Lesson 1: Never underestimate the guile of a shetland pony.
The grass in our garden is rather long. The grazing in our fields is not good - we supplement with hay. So we have occasionally brought Harvey and the ponies into the garden, individually, with headcollars and lead ropes, for a tasty munch.
My OH went into the kitchen this afternoon to see Harvey pacing the fence between our garden and the field. He went to see what was up and found all 4 Shetlands in the garden, eating like it was going out of fashion. Someone had managed to get the gate open - no easy feat as it fastens on the garden side, and opens into the field! I don't know which one it was, though I can take an educated guess! Presumably it shut itself before Harvey could get through.
A few minutes of chaos ensued as ponies which I normally have to clamber over or push out the way suddenly became "difficult to catch". Rody politely used the path to get away from me (he's always a good boy, even when being naughty), while Fraser first jumped, then trampled through a flower bed. Eggwub played tag around the red hot pokers, but Grace got caught when greed made her stop to grab another mouthful. Harvey was now threatening to jump the fence. Eventually we got them all rounded up and back in the field.
The gate is now tied up with a lead rope as well as the catch. We later brought Harvey into the garden, properly headcollared and supervised, which pleased him greatly.
We also have a small stile over the fence into the field. I wonder which one will try getting over that - and when!
The grass in our garden is rather long. The grazing in our fields is not good - we supplement with hay. So we have occasionally brought Harvey and the ponies into the garden, individually, with headcollars and lead ropes, for a tasty munch.
My OH went into the kitchen this afternoon to see Harvey pacing the fence between our garden and the field. He went to see what was up and found all 4 Shetlands in the garden, eating like it was going out of fashion. Someone had managed to get the gate open - no easy feat as it fastens on the garden side, and opens into the field! I don't know which one it was, though I can take an educated guess! Presumably it shut itself before Harvey could get through.
A few minutes of chaos ensued as ponies which I normally have to clamber over or push out the way suddenly became "difficult to catch". Rody politely used the path to get away from me (he's always a good boy, even when being naughty), while Fraser first jumped, then trampled through a flower bed. Eggwub played tag around the red hot pokers, but Grace got caught when greed made her stop to grab another mouthful. Harvey was now threatening to jump the fence. Eventually we got them all rounded up and back in the field.
The gate is now tied up with a lead rope as well as the catch. We later brought Harvey into the garden, properly headcollared and supervised, which pleased him greatly.
We also have a small stile over the fence into the field. I wonder which one will try getting over that - and when!
