Some weeks ago Xeo was found standing outside the closed, latched, 6' high round pen in which the little mustangs are currently living. There were signs of him having scrambled over, which baffled us as he could barely reach the top rail with his nose. Since it didn't happen again, we dismissed it as a fluke.
Then, a couple of weeks ago, I was working with Xeo outside of the round pen, having tied Xoia up inside as an exercise in standing tied. I wasn't particularly expecting the lead rope to still be attached to the rail when I came back, as it had taken both of the mustangs mere days to learn how to undo a safety knot. What I hadn't expected, though, was to find her outside of the pen, gate wide open. This gate features a heavy duty spring latch, designed to be horse proof, which I at times find hard to open. I couldn't imagine how she could possibly have done this by herself and chided myself for not closing the gate properly....
Well, it seems I wrongly blamed myself. When I got there today, the gate was again wide open and the mustangs nowhere to be seen. In a bit of a panic, I grabbed halter and lead rope and started tracking their hoof prints around the property. Real easy to do after several days of almost continuous rain! They seemed to have simply followed the paths that we had walked with them before and I found them visiting with the other horses and goats. The very good news: as soon as Xoia saw me she walked up to me and let me halter her. Good girl! Xeo, not wanting to be left behind on his own, followed us back to the pen. We had a little issue when we reached the gate and Xoia firmly planted her 4 little hooves in the ground, refusing to go back in. A few minutes of yielding hindquarters, round and round in circles, changed her mind.
The baler twine in the picture is my temporary attempt to keep the little escape artists contained until I can go back tomorrow with a piece of chain. And a lock that requires opposable thumbs to operate.
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