One Year Ago Today...

August 24. Not a day I am likely to forget anytime soon, even if the horse it happened to is no longer living here.


"Actually, the signs started last night as I had Sonny Bunz out on the line, doing some messing around on the ground and mowing the lawn a bit. He was snorting and blowing towards the road side of the yard, and kept almost insisting that someone was out there. I blew it off, thinking it was deer in the brush.

At my 10PM bedtime check, Sonny was eating hay. Still somewhat unsettled, and more alert than usual, but he was OK. I had a hard time falling asleep, as did Wrecking Crew. Finally about 1AM I was just drifting off to sleep when I heard Sonny Bunz -- he was doing those giant snorts and then he ran off to the far end of the paddock. All was quiet, so again I blew it off thinking it was deer that popped up and spooked him. Daylight rolled around, and the children dragged me out of bed. I staggered about, trying to wake up, and getting clothes for the kids. I looked out the window, as is my normal morning habit, and saw the fence down.

My heart stopped.

I yelled out to Dear Husband, and he and Cub hauled butt out the door to see if Sonny was hanging out at the far end of the paddock.

No Sonny.

No Sonny ANYWHERE.

I tracked him a bit, and found where he hit the highway- and lost his track. (Training as a former Search and Rescue member in the mountains in Tundra Country helped out here.) I flew back to the house, and we investigated the paddock more. What we found stopped my heart, stole my breath, and left me shaking. There were foot prints in the soft mud/ dirt where the fence was cut. Not down- not taken down-- the fence was CUT. The prints were not mine, not Dear Husbands, or either childs, nor were they Johnny Reb's or Granny's. My horse was gone.

I called the police and within 20 minutes an officer was out investigating. We showed him all we had found, and he looked me in the eye, and said, "Ma'am, I am calling this in as a stolen horse."

Again- my heart stopped. Little black dots danced across my vision, and I had to do some serious deep breathing to stop from either throwing up or passing out.

Hours later, after combing the road sides, searching for any sign, stopping and knocking on doors, and calling everyone I could think of here, we hit on a lead. About an hour after the initial lead, I had tracked him down.

Sonny was alive.

Around 1PM, he was back home. He apparently had a night to remember, what with someone cutting his fence down, and sending him out on his own. Were they stealing him? Did he get a case of the ass and get away from them? Were they just stupid jerks f*cking around just to see what would happen if they cut the fence and sent the horse out? Who knows...

Sonny made his way somehow about a mile down the road, and back down a little road. Dogs at the home started barking, waking the home owners. The Husband went out to investigate, and found Sonny laying in the lawn. He eased up to him, thinking the horse was dead, when Sonny picked his head up and looked at him. Husband went to get a rope, to catch Sonny and lead him to their barn, and Sonny got up and followed along.

Unfortunately, Sonny found their swimming pool.

And fell in.
The deep end.

Fortunately (maybe?) the pool was empty so he didn't drown. But he did manage to screw up his legs pretty badly. The Husband managed to coax Sonny up five tiny steps out of the pool, and into their barn.

Below are pictures of his injuries- scrapes on three legs and a hugely swollen hock that he isn't walking on all that well. Plus a large lump on his nose. But he is home. All I could think was about those people who never find their horse, or if they do, it's too late. I don't really care if we can never ride again- as long as he is HOME. Now comes time to strengthen defenses here. Cause if that bastard that cut the fence thinks he can get away with this again, he is going to get a shock and a half when he meets the barrel of my shotgun."


Not a fun day. Nor a fun few months after the incident. Sleep was something mighty hard to come by for a WHILE around here, and Dear Husband and I both spent quite a few days in a big, heavy fog.

Hard to believe that we were able to nurse Big Red back to healthy again, and that I was able to lope along on him this past May. For an update on Sonny, I hear he is enjoying being the center of attention with sweet young ladies spoiling him rotten. He is happy, has a job, and is doing great.
Works for me. It's all we can ask, right?

Tonight, I'll go to bed, and hopefully sleep soundly. (Unless there are thunder storms, and Jo the Chicken in a Dog Suit needs me to hold her paw. Again.) I'll dream of riding... spots on a butt... and just horse love in general. I'm pretty sure that a few checks out the window will be in order as well. Even though there are currently no horses in residence at The Asylum, I still keep the paddock lit up at night. Some habits are just not worth breaking.

Happy trails to all of you. Check your fences, know who is around, and be sure you give your horses some extra attention and TLC.
~MM