The Face of Homeless.............Another Breakout....

Part 1

Now that Solidare and her cohorts had a taste of freedom. They must have been looking for other chances to revisit the yard. It was only a couple of days later when they escaped again.

This time I was home and it was probably my fault. I'd let Solidare and her foal out when I got home from my daily ride. I'd also released Dare from her paddock next to Solidare's stall so she could join the duo in the front field.

That's my usual routine I do if I return home to find Solidare inside. I do it often enough you'd think I could remember all the steps in the process. I put Legs in his stall and give him some lunch. Then I turn Solidare and the colt loose before letting Dare go. Then I close the big gate and before I go back to the house, I close the small gate between the hay barn and the small barn by the house.

Well, at least that's the way it's supposed to go but I've been leaving out a step on more than one occasion. That's the part about closing that small gate between the hay barn and the small barn by the house. To be honest I can't remember when the last time was that I closed that small gate which is probably not a good thing.

The thing about that gate is it blocks off a narrow passage between those two barns. The walkway is probably four feet wide and twenty-four feet long. Lots of horses might be claustrophobic in such a narrow space but we take horses through it quite regularly.

The only ones that seem to worry about it are the young horses for the first time they see it. They can put a quite a fuss trying to avoid walking between those two buildings like that. Horses can really squirt out that other end on their first trip through. I guess that tells how snug it must feel but usually once they have gone through it they go more easily the second time.

Delilah is usually chained at the far end of that passageway. She is so used to horses coming through there she moves out of the way and sits waiting for them to pass. I doubt she would even stop a wayward horse coming down that aisle by itself.

That small gate being left open is how Solidare, her colt and Dare took their first adventure into the yard. The fact that Solidare and Dare made a break for it down that narrow path didn't surprise me. What did, was the fact the colt followed them. I've seen mares make their break for it down that aisle leaving bawling foals behind afraid to go through the narrow passage.

I imagine the colt must have thought twice about coming down that aisle but it sure hadn't stopped him. He didn't look any the worse for wear when I'd discovered him in the yard. Many a foal has broken out a sweat just thinking about going down that walkway wearing a halter and a lead. Never have I seen one begin the adventure without the conviction of some human behind the request.

Here we were a couple of days later and I'd forgotten that gate. It didn't take long for the horses to figure out they had access to the yard again. It was less than twenty minutes before the knock on my door telling me the horses had escaped again.

I knew immediately how they'd gotten out. More importantly I knew this time it had been my fault. It was a good thing that Dave and Lindsay were home but about now I was thinking I should be training my new guests in the fine art of catching loose horses.

To be continued...............


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