Unlike The Old West, In Hillmomba, They're NOT Free For The Taking

We almost had a free horse on Sunday. I was walking to the garage for my town trip, and met Farmer H on his way in from his Storage Unit Store. He said, matter-of-factly, 

 

"There goes a horse."

"WHAT?"

"Across the front yard. Look"

I barely had a glimpse when Juno took off through the yard. Silly dog. She's not a herder. She IS a barker. We hollered at her to come back. She'd stop and come toward us, and then put on another burst of speed to rush up to the road.

"There she is. See Juno, through the trees? In front of the sinkhole."

I did not. But as I drove by, I saw her sitting sentry. I also saw the horse. Down the road, with either do-gooders or horse thieves trying to capture it.

 

 

I crept along in T-Hoe, slow enough not to spook the horse, yet getting close enough so that it didn't want to come back this way.

 

The neighbor horses had come over to get a look. This was a fine equine specimen. Muscled and sleek, not a ratty old nag. It was wearing a halter, and dragging a lead rope. You don't leave them in the field like that. It had obviously escaped from a handler. One of our up-the-road neighbors was visiting with our down-the-road-neighbors, and came out to sweet-talk that horse. It was a bit fractious. He got the lead rope, and held it right under that horse's chin. Not letting him have his head loose. The horse twitched his tail, and stomped a back foot, but didn't kick or rear.

 

The capture was a success. That lady was passing by, and stopped as if she could help. The guy took the horse down to the neighbor's house, and they put a picture of it on our enclave's Facebook page. By the time I got back home, the owner had reclaimed the horse. It had come from a house across the creek behind the Mansion. So it had run through the woods to get here. I figured it would have been fine, and eventually have headed home, but Farmer H said if it got down to the blacktop road, it might have started up it. 

Good thing Jack and Copper Jack were off in the woods somewhere, doing whatever they do. A loose horse would be good sport for those two.