Ungrateful wotsits!

[kas]

So the lady who owns the farm, Joan, suggests we put the horses on to some grass today while the weather holds. Normally I can't use this field, so it's a great treat, loads of grass and the horses love it. Joan and I spend an hour putting up electric fence. She says I'm very thorough, the lady before didn't used to put up 2 strands or need to electrify it. I explain about Tee Pee limbo'ing under one strand, and Fire taking un-electrified fences down... Eventually the horses happily charge out onto the grass and get their heads down and I go home.
I've just got out the bath and have a steaming cuppa in my hand and the phone rings. It's Joan -
"Hello my dear, have you had a lovely hot bath?"
"Yes, it was great"
"And a nice cup of tea?"
"Yep, just got it in my hand now"
"And are you all warm and relaxed??"
"Don't tell me - they're out aren't they???".
And of course they were. So I had to leap in the Trooper and race up there to find them in the dark. Tape and posts everywhere. Horses came racing down to me out of the dusk saying "Hi! We don't normally see you at night! Can we have Second Tea??".
So I gave them Second Tea, and shut them back in their bare old winter turnout paddock and will review the situation in daylight.

[jor]

Now THAT sounds about right! My 2yr old (omg almost 3yr old!) gelding has been escaping from every field recently and is sadly on limited turnout only when Im there, meaning hes getting between 4 and 6 hours out a day (mind you still more than most) today he got out of the field THREE times in the space of 45 minutes, came back to the stables and tried to find his feed bucket....dont know why I bother putting him out, maybe I should do the old carrot on a stick thing...

[mellymoo]

Typical!!!! When ,y boy does a houdini, farmer just leaves him (as long as he's still in a field), and we play hide and seek the next day for him!

[Louise C]

That's gratitude for you! I moved Flynn and his friend to the slightly rested field due to severe weather warnings tonight as there is a better field shelter in this one - so they proceed to gallop madly around it like they hadn't seen it for a year instead of two weeks! Still, good exercise for them:-)

[laura]

ooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh

serves them right going back in ...... mine would not have got a second tea Kas , you are FAR too generous.

[kas]

Second Tea is the easiest way to keep them in one place while I creep over and shut the gate ;D
They normally stay in with the electric on, I suspect that maybe a killer pheasant was spotted and Fin did his "no brain" act.

[susih]

teehee... ;D

A four-yo we sold a while back used to lift the posts gingerly with his teeth and step over the electric fencing when he got bored with his paddock and wanted to get back in. Usually though he got distracted on the way, went to take the mickey out of all the other horses on other paddocks, or, as on one memorable occasion, did a nice, short, speedy hack to the nearby woods (honestly, how many horses do you know who heads directly to the woods away from the yard once at large?) The new owner tells us he's learned to open the gates at the new yard, and once he's out of his paddock he goes and lets all the other horses out of theirs as well. A veritable one-horse-army of freedom fighters. If the paddock's boring with nothing to do, he surely doesn't hang around waiting for inspiration..

You know, he got a joyball in his stall once. He kept banging it on the railings non-stop until the horse next door complained, and he had to be deprived of his ball. ;D

[kas]

Did his neigh-bour write a letter? ;D
Fire does that with the posts, if she really, really wants to get out she delicately wobbles the posts with her lips until she finds the weak spot and then - over they go. She tests the fence with her whiskers as well. She's a bit "No pain no gain" about it, and doesn't worry about a bit of tingling.
This is actually quite fortunate. I was turning her out one day and had dropped on of my bungee gates on the ground, had the other handle in my hand. Suddenly - horrors! - Fire turned round and wrapped the loose bungee round a fetlock (I know - stupid me!). The world stood still while I waited for the sky to fall in, but she just stood there looking at me, giving a little twitch each time the energiser pulsed. She just let me unwind her and no problems
Fire and Tee Pee follow me playing with the tape when I'm putting fences up. When Fin came he was terrified of the tape, until they taught him this game and now they are all just too fearless!

[fin]

Lol! So I need to be looking at putting up post and rail in my little winter turnout pen then? I was going to go for a permanent electric fence but I'm starting to get a bit worried now !!

[kas]

Oh yes! I'm planning to gradually put up some wooden fences at strategic places. Unfortunately the field they were in yesterday isn't for my constant use, so I have to use electric there.
Lots of wood - and then some electric rope inside to stop them chewing it and pushing it over scratching their bums!!!