Excuse Me Neighbor, Did You Lose a Horse?

I’ve had lots of stray animals show up at my home over the years. Cats, dogs, and even a couple birds. A budgerigar visited my bird feeder in Knoxville and in Illinois a cockatiel came to hang out on our power line. Yet, I’ve never had a stray horse until today.

*My husband caught them in the headlights of his car on the driveway!*

My husband leaves for work early in the morning often before the baby and I are awake. This morning he woke me to let me know that he had found horses in our driveway. One of them was eating out of the bird feeder! That’s a new one for me! My husband led them using birdseed into our side pasture where they would be safe and out of the road until we could locate their caregiver. If you know my husband, you realize that him moving horses is simultaneously hilarious and courageous. He was very proud of getting them into the pasture, everyone unscathed. His adventure brought back a lot of funny memories for both of us as we relived him surviving the required block of equine medicine in veterinary school. Suffice it to say, it wasn’t his favorite.

*Check out the mare nibbling at the bird feeder!*

Horses look good on our farm. The kids love having them in the pasture and one of them is friendly enough to eat out of our hands. The other is a bit more wary especially of the dog. Oh, the dog. She has no idea what to do with these large and bizarre creatures on her property. She is, however, fond of eating any apple pieces they drop.

*It was so nice to look out the window and see horses on the farm!*

The kids did some detective work and discerned that the horses had actually come down the driveway. They followed the giant piles of poop (literally) to retrace the horses’ steps. Based on our farm field cams, the horses had been on the property through the night. They traveled around the entire house, through the backyard, and even munched on some of our hay bales that we use for archery practice. I find it hilarious that the horses were roaming about our property while we slept. We had no clue!

*The kids loved being able to feed them apples and carrots! The horses didn’t seem to mind.*

Having some stray horses on our property is a great way to meet the neighbors. We are delighted to get to talk to and meet the folks living on either side of us and across the street. Folks are friendly and helpful and I’m looking forward to being able to be more neighborly over the coming months. We also have a few phone numbers handy in case anything like this happens again. There is a white calf that we keep shooing out of the road when he slips out of our neighbor’s fence line. Perhaps, he’ll be our next meet and greet opportunity.

*The dog was unsure of the horses, but enjoyed the dropped apple pieces.*

Both horses belong to a neighbor two farms down who said the sire of our guests was once published in a Quarter Horse Magazine. The mares are a chestnut, brown mother/daughter pair. The sire passed away a few years ago.

*Watching them canter through the pasture was a joy!*

The mother (Jet) is docile and the caregiver promised my daughter a ride in exchange for our keeping the ladies safe. It was our pleasure. We enjoyed the adventure!