Just call him Houdini

C

carthorse

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Jan 6, 2006
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Two mornings this week I've found Luka out of his field.

Thursday the gate that had been shut between the fields to cut down the grass they had access to was on the floor. Luka was through on the good field, his companion wasn't. Fair does he only made a token gesture about not being caught and was polite when I was trying to wrestle with the gate while holding him, but I think he was so stuffed he couldn't be bothered to do much. Putting the gate back on the hinges was a two person job, and YO also got a hole made so a pin could go through the top hinge, made the hole for the bolt deeper and nailed the chain that also goes round t to the post so people going through have no excuse not to chain it. However when he went back out I watched him from a distance and he straight away went to the gate and was fiddling with he chain and bolt, then went to the other end and was trying to lift the gate with his mouth . . . somehow I'm not convinced it was an accident.

This morning he was found in the car park, again nicely full of long grass and luckily very compliant when the friend who found him gave him a pat and asked him to go into a stable. No fencing was down but some of the electric tape is very old and I suspect carries little or no charge, I can only assume he'd somehow figured this out and stepped between strands. My poor YO has got some new electric tape and will put that up and attach to the mains tomorrow, in the meantime Houdini is in his stable tonight and seemed quite happy to be in with a haynet. His waistline says diet but clearly his mind doesn't agree!
 
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I also like brains and personality. Although sometimes think Tim nice but dim might be better.
 
I have seen videos of horses stepping through the electric tape.
Rolling underneath and casually pinging gates.
 
I've seen Sid step through. He holds one line down with a hoof - I don't think the hoof wall conducts the zap well - and uses his mane to protect him from the upper zap.

What's to do!
 
@Jane&Ziggy Luka's shod so I can't see him doing that if there's any current at all, but he has a naturally high step so could quite see him just stepping over if he mane gave enough protection to let him lift the upper wire. I actually hope he tries again and gets enough of a zap to put him off!
 
I do leave little strands hanging down so we can see it's still up, but that also acts as a don't put your nose through the gap as you might get a zap of it in the wind.

Is he a head under tape, or over tape. A second strand might block the visual I can get myself through that.
 
I don't know how he does it @newforest , he doesn't do it when people are about. He certainly wouldn't have jumped Friday/Saturday though, the previous occupants had made the fence about 6ft tall!

So I got up the yard again this morning to find him out of the taped area and on the main bank. No trouble to catch this time, he was so stuffed he could barely waddle! Watched him tied up for a couple of hours because I was worried about colic and/or laminitis - he was bloated, his crest had gone hard and he sheath was puffy. But thank God no signs so I talk him for a walk round the village at about the best walk I could get out of him, that produced poo that was nearly hi viz and an awful lot of gas! He was definitely brighter and more active coming back so fingers crossed he'll be ok. The gate is now shut since he clearly can't be trusted to strip graze and the YO has put even more tape up on the dividing fence and connected it to the mains. I've put his buddy back in with him since the others are staying on the strip and if needs be we'll hay a bit so they hopefully won't go hunting.

I'm starting to feel I need cob Alcatraz!
 
Is he used to strip grazing? Some don't get the idea that the fence moves?

I was surprised mine adjusted to a track with loafing area.
 
@newforest he didn't need the fence to move! It was a big area opened up with lots of grass and 3 friends He just thought the other side looked better. The remaining 3 still had grass left this morning and were happy loafing.
 
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