MSN lately! You know things come in three's. Wonder what will be next? Glad to know everyone is safe.

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  28. The horses are so lucky you found and confined them! The owners must have been so grateful. Wow.

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  29. The past few days have been something else at your place. Odd things come in threes, so be on the lookout.

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  30. I used to think that farm/ranch life would be dull and boring. Not any more!

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  31. Glad to hear you found the owners. Everyone must be so relieved.

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  32. I think you're being terribly humble. Clearly this was a case of Hank/7MSN groupies trying to get a glimpse at the celebrities.

    I remember when we kept our horses behind YARN (I really should do a post on that). Fortunately they are wire trained and not fence testers and were still here in the morning. But we wrote my cell number on their blankets - just in case.

    I'm sure they would have headed right for 7MSN.

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  33. Those horses couldn't have come to a better place. I hope their owners realize that fly sheets aren't a good idea next time they use electric fence for camping. It could have been a very expensive lesson for them.

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  34. Just read your update,,,thank goodness you found their owners!!!! I so enjoy a happing ending,,,,BUT I cannot help but echo some other readers,,,events do come in three's and since you haven't posted yet, and the gang would be knocking at your window if you were 5 minutes late with breakfast........?..........

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  35. Estella from Co.6/19/11, 7:51 AM

    Good for you. Rest is a GOOD thing..I spend a 12 hr. day baling hay the other day, but it's in all 750+ bales of the BEST grass hay and life is Good. Hugs to all

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  36. They couldn't have found a better place to wander off to! No wonder Hank was scared. Would you be also if all you could see were "white things" outside the pasture looking like ghosts.......

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  37. Wowee, what a story! Glad it ended well. :)

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  38. You get the good cowgirl of the week award! First, you put out fires, then you rescue lost pampered horses! What next? Never mind, I don't want the Universe to get any more crazy ideas about what to do at the 7MSN. Stay safe, have a margarita.

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  39. That would have freaked me out. I thought you'd just increased your herd by two, for a while there. Awful good of you to rescue both the horses AND the horse owners.

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