The little visiting horse we call Jack is a rambler. He stayed with my horses almost every day, pestered them until they were nearly crazy, and slept in a stall with one of them for weeks. He ate in my barn and played with my son. I was beginning to like him.
The problem is that Jack doesn't respect boundaries, and that finally got him in real trouble. I think it might be a game to him, but Jack likes to get on his belly and scoot under the fence. I would not have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself. It's a pretty good trick, as far as tricks go, but it gets him out of the pasture, which is not a good trick.
The latest trouble started a few days ago. Someone came to my door and offered to help get my pony up. I explained that I don't have a pony and asked where it was. As usual, Jack had slithered under the fence like a snake and was in the road again. There's no catching Jack, so the best thing to do is try to chase him into the barn and rope him. The volunteer and I headed out to start the round up and Jack saw us coming. Fast as lightening, he was under that fence and acting as innocent as a lamb. I got in my car to head back home. He looked up about that time and thought the coast was clear. Under the fence again, and out towards the road!
That did it for me! I tried to contact his owner without success, so I called the sheriff's office, hoping to get animal control to help me catch him. It turned out animal control doesn't do horses. The deputy was really nice. He likes little horses, and he offered to come help. When he arrived, Jack demonstrated his trick several times. The nice officer just shook his head. "Somebody's gonna get killed if he doesn't get out of the road," he said. I just nodded. I'd said the same thing about a jillion times already.
I don't guess they issued a warrant, but Jack kinda got arrested after that. His owners were summoned, they came and picked him up again, and have "restrained him". I don't know what that entails, and don't want to know. Suffice it to say, Jack's on house arrest now.
He has a nice family of his own. He also had nice horse friends at my farm, a big pasture, warm stalls, and good feed. None of that suited Jack, though. He is always looking for what's on the other side of the fence.
I've known some people like that, haven't you? They just don't want rules. It never works out too well for them, either. Boundaries, like my fences, are there for a reason. Jack seems to think they squelch his freedom, but, like traffic laws, they are there to keep everyone safe, including him.
The next time you are tempted to push a limit of some kind, think about poor Jack, his snake-slithering fence escape, and his house arrest. That boundary might look pretty good after all.
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