[dlskidmore]

Yesterday I was heading out to work, and saw a small equine in my hay field. (Miniature pony?) I had a big meeting I couldn't miss, so I hoped his owner would come looking for him and went to work. When I got home (very late) I heard a horse whining a bit, so I walked my fence line to make sure he wasn't tangled up in it somehow, found no horse, heard no further noises, went to bed.

This morning I get up for work, and there he is by the garden. I go back for an apple to try to lure him into my fence, and discover he's somehow inside my fence already. (Well meaning passer-by?) I left him some hay (that pasture is well mowed down) and some water and went looking for his owner. He huddled in the corner closest to my sheep and kept calling to them.

I had a clue which place he lived, but I didn't have any contact info for the owners, (who were not home). The next door neighbor was home, but didn't have a phone number for them and said they were hard to get a hold of. He also said the bus garage had called him because a bus almost hit the horse yesterday, and he had been advised to call 911 if the owners couldn't be reached. (Why they called him? Did they call everyone with a landline or perhaps the incident occurred in front of his house?) I ended up spending a couple hours online looking for contact info, eventually found one of the residents of that house on Facebook.

I went off to work, I hear he has made it home safely by now.

 

[crazyfarm]

We have one of those dangers to the road but it's a llama and they let him out on purpose.

 

[dlskidmore]

One of my sheep mentors lets her ram out on purpose, but they are way back from the road and he likes to stick close by the fence where his ladies are.

 

[dlskidmore]

If your horse got loose, how much would you expect your neighbors to do when they found him? I had him inside a fence with water and hay, was already 2 hours late for work and the owner was asking if I (who have no horse experience) could move him to a smaller space or take him home for her. I got that message after I was already at work...

 

[aoconnor1]

If your horse got loose, how much would you expect your neighbors to do when they found him? I had him inside a fence with water and hay, was already 2 hours late for work and the owner was asking if I (who have no horse experience) could move him to a smaller space or take him home for her. I got that message after I was already at work...

Personally, when my horses have gotten out, I expect my neighbors to only let me know they are out and then it is my responsibility to get them back. I have never and would never ask for more. Thankfully, I have horse owner neighbors and we have all caught, corralled, brought home, each other's horses or cattle at one point in time or another.

I do a lot of equine rescue and the county sheriffs know me well because of that... So...whenever any large animal of any kind is loose anywhere on our highway, at any time day or night, they call me! A long time ago we reinforced every inch of fence line on our ranch, and the sheriffs know that, so now when they call me, the dispatcher says "I know they aren't your horses, cattle, what have you, but...." And at whatever time of the middle of a pitch black night it is, I go take care of whatever is on the road until the owner can be reached and can get there. It's just the way is is around here.

 

[dizzy]

I board my horses. The farm owner was away and called me once at 11:30 pm. Her neighbor had called that there was a gray horse out. There are 3 gray horses on the farm-and I own 2 of them. I figured someone must have messed w/my gate and let the one out. So I go running out to the farm. Not only was the horse not gray, it wasn't a single horse-it was 5! Another boarder left HER gate opened. So I was out at midnight rounding up horses. I was not happy.

 

[dlskidmore]

I've had sheep on a halter get away from me before, I didn't think I should give horse handling my first try outside a gate with no horse people around.

 

[aoconnor1]

I've had sheep on a halter get away from me before, I didn't think I should give horse handling my first try outside a gate with no horse people around.

I don't blame you, I wouldn't want to either if I had never done that before!

 

[offthegrid]

I've had sheep on a halter get away from me before, I didn't think I should give horse handling my first try outside a gate with no horse people around.

Because you are smart. And minis, while small, are not necessarily easy. My mini is very shy and you would spend all day trying to catch her anyway.

If one of my horses got out, I'd be so grateful for anyone to just have told me where they were, and I would have sent flowers to them if they ended up on their property. Luckily, a mini isn't likely to do too much property damage, but that's not the point. I can't imagine asking anyone to actually catch and/or move my loose horse. Wow.

As an aside, if my mini spent the night eating someone's hay field, she would need to be standing in buckets of ice water the next day and that might not be enough to keep her from foundering. I wonder (but doubt) whether your neighbor is similarly concerned.

 

[dizzy]

Last Saturday, I had to round up 2 minis, a mini mule and a donkey. We think someone left a gate opened at the farm and they refused to be caught! They had no halters on, and would let us come up w/a bucket of grain, would even eat a handful of grain from our hands, but wouldn't let us touch them. They finally made their way into a field that had already been harvested. I had ridden my motorcycle, so I jumped on it and rounded them up that way. They gave up real quick since they couldn't out run that. And while we still couldn't catch them, at least we were able to open a gate and let them in.

 

[dlskidmore]

As an aside, if my mini spent the night eating someone's hay field, she would need to be standing in buckets of ice water the next day and that might not be enough to keep her from foundering. I wonder (but doubt) whether your neighbor is similarly concerned.

That may be why she decided to come right away despite my assurance the horse was secure, fed, and watered. The hay field is not too rich, horse should get full before over doing it. I have to supplement my sheep when that hay is their primary diet or they lose weight.

 

[offthegrid]

That may be why she decided to come right away despite my assurance the horse was secure, fed, and watered. The hay field is not too rich, horse should get full before over doing it. I have to supplement my sheep when that hay is their primary diet or they lose weight.

Well, maybe my "doubt" comment was unkind, then. I said it because of the expectation that you would do anything more than let her know you had the mini - in my opinion the owner should have been on their way, asap, to fetch it...not ask you to move it to a more appropriate enclosure. I hope it's ok now.

 

[dlskidmore]

I've not seen him again since he came home, and given how he was moping over my sheep I expect to see him again when he gets out again.