JAIL BREAK! COPS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR TALL, DARK MALE WITH A LONG FACE.

As i was still lying in bed this morning, i thought i heard a knock at the door, but perhaps because it was only 7:30 (!) in the morning or because if anyone is stupid enough to be knocking this early on MY door, i didn't answer it to save their life.  I new something was up because of course the dogs were barking insanely as they usually do when someone is on or near our driveway (that includes down the road as well).

So after about a half an hour of trying to wake myself from a long winter's nap, i arose to find a note on my front door that the neighbor had left, reading;

"Bob + Dawn,
your horses (6) are  all in our yard + woods
Ron
7:30 now"

Oh, shit!  not again!  They have more escapes from our yard in the winter it seems. Maybe it's because it is such a pain in the butt to capture them when its 30 below, i think they must do it on purpose, laughing behind our backs after we get them back in. Glad i provide such amusement for them.

So i went out to investigate the situation and sure enough, they were gone!  I looked around, thinking i could follow hoof prints in the snow, but to my dismay they must've been out for hours because the light dusting of snow we got last night or this morning had covered their tracks.  I walked around the dry lot to determine how they got out and sure enough the little buggers had lifted a gate right off its hinges and then ran amok!  Why do they do this?  I know its gotta be terribly boring with nothing to do in the winter, but really?  Do you have to find ways to destroy the property, set your self free and then cause even more friction between us and they neighbors?  Do i not treat you horses with great respect and dignity and feed your sorry butts??? Some simple returned gratitude would be nice!

So i lifted the gate back up on its hinges and locked the gate.  I trodded on over to the neighbors house through the deep snow, still looking for any signs of hoof prints, but there were none.  I knocked on their door and Ron came out to help.  Soon Nancy, his wife, peeked out the front door and said, "They're comin' out of the woods now!"  And sure enough; there they were, all running together like one big happy family returning from a sledding trip.  I had one lead rope in my hand and proceeded to wrap it around Max's neck and started leading him back.  Sometimes if you take one, others will follow, we were hoping this was the case.  And i have figured out that normally this will happen, if they are tired, but if this is the first moment of escape they will not follow, they will torment the caught culprit until he starts screaming and trying to break the fence down again.  But, as i suspected they had been out for quite awhile as my inspection to find the break out place, led me to the barn where it was clear they had been playing in there for a long time as the bales of hay were thrown everywhere and bags of grain were tossed around, a perfectly good tiki torch smashed to pieces, poop in piles. So they were a little exhausted from their party in the woods.  After all, the snow is deep out there and its hard work traipsing through it. So they all followed me and Max back into the barn very quietly, and took their place in the dry lot once more. Thank goodness it was that easy!

Tiki torch, they must hate tiki torches

The carnage

Feed bag dragged 50 feet from the barn and left for dead

There have been so many escapes like this.  Once, i  remember the terrible chase that lead nearly 3 miles, through the deep snow, in the winter of course, where they all took off at a run, mocking me as i tried desperately to run behind them in snow boots and 3 foot deep snowdrifts, all the way through the subdivision behind us.

Or the time they took off across the road into the neighbors field, again in the winter, and ended up over near the highway called 18th street. At least the neighbors over there were kind enough to help out and get them into their paddock so we could go hook up the trailer and bring them home.

There has got to be a better way!  I think we are coming close to getting the fences at their best to deter breakouts, but now with this "gate off the hinges" thing, what's next? Jumping the fence? Sending the goats to eat down the fence? Torpedoes? Weapons of mass destruction? Do i need to install a fence line made of concrete blocks and mortar? This is the last straw, busters! No more mister nice guy.

Bad guy!

Jailbird