Three of us plus a friend's daughter chasing three escaped Shetland ponies and a very recalcitrant goat through the garden and back to their field yesterday. The pictures tell the story.
Nothing like a bit of excitement.Oh boy!! Thats one way to get a workout!!
Years ago DH and I were on a trip out of state with a group of people for a conference. One of the guys got a call on his cell that his horse had escaped and was standing in the middle of downtown!
That is funny, though I am sure it didn't seem funny at the time. I went through wanting a horse when I was about 10, I think most girls do. I lived on a farm and couldn't understand why I couldn't have one. My father remembered having horses and he was having no part of it. One of the reasons was that 'there was no fence that a horse couldn't get out of".
That's a great story. Maybe because Casper, the pony, was stubborn and your grandpa was a little stubborn...then they never could see 'eye to eye'.Originally Posted by Alicia88
...
So, Christi and I would walk right up to him, click the lead rope onto his halter, and walk him home, easy as you please.
I still can't figure out why we had to go through all that every time before grandpa would back off. I mean, considering that we never had a problem, you would think he would have just accepted it. But I have never met anyone half as stubborn as my grandpa was.
That's how it is here. Where I live, a traffic jam is 6 cars lined up behind a tractor. Hahaha! My grandpa had Alzheimer's and when he was getting to the end, he was always worried about having to go out and chase the cows. They sold the farm and retired in the 90's, but he went back there. Strangely enough, even though he went that far back, he didn't forget me or my sisters. I'm the oldest and I was born in 1988; Christi in 1992; and DD in 2000. Alzheimer's patients a lot of time start acting like kids again. My mom worked in the nursing home he was in and once he stripped naked and laid on the bed and refused to get dressed. So mom said, "What if your granddaughters walked in? Would you want them to see you like this?" He said, "No" with a pouty tone. "Then, do you want to get dressed." "Yes." And I can't count the number of times, mom had to call me so I could tell Grandpa that I was home and didn't need him to pick me up from school.#Country problems.
The other day a deputy came into the Post Office and told me that someone's cows were out, and he was told the owner is a mail carrier. Well, not in my office. . .so I looked at the employee directory. He works in another Post Iffice. So I called that office and got his cell phone number so the deputy could call him. Only in a rural small town!
The riding school I learnt to ride at had a small herd of goats to keep the weeds and thistles down in the pastures. They'll eat anything! They also had a billy goat that was kept in a loose box. I remember when I used to help out at the stables offering to take him for a walk one day. The owner warned me that he didn't like to go far. I managed to get him as far as the paddock gate before he changed his mind and trotted back to his loose box. Those guys are really strong, he pulled me along beside him like I wasn't even there.Ponies can be very stubborn, and when they gang up together it can be impossible. Two of mine are usually easy to catch, especially if I am on my own. Bit all together they decide noway are they going anywhere. The goat is the worst, and she is stronger than any of the ponies. Of course, all she wants is to get at the flowers and bushes in the garden.
Can goats and ponies be distracted or bribed with carrots or apples?It is incredible how strong goats are. Very few people can hold mine, and when she takes it into her head to make for a rose bush it is almost impossible to stop her. She is a escape artist, and has destroyed my garden twice this summer - eating the roses, lupins, geraniums and many flowering shrubs. I have added height tot he fences, but she still gets out.
Goats love all fruit, but she gets out at night and I find her in the flower garden. Anyway, we have put the fence up another 10 inches or so and maybe that will help. Goats can jump at least twice their own height, and she can also push and break wire mesh fencing.Can goats and ponies be distracted or bribed with carrots or apples?
And do goats push the fence, jump the fence, or climb the fence, to escape?
(though, I guess you'd not have the fresh fruit on you at all times, and after destroying your flowers and garden twice...the goat might think it was some sort of reward she was getting.)
She sounds very, very smart...even if a little mischievous.