Oh, Trish! Since you like my stories I'll post one that got lost in the shuffle around the time my Bailey passed.
I GOT TO GO ON A "WILD HORSE" ROUNDUP!! Okay, not really wild ones like the ones out west that I got caught in a blizzard with on the 4th of July - but that's another story.
I went out to feed and my heeler alerted me to some "big monsters" (to him)that were across the creek. My neighbor's horses had got out - two protective mamas with a colt and a filly. They were not home so I went to another neighbor's and asked if he knew where she worked and I called her there. She said she would call somebody from the next road over to put them up so I told her I'd wait with the horses till he got there.
I waited and waited......... It was going to start getting dark soon and nobody showed. I started pushing them a bit and the mamas were giving me the "stink eye" but the colt wanted to come over and play. I got up to one mare that had a halter on and grabbed hold of it but my shoulder was still sore and I didn't want her jerking on it.
After I pushed them a little farther I could see the bloomin' double gate was open! I got around the horses and opened it wide then started looking for feed, a lead, something and couldn't find a thing, so I just started pushing them towards the gate.
Of course, they walked right past it into the front yard and started eating the flowers - uh,OH!! I saw a red feed pan in the pasture and got it. The mares looked up but went back to the grass. I didn't want to go all the way back to my place for corn so I looked around and found about a hand full of small stones. I shook that pan with the stones in it and that gray mare just flat out came running!! The rest followed me straight into the pasture and I got the gates shut. They had bent the clip holding the gate panels together so I also managed to find a scrap of rope to help secure the gate - some neighbors keep their places too clean - lol! I got back home and called her at work and told her nobody showed but I did get them in.
She was really surprised until I told her it wasn't "my first rodeo" and she laughed and said no, it probably wasn't. Wonder what the neighbors have been saying about me now - lol!!
I really had fun! It's been 17 years since I worked every day with cattle & horses and I really miss it some times but I was told I could go visit the horses any time I wanted
Y'all take care!!