It really is there; even when it's not...

Finding the Sense in the [seemingly] Nonsensical

It took me a long time to realize that there was a grain bucketful boatload of truth in that statement. Just because we can't see it, doesn't mean it isn't there. Horses (and other animals) are infinitely more aware of their surroundings than people; we tend to be fairly oblivious as a species. I walked outside one afternoon to find The Girls and The Moo Crew standing together in a frozen, frightened blot on their respective sides of the fence. Since they were all staring in the same direction, I used my brilliant powers of deduction to look in that exact spot to see what might have frightened them. Ummm...I see the land next door, a dead tree, and a whole bunch of weeds. We didn't have a storm, there was nothing moving, and no noise, so what was it?? I had to walk halfway across the pasture and do a considerable amount of scanning (both high and low) before I finally figured it out:

Almost completely hidden in the weeds at the base of the tree was a large branch; a.k.a the top portion of the tree. Although we'd had some gusty winds that day, it was hardly anything major (that is, of course, unless you are an old, brittle, dead-as-a-doornail tree). Got it; mystery solved (and yay :o)

Yesterday morning yielded a new mystery: and would you believe I actually had my camera with me for once? The Girls had not come down the hill for breakfast (they're usually waiting for me), nor did they answer my first whistle. The Moo Crew, however, was quick to materialize when they heard me. I called out to Rina, who whinnied back (a regular whinny; everybody's ok - whew). Yet they still did not come down, which meant that something was definitely off. I walked up the hill and found The Girls staring over the fence toward a house down the street. The people that live there have horses who, since they rarely feed them, are forever getting out in search of something to eat. Although I didn't see them anywhere, I had little doubt that's what probably happened. The Girls willingly followed me back down the hill, but still seemed uneasy. 
When we got down to the stalls, Rina suddenly went on full alert. [A relevant aside: Isn't she a pretty girl? I didn't even have to do anything with the photo...although I probably should do something about those weeds - yikes].

I went after Rina to see what she was looking at, and this is what I saw:

Hmmm....more icky weeds, the horse trailer, the neighbor's houses and a bunch of trees. That's it. Of course once Rina and I had declared the front yard "safe", then Taya and Lady wanted to know what was going on (beats me :o) Bella and Sarabear were right behind them. Hey I know, let's ALL stare:

NOTE: Although I have yet to find the manual, (I know they've stashed it somewhere around here), it's important to note that there are specific emergency procedures/protocol to be implemented in times of crisis: 

1. Do not report for a meal (a definite no brainer for the biped that something's amiss). 

2. Notify Mrs. Ladyperson by either a) Making too much noise if she's in the house, or, b) Not making any noise at all when she's outside and whistling for you.

3. Give Mrs. Ladyperson The Look when she comes to see what's wrong - the one that says, "DO something!"

4. Wait (sometimes for quite a while) while Mrs. Ladyperson attempts to figure out specifically what it is she's supposed to do something about.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until a) Mrs. Ladyperson finally gets a clue, or, b) the situation resolves itself.*

*I am happy to report that 99 times out of 100 these days, it's "A" (go me... HA ;o)

Strolling a bit further toward the street (and putting the zoom lens to work) solved our morning mystery:

Sadly, the closer I got the easier it was to see exactly why they'd decided to attempt an escape; they were starving. Poor babies...

You could literally count the vertebrae going over the rump to the tail of the horse on the left. The one on the right was also horribly thin; her spine protruding quite sharply all the way down her back.

I tried [very slowly] to get closer to the one with a halter, but they were quite clearly afraid of people. Since one of the neighbors had already called the sheriff's office, I opted to just let them handle it (the last thing I need is a hospital visit due to self-inflicted stupidity).

It breaks my heart, but there is nothing to be done about this situation. As long as the horses have water and are still standing, they'll stay where they are. Of course we couldn't afford to take on any more anyway, but it sure does hurt my feelings to look at them.

Geez, now I'm depressed. We need something to lighten things up a bit...Let's try this:

HaHaHa...Okay, okay, that's my Bella and although she does indeed have a lovely delicate muzzle, it's not really in a teacup...it's a small batter bowl that had a few shredded carrots in it. I made a carrot cake the other day and had some leftover carrots (knew just what to do with 'em, too).

Please don't forget about helping Laura G! Look below to see the items I'm kicking in; scroll down to my last post or click here to see what on earth I'm talking about  :o)