The day he got away.

It was mid-June and Nox had been mine for two glorious weeks.  He was getting used to the new sights, smells, and barn routine and I was getting used to his personality and quirks.  That day, Nox rolled in a mud puddle in the outdoor riding ring. 

I was using the outdoor ring as a turn out because it has board fencing, and all the other pastures at the stable have electric wire/tape fencing.  I had no idea if Nox had any experience with electric fencing, so I was going to play it safe for the first few weeks and just turn him out in the outdoor and indoor rings.

Nox was a mud ball - covered in it from nose to tail and he was thrilled about it.  I was less excited, but this gave me an opportunity to give him a bath and see how he reacted to water.  Race horses are often sprayed down with a hose, so I figured he'd be fine, but you never really know what a new-to-you horse will do in any situation until you're in it.

He loved the bath.  I was holding him on the lead rope while bathing him because he didn't like being tied (that is another story) but he was standing still and enjoying the cool water and shampoo scrub.  I was reaching as far as I could to shampoo his tail while keeping my grip on the lead rope when three things happened almost at once. 

1. Nox lowered his head to graze and stepped on the lead rope - right under his chin.

2. A very large, noisy, white truck rumbled down the normally quiet street.

3. Nox tried to lift his head to look at the truck, realized his head was pinned down, and he panicked. 

It was all I could do to dodge the blur of flying hooves and soapy swishing tail, and the wet lead rope was ripped from my hands.  Nox bolted around the corner of the barn towards the pastures and disappeared from sight.

I was completely alone.  No one else was at the barn and the stable owners weren't home.

I ran around the barn just in time to see Nox step up to the electric fence to meet the two geldings that live in one of the large pastures, Blue and Dahoney.  Nox leaned his chest into the fence and was zapped.  He panicked again and ran straight through the electric wires - snapped them like twine - and took off into the pasture. 

I watched with a mixture of horror and amazement at the incredible speed my horse displayed as he galloped away from me.  He was a race horse and I suddenly understood what that meant.  It meant that if he didn't turn around, if he broke through the electric fence at the far end and kept on running, I wasn't going to catch him for another mile or so.

But I couldn't chase him.  Blue and Dahoney were bewildered by the racing intruder and they knew their fence was broken.  I had to block their escape through the hole in the fence and shoo them back.  Three loose horses are much worse than one. 

I was relieved to see that Nox did turn around when he reached the end of the pasture.  It was a long, wide, sweeping turn, like he was on a track.  His head was high, his tail was lifted, and the lead rope was streaming out behind him.  He dug deep and galloped full speed on his way back.  The silly horse was thoroughly enjoying himself. 

After his injury on the track last November, he'd been on six months of stall rest.  He was still supposed to be taking it easy - twenty minutes of walking and maybe a little trotting if he felt good.  Mad galloping through a pasture was definitely not allowed.  Nox's pent up athletic energy was releasing like champagne exploding from an uncorked bottle and he was loving it.

He raced back and stopped dead in front of Blue, who was standing about thirty feet from me in the pasture.  They started fighting to establish who was dominant and neither wanted to concede.  Poor Dahoney, peaceful and sweet, tried once again to escape through the broken fence.  I shooed him back and he ran to far end of the pasture to escape the snorts, kicks, and stamping hooves of Nox and Blue.

This was my chance.  I walked forward, heart racing, and called to Nox reassuringly.  Both he and Blue ignored me as they kicked and struck out at each other.  I kept going, thinking only of catching my beautiful horse and ending this craziness.  My hand closed around the lead rope and I turned to walk away, praying that Nox would follow me.

He did.  The moment I took control of the lead rope Nox focused on me and let me lead him through the broken fence and out of the pasture.

But that was as far as we could go!  The fence was broken and there were two horses who wanted to get out!  And I was alone!!  And my cell phone was in the barn!!!

As Dave, the stable owner, would say later: I was in quite a pickle.

We stood there for a few minutes - Nox, Blue, Dahoney and I, all staring at each other.

I tried to fix the fence.  Still holding Nox's wet lead rope, I picked up one end of the electric wire.  I reached out for the other end, thinking I could quickly bend them together.  The second I touched the other end of the wire the electric jolt passed through me, up the wet lead rope, and zapped Nox.  We both jumped and I dropped the wires, but I held on to the rope.

Blue and Dahoney were pacing in front of me, hoping for a chance to get out.  Nox was breathing hard and I wanted to get him into the indoor ring to cool down.  I considered my options.  There wasn't anything solid nearby to tie Nox to.  My lead rope was too short to span the length of broken fence.  I could stand there until someone came along to help me, but who knew how long that would be?

I tried to fix the fence again, this time standing on the lead rope to keep Nox from getting zapped.  The jolt was strong enough that I could not hold on to the wires to bend the ends together. 

Apparently, it was not strong enough to deter me from trying four more times.  I was desperate!

Another few minutes passed as I stood there in complete frustration.  The two mares who live in the next pasture over whinnied to Nox.  I looked over at them.  Their pasture is separated from the gelding's pasture by a wide aisle.  The stable owners don't want boarders to ride down these aisles so they block them off with a lengths of electric tape fencing tied to the fence posts.

I noticed the length of fencing blocking the aisle.  It was only about twenty feet away from me.  It was my only hope.

I waved my arms and hissed at Blue and Dahoney to back them up, at the same time murmuring sweet assurances to Nox.  I quickly walked Nox to the aisle, shouting threats to Blue as he inched towards the unguarded broken fence.  I stood on the lead rope once more, just in case the aisle fencing was charged.  Thankfully, it wasn't.  I untied the electric tape, walked Nox back to the broken section of fence, and tied the tape between the fence posts.

The hole was closed.  Blue and Dahoney were safely contained in their pasture.  I took Nox to the indoor ring and we walked a few laps.  He was still covered in shampoo.  Once he calmed down and was breathing normally, I took him back to the bathing area and rinsed him off.  He stood quietly and let the water wash over him, like nothing had happened.  I put him safely away in his stall and brushed him until he was dry.

The stable owners came home and I explained the whole story, showed them the broken fence, and apologized profusely.  They were just glad that no one was hurt or lost.

Me too.

It's all part of horsemanship - being scared to death once in a while.  It's not all carrots, nuzzles, and great days of riding.  This incident is why I'm now very careful about what I do when I'm alone at the barn.  And why I always keep my cell phone in my pocket. 

You live and you learn.

Nox during a more recent bath.
Best Husband Ever is holding the lead rope this time.