Another BIG problem around here today!

This afternoon a policeman drove up our driveway and we wondered why on earth -- but as it turned out, he came to let us know that one of our horses was out on that road behind us!  Good grief!  And sure enough - it was Duke!  Shadow and Arthur were back there at the fence where Duke had climbed over but at least those two hadn't left just yet thankfully!  

So when Mark went around to the back road, I went out to the barn and quickly got some food ready and called the other two critters in and they came running back to the barn. Then I closed their gates so they couldn't go join Duke. (As I said, they hadn't crossed the fence back there yet but they were standing there calling to Duke and even apparently thinking about maybe joining him so I wanted to be sure they couldn't get back there again.)

As it turned out, the electric wires in front of that pasture fence wasn't functioning so Duke was able to just climb across the fence!  When that water had raised up several feet all around our yard and in the pasture there in back during that storm last month, it apparently screwed up those electric wires that kept the horses from going across the fence. When the water came up past the bottom electric wire, that's what no doubt ruined all that electric wire.  But unfortunately, we didn't realize that the wire wasn't functioning.   

Anyway, when Duke got out of the pasture, the guy living behind us eventually put a rope around Duke's neck and led him back up to the fence and he came back in.  So I called HIM to come eat as well -- and he did!  Then once he came into the barn I closed the remaining gate, and now all three of them are stuck in their paddocks and in their round pen and NOT able to get out into the back acreage.  

So tomorrow I'll go head out to Tractor Supply to pick up hundreds of feet of horse fence.  I'm sure Jerry will help Mark put up that new fence tomorrow when he comes here to work -- and I hope he'll come back again on Sunday so he can continue to help Mark deal with that fence.  I'm sure it will take at least two days - maybe more!  And once the new fence goes up, they'll be adding those electric wires in front of that fence to keep Duke from pushing against it.  Mark bought a new fence control today to replace that electric wire that wasn't working. And now that wire on the new fence will be at least three feet above the ground so that if another storm happens the water won't cover that new electric wire and ruin it like the last one was.   

And with that new strong fence, we won't have to worry anymore all that much about those horses.  Once we're up into our 80's we sure wouldn't want to have to get them for any reason somehow, that's for sure!  So we'll be really really glad to have that new fence put up.   Whew!