He called out from his occupation -- actually, apparently they applied for a permit through Christmas or so -- to tell me that he liked my boots. He said they were "hardcore." Well, damn right they are: I had to pull them on this morning to catch two escaped horses.
Horses, like men, follow those who lead from the front -- especially if they seem likely to produce a reward at the journey's end. When your faithful dog is herding them along, though, there's always a chance they may decide to outpace you a bit on the trip, so steel-toed boots are not a bad idea.
Little Avalon, now a thousand pounds, pulled down her gate this morning with such ease that she didn't garner a scratch from it. She's going to be an interesting one. Fearless and curious, that young lady.
20 comments:
I'm not sure I understand from what location you could run into OWS protesters while rounding up your wayward mounts. Nice post though. I'd love to see a photo of your frisky filly.
When going by the "Occupy" protestors you made sure to wear steel-toed boots. And of course it was because you'd just been out catching horses. We all believe it.
P.S. - Oh, I assume you had a roll of nickels, in case you went by a vending machine while you were out catching those horses.
"Fearless and curious, that young lady."
Aren't they all?
*sighs the mother of a 'young lady' who has gone from a cast on her right arm to a cast on her left arm in the span of two weeks.*
0>;~/
the mother of a 'young lady' who has gone from a cast on her right arm to a cast on her left arm in the span of two weeks.
Relax, Mom. She has only two legs left, and then she'll be done. [g]
Eric Hines
"...and then she'll be done."
If only....we've already done casts on both feet -- mulitple times. I won't go into the broken collarbone, separated shoulder, dislocated ankle......
But I do appreciate the 'encouragement'!
0>;~}
The protesters are down in the nearby college town -- it's about thirty miles off. I go down to the university there fairly often to do research, etc.
Sly --
Are these broken bones on the young lady, or on her rider? :)
Grim,
As the Marine Corps has the maddening habit of relocating people every couple of years, horse ownership is but a dream here on the Dark side. Which may very well be a blessing in disguise given this latest break was aquired in PE class whilst walking backward....
See what you have to look forward to?
0>;~}
Hmmm, Grim, I hope this does not mean that the young lady is on her way to becoming the barn's mistress of escape. I have unfond memories of trying to relocate one such, ahem, wonderful animal after she unlatched her stall, then opened a few others on her way out the door.
LittleRed1
...this latest break was aquired in PE class whilst walking backward....
And you thought a PC PE class was safe. I recall my own high school gym class, with a rope hanging from the I-beam rafters of our basketball court. A fitness assignment was to climb up that rope and touch the rafters, then climb--not slide--back down. And a trampoline in the balcony of that same gym, from which some of the more...adventuresome...of us would bounce and leap to grab one of those rafters and just hang there for a bit, to prove we'd reached it.
Your daughter is well on her way.
Eric Hines
I'll have to see, LR1. So far it's only happened once. She appears to have completely picked the pasture gate up off its hinges and set it aside.
So the questions will be: did she learn how to do that when she did it? And if so, does she want to do it again?
I've known a couple horses who could work any slide bolt or hasp. If you didn't put a snap or pin in place to lock the movement these horses would figure it out and be running around the ranch somewhere around midnight. I don't know anyone who saw them in the act but they obviously had a knack for working latches.
I think you're going to need to put a pin or snap on that gate to keep the little monster in.
If it's lifted hinges, just something to block the top of the hinge (one should do). What that is exactly depends on the type of hinge.
Maybe she'll get to the latches later...
Maybe she'll get to the latches later...
She already has. The hinges are just misdirection. She's scoping out the reasoning capabilities and solution paradigms of her jailer.
Eric Hines
I don't use latches. All my gates are chained shut.
...chained shut.
That's just another form of latching. She's got them scoped.
Be interesting to watch her work her picks on the locks you have in the chains, though.
Eric Hines
Funny thing with chains- you'd be surprised how many people will chain a bicycle to something in the city with no obstruction at the top big enough to prevent someone simply lifting the bike off the post (parking signs, typically) and carrying it away (assuming the chain was through the wheels also- riding away if they only locked through the frame).
Reminds me of the Far Side cartoon: "Knowing it will change the lives of dogs everywhere, dog scientists ponder the mystery of the doorknob."
Can you imagine having a pet monkey? Like a little two-year-old psychopath, way too good at manipulating objects.
I met a priest in the Philippines who had one. It was chained to a ring, which ran free along a steel cable stretched all the way up the side of the church. Between the cable and the chain, the monkey had pretty free play, but he seemed securely tethered.
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