Not too old for escapes!

Hello again, Humbug fans!
How's everyone coping in the hot weather? For those of us who don't cope well, don't worry - it'll rain soon!
Does anyone have any tips on making hay grow? The long hot spell has stunted the growth of the many fields of grass that the farmers then cut and bale to make winter roughage for horses and cows. Unfortunately this year, one particular huge field that normally yields approximately 180 big round bales of hay has this year provided just 26. It could be a lean winter!
Since my last ramblings, Humbug has turned a bit of a positive corner in terms of his mobility. He's suffered from arthritis for many years, and I'm always watching him walking to see which particular bit is better or worse on any given day, but the cocktail of meds and supplements seems to have hit a sweet spot and he's marching around like a... well a 20 year old, rather than a 28 year old! A small win, but a win nonetheless! Unfortunately for the humans who try to contain him, this decrease in creakiness has meant a renewed sense of him needing to be on the wrong side of whatever fence he's behind. I received a call from a frantic farmer a couple of weeks ago, stating "The Shetlands are out, the fence is down and everyone is running around chasing each other!" Thankfully the farm is only a 5 or 6 minute drive from home, so Annie (daughter, and Toby's human) hot-footed it over the hill, desperately hoping everyone was at least still on the farm. We arrived and spotted Humbug and Toby in one half of the field, the 3 big horses in the other half. But they'd swapped, and were in each other's halves! The tape fence which normally separates the Shetlands from the 'big' three was snapped and pieces were strewn across the ground, fluttering slightly in the breeze, while the electric panel was approximately 20 feet from where it should be; the coloured connectors snapped off and laid in pieces on the grass.
Humbug and Toby were delighted to see us, and with no remorse whatsoever wandered up to us to whuffle in our pockets hoping for carrots. The big horses admittedly looked very slightly guilty, and after a cursory glance in our direction turned their bums to us to carry on grazing.
As everyone was still in their respective grouping, we decided to simply mend the fence between them and leave everyone where they were, each in the 'wrong' half but at least they were in the field. Now, call me picky, but I do like a neat electric fence! I've realised that I can be quite judgy when I see electric fencing with twists along the lengths and with posts stuck in the ground haphazardly, and I take great pains to make sure my fences are neat, twist-free, tight and that the posts are as upright as possible, and in a straight line. However, tying knots to repair electric tape means that the tape then becomes twisty, knotty and untidy... I tried to ignore the shabbiness as we struggled to get the ends to meet and be knotted together, and as we drove away an hour later I looked behind me and rolled my eyes at how untidy it all looked! Oh well, at least everyone was safe and contained. We don't know for definite who actually broke the fence, but I know who my money would be on!
It was tempting to open up the whole field and leave everyone in together, getting rid completely of the fence between the bigs and the smalls. However, we've realised over the past few years that Taz likes to bully Humbug and Toby, and even though Humbug's not quite as creaky as he can be, it doesn't seem fair to put him in a situation where he might need to run like the clappers away from almost half a ton of Welsh cob who likes a game of chase!
Katie was home for the weekend, and has enjoyed spending time with her beloved ponies. She had a lovely hack through the woods on Taz, along with our friend Bev and her horse Bess. If Humbug continues his relatively creak-free spell I wonder whether riding Taz and leading Humbug alongside might be worth a try... if you've read my book you'll probably be gasping in horror at us even thinking of trying this again, but I'm always up for a challenge!
Until next time!
Lisa xx

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