A few mornings ago I was up early taking the puppy out, when I saw something that gave me a fright.
On our driveway, the bit that disappears over the rise then down to the road, I saw three dark large shapes. Without my glasses on, my imagine ran wild. Our cows are light colored, so it wasn't cattle. My worse nightmare is the two mustangs escaping. But it couldn't be them because there was a third dark shape with them. I always think outside the box and so I wondered if it wasn't the two mustangs with a moose that happened by.
I told Brad to take a look. He said it looks like horses all right, but couldn't tell which ones it was. It was William who informed me he could see Wildairo safe behind a fence. Great relief! He would be he hardest one to get back in.
I have another ruptured disk, along with all the nerve pain that goes with it. I have been scheduled for another operation...yuck. I felt pretty helpless. I told Brad and William if Echo was out, I'd get my hiking poles and try to get to him. No one else can catch him. As it turned out our mustangs were behaving themselves and it was a neighboring horse and mule paying them a social visit.
Brad and William gave me a full account of what happened and Brad took the picture above for me from the public road looking up our road. Horse and mule trekked down from the hill that is seen behind them. They have a 300 acre pasture back up there. The mule was one of Foxsun's old friends. Back when Foxsun had the run of the place, while out on a hike, I saw him off in the distance, visiting with the mule over the fence. Once the cows moved off, he left the mule and ran off to join his cow herd. Foxsun's had his own social circle unknown to me.
Echo chatted with the escapees for a while and after he failed to impress them by spinning yarns about his days as a wild mustang, he walked off in a huff to go back to Dandylyons. Horse and mule then went to pay Wildairo a visit. When Wildairo couldn't be bothered to lift his head from his breakfast, the horse reached over and gave him a hard bite on his bum, which made Wildairo squeal and run off.
The owners came and got them in a stock trailer. They told Brad that both horse and mule are in their 30's and retired.
I took these pictures of Echo some weeks ago when I got around better. I was trying to take a picture that just wasn't of his breathing holes. I kept trying to move around him. He was a bit muddy.
He's finally reached the stage where he wants to be worked with. The other day I took Dandylyons across the road to graze and when I took her back Echo wanted me to put the rope over his nose......maybe hoping he'd get to go across the road. So I did and he like it. When I walk with Dandylyons along the road people slow down and smile. It must be funny seeing a cow going walkies, but I'm so used to her I forget the oddity of it. Here's Dandylyons doing some yardwork.
Still trying to get a good picture of Echo.
For the first time in about 8 months, Echo had his halter on. He held still like a good boy and was really happy when I led him about.
