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!!