Morning madness . . .

Mark has been the one feeding the horses in the morning on week days, but when I let the dogs out this morning, the girls were both in their paddocks waiting on breakfast, but I didn't see Duke anywhere.  And Ladybug was standing in Duke's stall -- something she NEVER has the nerve to do.  So I walked out to the barn to see where Duke had gone.  Thought maybe he was over in Bug's stall and I would need to switch them out. 

Well, when I got out there he was nowhere to be seen.  I walked out to the pasture - no Duke.  I was beginning to be afraid that someone had stolen him!  Or that maybe he was laying out there on the ground somewhere having eaten something that poisoned him!   Couldn't see him ANYWHERE.   I started back toward the barn  - thought he might be out in the front part of Bug's paddock and I just missed him.  But then I turned to look back and . . . OMG!  He was INSIDE the cottage where  we store all our "junk," and where Mark keeps the lawn mowers and various heavy equipment.



Duke was standing inside this building, looking out that window on the right next to the front door!  
(He's not in the window here -- I was WAY too petrified to think to take a picture at the time.)



He was looking out the front window at me and kicking and pawing at the wall just below that GLASS!  I should have gone around to the back and gotten him out.  But it scared the crap out of me!  I had visions of him sticking a leg through that glass and bleeding to death!  So I raced back to the house screaming for Mark, then we both ran out there to try and get him away from that glass.  As we headed toward the ramp at the back of the cottage . . . Duke trotted calmly down the ramp to meet us as if it were HIS house and he was saying, "Oh, nice to see you both here," then he proceeded to trot right on up to the barn and into his stall while Mark and I stood there trying to remember to breathe again!    Wow!  Talk about RELIEVED!!! 



There's the ramp at the back of the cottage - on the left in this picture.





Mark said he had closed those back doors but had not locked them.  So either Duke grabbed the wooden handle and pulled it open, or maybe a door just came open enough for him to get in - we don't know.   We DO know that those doors WILL be locked from now on!

I've been told in the past that horses spend their time trying to find ways to hurt themselves.  Thank goodness today there was not a scratch on Duke -- THIS time.  But I believe that now!   But will we ever be able to anticipate every way they can conceivably get themselves into trouble???  We'll give it our best shot, but to tell the truth . . . I'm just not sure it's possible.