I do have a very funny true adventure to tell.
All though I don't have any actual photos, here are some of what Fiero looks like. New Year’s Eve…..
I didn’t care to see the New Year in, didn’t need to see the ball drop at midnight, so I went to bed at 9:30pm and fell asleep. I was tired after a day of cleaning the barn, bunny cages and stalls.
Then....
At 1am on 1/1/2011, I am in a fluffy pink bathrobe, getting out of the back of a Police Crusier. No it was not a dream, it really happened.
At 12:30am, our dogs were barking like crazy. After yelling at them to “Be Quiet!”, and they continued to bark furiously, I finally got up to see what they were barking at. I noted truck headlights coming down our driveway and wondered why Benson (our plow guy) was there, but the truck backed out and went down Rt 140. I noted another vehicle parked across the road from our Driveway and I saw a person standing out there. I went to the door and partially opened it to yell to the person to see if they were alright when I saw a horse run by them, down the highway. (I didn’t open the door all the way as I was wearing a flimsy short nightgown). I yelled back, "just a minute…." And I ran to put on my bathrobe. (A fluffy pink tie-on robe). I threw some shoes on, grabbed a leash and ran out the door. By then the person was at my door, a young lady introducing herself as Amanda from Dover. She was driving by and saw a horse loose and the horse was dodging traffic in the highway as he ran back and forth in a total panic and a full sweat. Just then the horse came running up behind her and stopped in front of me and put his nose in my hands. I recognized the horse. His name is Fiero and he is a very large halflinger breed in his beautiful yellow coat and flowing white mane & tail. He was beautiful as he was terrified.
He was originally an Amish horse that didn’t take to driving, so he was sold. Our neighbors (a mile away) had bought him, and then gave him to my older sister Suzanne. Suzanne had Fiero and Sully (an old thoroughbred) who was put down in the fall of 2009. My younger sister Sandy then took Fiero into her herd as Fiero is very ‘herd bound’ and didn’t do well alone at Suzanne’s home. Muriel, Fiero’s original owner who lived a mile from me, lost one of her older horses in October and her other horse, Nugget, age 38, came to visit my little herd, crossing Route 140 (thank goodness without injury). Because Nugget was so upset about losing his pasture mate, Muriel borrowed Fiero back to have him keep Nugget company which would prevent him from getting out to visit my little horses.
Unfortunately, Nugget passed 12/31/2010. Fiero appeared to be fine with the situation, he wasn’t freaking out like he did with Sully’s death, so Muriel thought he would be fine until the next day when they could return Fiero to Sandy’s home. Fiero jumped the fence late in the evening and went through the woods until he came out onto Route 140. He could smell my miniature horses, so he kept running back and forth on my front lawn (hoof prints as evidence) and right in the middle of the highway (Amanda was eye witness).
Fiero acted so relieved that someone knew him that he let me put the leash around his big head and wrap it into a make-shift halter so I could lead him. (Now what you don’t know is; that this horse is typically a bull in a china shop and you go where he wants to go rather the other way around). I got my small flash light and started to walk him up our driveway and cross the highway. (Picture a little old lady in a pink fluffy bathrobe leading a big horse across the highway and up a dirt road…… and no….. I was not drinking). Except that I was concerned about being dragged by this big horse, scared that a bear could greet us, or that my bathrobe would fly open, it was almost laughable.
Then I saw a flood light behind me and knew it was the Police. Someone must have called them. He was kind enough to come up behind us gently to ask if I needed help. I responded YES, could he follow us to light the way as my tiny flashlight was inadequate.
Every 10 feet or so, Fiero would stop, plant his feet, his head was arched, ears perked forward, standing tall…. (For those of you who don’t know horses, this is horse language for “Something bad is out there and any moment I will run for my life” (better known as ‘bolting’ and the person dumb enough to hang on gets dragged ½ a mile or trampled).
I would stop, pat him by his ears and neck and reassure him that nothing bad was out there. We would go another 10 feet, and he would assume the position again. (This was going to be a long and dangerous walk).
What Fiero was hearing was Muriel and her husband jogging toward us. They were breathless from running, and I was breathless with delight to see them!
After New Year’s greetings and hugs, they put a halter on Fiero and walked him home. The nice young policeman, Cory, offered me a ride home in his car. As I headed for the front seat, he apologized that the seat was full of his stuff and I would need to sit in the back. (Locked in the backseat of a cruiser).
Hence, My Story of riding in the back of a Police car while wearing a pink fluffy bathrobe on New Year’s Eve 2011.
P.S. Jim had gone back to bed, assuming I would find a ride home (Lucky for him that occurred).
