My farrier came yesterday and we got to talking about what horses can get into. He came home the other night and went to bring his mares in for dinner. They were waiting at the gate, but the wrong gate, the gate in the boys pasture. Of course like us he asked them how they got there? And like ours, they didn’t answer. So he took them out, latched the gate, and went to bring them in. As he’s going into the barn with the two girls he hears the pitter-patter of thundering hooves. We’ve all probably been there too. Here comes the rest of the herd who took down their gate also. They were, after all, just trying to help him after a hard days work. You know what happens next – chaos. Horses running all around in and out of stalls, up and down the barn isle. The “Mayhem” commercials on TV have nothing on a bunch of loose horses.

People often ask me how the horses are? My reply is simple – “they were fine when I left but who knows what I’ll find when I get back.” We are all familiar with that thought too. Own a barn and it’s F.O.R.D., Fix Or Repair Daily.

Now when I go into the house after feeding at night I pray “please keep all the animals safe tonight.” This horse slaughtering has got everyone nervous. Between the Corona Virus and the Slaughtering I’m on edge. I give it to God every night and just go on.

I was reading an article in Horse and Pony, which I am going to quote, about the people in South Carolina, they wanted answers as to what was going on in their area. They wanted to know “just who or what vicious animal was killing their horses?” “Five or six horses were victims of either a very sick individual with a sharp instrument (like a sword or machete), or of animals so vicious their likes have never been seen before. The wounds were not ragged but deep, and became infected immediately. They ranged from slashed leg wounds to deep chest and gut punctures. Some were so severe that intestines and bones were visible. Some had to be euthanized, and some the vets were able to treat.”

“After weeks of investigation and forensic tests, the consensus was that savage attacks on the horses were caused by wild boars. South Carolina’s growing feral hog population where some weigh in at 400 to 500 pounds with tusks up to a foot long and razor sharp, enabling them to come up underneath and gut the horses.” Now I’ve run into some wild pigs here in Florida while Fox Hunting, they were just like large pot bellied pigs that people turned loose in the park. They crossed the trail in front of me and never gave us a second look. They make a mess when they root, but never bothered any of us. We recently had one here in the neighborhood who would come and hang with the horses. He liked to stand under them for shade with his head between their front legs. They played with him and he was a sweet boy, that is until my great white hunter neighbor decided that he would look better on his dinner plate. Bob and I are still very angry with him. Hamlet didn’t harm anybody. Okay he may have rooted a little, but my neighbor is………

So once again, just when you think you’ve seen everything, you haven’t. Surprises are new every morning, and even sometimes in the evening. It’s just how it is when you have horses.