Pony tale

The ponies, specifically Buddy the Shetland pony, may do me in. Buddy is an escape artist. I feel as though all I do is try to keep up and add new layers of pony proofing with each escapade. (Pony proofing is very similar to toddler proofing your house.) It was raining this morning. On rainy days, the big horses stay in the dry lot with hay nets and I open the aisle up to the ponies to give them more room. We are already on the advanced level of pony containment in order to do this. I though all was well and we headed to church.

After church I head to the barn and as I'm walking up I see this.


Yes, that is Buddy grazing in front of the barn, outside of any fences. Vienna was incredibly annoyed that he was out and she wasn't. I pause and return to the house to enlist J.'s help because I don't think this is a one person job. 

To too it off, Buddy doesn't really like to be caught. We've been working on it and I'm the pasture I can get to him with a rope if I'm calm and slow. They was my plan, but with no fences I wasn't taking any chances. J. went one way to head him off while I went more towards him. Happily, he was so interested in grazing that just seeing us didn't make him bolt. So I decided to not take any chances and do things right the first time. 

Since he wasn't nervous that I was nearby, I slipped into the barn and grabbed the caution tape I keep handy. And here is my very best tip for you horse people if you haven't heard of it before. Caution tape is bright yellow and plastic which makes it wave a bit in the breeze. These two attribute mean that horses are going to be a little unsure of it. This makes it perfect for creating a temporary corral while staying a ways away from the loose horse. I tied one end to the hydrant and using a stray chair crated a large enclosure. Buddy didn't like the tape and didn't want to move towards it, so it made it very easy to skip a rope over his neck. He was returned to the barn without mishap or (further) drama. 

Seriously, I have made use of the role of caution take a couple of times over the past six plus years. I won't ever not have some on hand as long as I have horses. Get yourself some if you don't have any. 


Because ponies... 

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