BIG scare tonight!

[MajorClementine]

Long story short... I didn't realize that the neighbor kids had let my filly out of her paddock. I just happened to be feeding my baby by the front bay window and thought I saw some movement out in the dark. Sure enough it was my Clementine out on the edge of the road. And we live on a very busy road. So baby in arm, I went out to get her. And wouldn't you know it, she ran from me. So as I'm running full tilt, holding a baby, praying to catch Clem before the major intersection I some how snatch her by the tail. HOORAY I've caught her... however, she proceeds to kick the snot out of me. I just held on for dear life. Finally she settled down enough that I could let go of her tail and grab her mane to lead her home. So a bad situation ended as good as possible. But it makes me wonder, are people blind or do they just not care. I'm standing by the side of a busy street, with a screaming baby, and a horse by the tail who is kicking for all she is worth... and no one even slowed down. Oh plenty of people looked at us but I guess they just figure this is what we do for fun in a small town.

You can bet that padlocks are going on all the gates tomorrow!

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

OMG! How scary for you, especially with having a baby in your arms!

So glad it turned out OK.

 

[Minimor]

You did well to hang onto her tail through all that! Glad you got her home safely, with no serious damage to yourself or your baby!

 

[Lizzie]

Yikes. How scary. So glad everything turned out OK. I suspect you'll have some stern words for neighbor children messing with your horses. Yes, locked gates are a good thing.

Lizzie

 

[Eagle]

Gosh Poor you

You must have been terrified!

Thank goodness you saw her and caught her in time.

 

[supaspot]

omg ! that was scarey and you were very lucky that she wasnt hurt , she could have caused an accident in which someone else was hurt ( or even worse ! ) Im glad that you and they baby werent seriously hurt too , the neighbours should teach their children respect for other peoples property and homes

and well done to you for hanging on ..... its not an easy thing to hold a mini by the tail ..they are stronger than they look

 

[Mareish Mom]

You need a guard dog!

 

[bpotze]

Oh my goodness....bad enough to have one out...but even worse when you have that precious bundle in your arms...and you are right...we live on a busy road also...and there have been a few times when a bunch of my minis got out onto the road...and people just don't stop....I have actually stood out in the middle of the road flagging my arms...and people just go around me....just crazy....I am so glad you got your Clementine...and all are safe...

 

[Taylor Richelle]

Oh my! How scary! So glad You and your baby are okay, and of course Clementine!

 

[wingnut]

{{{ hugs }}} So glad to hear it all turned out okay...despite the near heart failure you must have had.

I've had a couple of instances of escape and it is an awful feeling to look out and realize they are NOT where they belong. It just happened to me about 2 weeks ago now. Got up and did my normal "peek out the window to see what they're doing" and was stunned to see all 6 were happily grazing in our backyard instead of in their fenced area. I had to really fight myself to not completely panic. DH and daughter were not home and the 13 yr old son would be of little help....I didn't have time to spend 10-15 minutes just waking him up.

Thankfully, they were so happy to be on the grass they ignored me as I came out. I went ahead with my normal preparation of fixing and setting out the morning buckets of feed, grabbed a halter/lead and then was able to just walk up to each of them, one at a time. Placed the halter and lead them back to where they belonged...and they were happy to go straight to their "breakfast". After all was said and done, I wanted a stiff drink!!!

At first I blamed myself because I had just used that particular gate the night before...normally, it's rarely used. But when I went to close it up, i found that they had broken the clip that holds the chain closed. They like to stick their heads through the gate's rails (round metal gate) to try and reach the grass on the other side. I guess it was just one to many hard yanks on the clip as they abruptly pull back their heads.

 

[MajorClementine]

Thank you all for the concern and well wishes. Yes there will be some talks with the neighbor kids for sure, and like I said, the gates will now be locked. A woman down the street from me had a mini colt hit by a car 3 years ago. I just knew that was what was going to happen to my sweet little Clem. Thank goodness it didn't. Otherwise my post may have been very different.