Friday, December 9, 2011

Unexpected Visitors

Sunday morning the Terrible Terrier woke us up wanting to go outside.  Mr. Backwoods opened the front door to let him out and noticed horses in my Dad's yard.  My Dad doesn't own any horses.  Apparently the semi wild ones that normally stay on top of a nearby mountain/ reclaimed strip mine had wandered down in search of green plants to munch, and possible warmer, less windy areas to hang out. 

The Mister let Terrible back inside and 10 minutes later he was barking at the front window again.   I opened the front door to this:


They didn't seem too terribly concerned about the Terrible Terrier.  (Say that 5 times fast.)  He barked and jumped, but they just sort of looked at him, like "What?"  So I wouldn't recommend using a Yorkie for any sort of herding.  Unless you are herding really small plush squeaky things.

Some of the horses that hang out on top of the mountain are so tame they will walk right up to you, even to the point of being pests.  We've had to shoo them away before when I've been trying to take people photos and they kept getting in the way.  I think people must feed them frequently.  These were a bit more shy.  I slipped on some shoes to go out and get closer shots, but I spooked them.


Late last night Babe Jr looked out the window and saw them in Dad's yard again.  Its kind of cool to have them wander in, but I'm afraid we may have an excess of unwanted fertilizer by spring. 

5 comments:

  1. I'm always said that nature is ever so much more appealing from a distance. Now me, not having to deal with the fertilizer issue, think these look absolutely wonderful! Nice captures!

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  2. I was not aware of any wild horses in this region - interesting. Beautiful animals - a bit more imposing than the herd of deer that resides in our neighborhood.

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  3. Nicki - They're not exactly "native" wild horses. Someone, or some people, started releasing them on a reclaimed strip mine nearby that is accessed easily by ATV trails. Common opinion is that the owner(s) couldn't afford to feed them. A combination of this happening more often as the economy has gotten worse and the horses breeding has led to a pretty decent herd of them now. They seem to be healthy and are flourishing since they have multiplied over the past few years.

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  4. I would love to be able to walk outside to that. How lucky.

    and I love this "So I wouldn't recommend using a Yorkie for any sort of herding. Unless you are herding really small plush squeaky things." I have a 4 year old Yorkie so I understood exactly what you meant and started LOL

    Kelly
    mytimepassages.com

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  5. Wow, I'd love to wake up to wild horses in front of my house (although I'd probably be a bit terrified too!!!).

    Lisa

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