We're getting our pasture horse fence completed very soon - thank heaven!!

Once Duke ran out across the back fence onto that road behind us a week or more ago, we closed all three horses inside their three paddocks and that big round pen and they were NOT allowed to go out into that big back pasture until that entire new fence got installed and additional electric wires put up along the top and side of the new fence as well. Mark and Jerry have completed the fence, but the horses were still stuck inside their paddocks because they're going to install electric wires on that fence as well this weekend.  

But good grief! . . . this morning another police officer knocked on our door bright and early while I was still asleep! When I opened the front door I saw not only the police woman, but behind her out in the front yard was our mule, Arthur!  And when I ran out there to try and get hold of him, he went racing up the driveway to the road in FRONT of the house!  NOT good -- that road is REALLY busy so he might have gotten hit!  Well, I ran out to try and grab him but he headed out the gate to the road before I could get to him. Wow!  That really scared me!  But just as he headed out to the road a big truck came running down the road and that scared him!  So he turned around and ran back into the yard. Thank goodness!  So I quickly managed to close the front gate so he couldn't get back out again.  And shortly after that, Shadow ALSO came out into the front yard.  Good grief! Sure glad SHE didn't make it out of the yard!

Sure glad that gate got closed before Shadow made it up to the front yard this morning!  Good grief!

Then I found that the gate out of the back pasture into the front yard had been left open when Mark and Jerry were putting up that new fence - and that's where those horses came out into the front yard once they jumped over that gate that fell down at the side of Arthur's paddock.  But as it turned out, Arthur had hit down that gate out of his paddock into that back pasture, then he just jumped over that gate, and he ran across the pasture and found that open gate on the other side and went out of there into the front yard.  Then Shadow followed him as well. Those two hang out together generally. NOT good!  

There were those fences they were putting up last weekend -- and up there all the way to the front is where that gate was open going into our front yard.  And that's where Arthur went out this morning!

Well, then Shadow also came out across that gate and around into the front yard as well, but at least the front gate at the driveway was locked by then so I also closed that row across the driveway keeping them into that front yard while I went back and locked that side gate there way up in that picture above.  

There's Shadow (and Duke further back there to the left of her in that round pen).   They've been locked inside their paddocks and that round pen now for two weeks while Mark and Jerry put up that new fence.  Those horses will be REALLY happy to get back out into the big pasture space once that fence get completed -- maybe by tomorrow evening!

Here are Duke and Shadow up in the front of Shadow's paddock.  So although they haven't been able to go out to the pasture, they DO have several large paddocks and a big round pen for the last couple weeks anyway.

Anyway, then I gave Duke his breakfast this morning and then I went over and managed to get that gate that Arthur had dumped down (it's on the far side of that round pen in the picture above) and put it back up and added several wires to it to hope to keep it installed at least another couple days until Mark and Jerry finish that back fence and get THAT gate put back up correctly.  Well, those horses have been kept out of that back pasture now for two weeks so they'll be VERY happy about getting back out again this weekend, that's for sure!  And then once they let them out they're going to reinstall that gate between Arthur's paddock and that pasture so he won't be able to wreck it again ever!  I'm sure going to be VERY happy once that's all completed.  This morning was NOT good, that's for sure!

Anyway, here's that wire fence that got screwed up when that water came up several feet back in August.  That's why we put in regular metal fencing - then it there's tall water ever again it won't let those horses out anyway!

See, this is that previous electric wire fencing - once water came up past that bottom wire during the storm last month, those electric wires weren't working any longer and Duke shoved that wire down and went out into that back road behind us a week or two ago.  (Unfortunately, we didn't realize previously that the the wire wasn't working.)  And here before they set up the new fence, they put up those additional corner posts there since that corner post wasn't working right either.

But now that fence has been replaced since last weekend and this weekend they will be adding an electric wire at the top and another across the center of the fence - that way those horses can't lean against it and can't put their head across the top of it.

There's Mark and Jerry beginning to set up that new fence last week.

Once the fence was up, Jerry was installing all those things that fasten it to each post.

Then once that fence was installed, they added wire insulators.
See - there's one at the top and one in the middle of each post.

This is that wire insulator -- it's going to keep the horses from pushing against the fence.

So I took this picture there at the back of the pasture while I was standing in the middle at the back - this photo is showing half the fence going over to one side of the pasture.  

Anyway, I THINK they'll have put up that wire tomorrow so I hope those horses can get back out tomorrow night.  We'll see.  I'll keep you posted.

This is their normal pasture - sure hope they make it out there this weekend!
(But they're locked in over there in those fenced areas over there to the right currently.)