Yikes! Duke -- again.

Mark just scared me to half to death!  He called and said "Duke got out."  WHAT!!  Oh no!  Not again!  Is he okay?  Do you know where he went?  

When I got done carrying on Mark explained that Duke broke one wire on the five-wire fence on the back side of his paddock, then he CLIMBED OUT.  And THEN he climbed back through Lizzie's fence into her paddock.  Can you believe! 

When Mark first saw the broken fence, he walked all over, clear out to the back of the property looking everywhere for Duke.  When he couldn't find him, he grabbed a lead rope and was heading for the car when he saw him standing calmly inside LIZZIE'S (locked) PADDOCK!  Good grief!  

I guess until we can add those heavy steel fence panels to ALL sides of his paddock we better not try and keep him locked in by himself.  So maybe when they finish eating, we better open the gate between their paddocks so he can go hang out with Lizzie if he feels like it.

Duke was apparently unable to convince Lizzie that she should climb through that fence he broke in through and go out into the pasture with him, so he stayed there with her in her paddock.  So maybe just letting him into her paddock would be good enough to keep him in place.  He is a pretty self-centered boy who think he deserves to have mares following him around at all times.  I think he misses all "the girls" over at Al's place.  And I know he misses Bug (we all do).  But I hope hanging with Lizzie will be enough to keep him in line.

I'll tell you what.  You THINK you have everything in place -- and then you put the horses in and find out that's just NOT the case!  I don't think you're ever actually done with horse facilities because given enough time, horses (well - Duke for sure) will come up with SOMETHING you have to fix.  I think the boy is just too darned smart for his own good.