Line 1, Loose Horse!

Yesterday I was counting down the hours until it was time to leave work. Lucky for me, or maybe not so lucky, I was able to leave early...unexpectedly....like a bat outta hell!

One of the girls up front paged me on the intercom to say "Allison, line one is the CSC (customer service center for work in PA). They say they have someone claiming to be your neighbor on the phone calling about a loose horse.....do you want to talk to them?" OF COURSE I WANT TO TALK TO THEM! PUT THEM THROUGH!

So, I get through to my neighbor; I have only spoken to her once since we've lived at our place! We speak with her kids, but don't see her much. From the one time I spoke with her, which just happened to be Sept. of this year, she remembered that I said I worked for a local cable company so she found our publicly listed #, which directs to our customer service center in PA, and told them she needed to speak with Allison in the Medina office and that is was urgent.

As I am speaking with her on the phone, mind you, freaking out and sweating in anxiety thinking one of my horses is loose, she says "The white horse has his head out and is shaking it" - ok I think, that must be Apollo so he is in his stall, but that doesn't account for the other 3! Then she says "it's a brown horse, maybe a pony", so I instantly think Romeo because if it was Daisy, she probably would have said it was a really small horse! So I run into full panic mode and ask if it is a white and brown horse and she is flustered and cannot answer so I tell her I will be there is 15 minutes and to go into my barn and get a halter and lead to try and catch him. Her response "It's been so many years, I don't know how to do anything with a horse" - SUPER is my thought!! Looks like I better FLY home!

As I am driving home like a nut, once I get close to home, I start panning the road and yards as I drive by to see if I see a loose horse anywhere! When I pull into the drive around the back of the horse, I find no horse loose in the yard. I slam the car into park, run out and quickly do a head count to see all my horses are in their stalls, safe & sound! WHEWWWWWWWW

Now, whose horse was it and is it still loose? The neighbor comes running over and now she tells me the horse was big (I thought she said it was a pony!) and that it had a black tail! *Sigh* had she said that on the phone, I would have known it wasn't any of my horses and could have at least drove the speed limit home!!

As I pan over the yard, I see skid marks, hoof prints and half eaten apples out of the apple baskets sitting by the barn! Looks like the horse was having a grand old time! Then I notice that the dirt in front of the barn by Apollo's window is all torn up so I can only assume the horse was standing in front of Apollos window having a grand old time instigating Apollo! And of course, I found I was right!

The garage wall that backs up to Apollo's stall wall is where Allen lines up all his beers bottles from unique and odd beers he has had. 3 of them had fallen and shattered. We also discovered Savannah, one of the barn cats, was locked in the garage all day! I suggested Savannah probably got up on the shelf and knocked them over. Allen begged to differ and said Apollo was probably kicking the wall when the loose horse was instigating him! I didn't believe it!

To prove him wrong, I went into Apollo's stall to examine the walls. Sure enough, there were hoof marks indented into the wall that backs to Allen's 'beer wall'! I could just picture it. A horse comes strolling onto Apollo's turf, "Nana nana na NA! I am loose and you aren't and I am going to stand here and instigate you and enjoy these yummy apples sitting here while you watch!" And that was probably enough to get Apollo bucking at him and hitting the wall instead.

Luckily no one was hurt. My mares seemed to have had a 'case of the runs', which I imagine, came from them being worked up! Apollo was rearing to go when I turned him out as was Romeo. The other horse was back safe at his own home, in his stall, and I was left with a mess of stalls to clean, and Allen broken glass to sweep.

Ultimately, I feel bad as this loose horse is an "only horse" His companion had to be put down in the spring. He's been alone ever since and always calls to my horses when they are out...yesterday he was even calling from his barn and Apollo was answering back! He's lonely and he needs another horse over there with him! Horses are social, herd creatures and are not meant to be by themselves. It should serve as a wake up call to his owner that he NEEDS another horse there with him!