The "Horsey Houdini"

Today is the first day of summer – my favorite time of the year is here FINALLY! School’s out, the weather is bright, and I can play all day long. I got so excited to play that I decided to try a little sneaky way to  walk right out of my front gate! Just call me the “horsey Houdini”!  There were no magic tricks up my sleeve; it turns out that someone forgot to latch the gate properly. What else was I going to do; when life presents you with an open door, you go through it!  

I still consider myself a master of illusion, but I’ll give you a few tips to help you keep your horse from pulling a disappearing act!  With my escape artist stunt in mind, here’s Barn Rule #1:  Keep all doors, stalls and gates securely closed after moving horses.  Barn safety matters!   

This leads me to a very important lesson. I remember the good old days when I used to test these rules and safety practices. It didn’t always go so smoothly. Sometimes, on early mornings, students would forget to put their Dunkin Donuts trash in the garbage, or leave their leftovers lying around the barn. You can imagine what happened next. Of course my four-legged friends and I would get distracted and try to sniff-out those sugary sweets!  If we didn’t find what we were looking for, we would “accidentally”  leave a mess of cardboard and paper debris scattered around the barn aisle, along with a few crumbs here or there!   You can probably guess Barn Rule #2: Keep aisles clean of tack, grooming supplies and especially, food and garbage.

A few of the many rules to remember around the farm!

You  have probably seen the film Black Beauty, right? Remember the scene where the man is smoking his pipe in the barn? He broke so many barn safety rules that he shouldn’t be allowed to ever step near a farm again! First of all, hay is highly combustible and it should always be kept in a location separate from the horse barn. Also, no one should be allowed to smoke around the barn because of the high risk of starting a fire!  Obviously, Barn Rule #3 is: No smoking on barn premises. Keep a fire extinguisher readily available around the farm.

These are just a few safety rules to keep you and your horse happy and healthy during the start of the summer season. Not only should you try to keep your barn as safe as possible, it is also important to remember to have a lot of fun with your horses! What are you planning on doing this summer? Give your fellow horse friends some ideas by sharing in the comment box below! You can also be a part of the Facebook poll that is going on RIGHT NOW at esc.rutgers.edu/fb!

Wondering what I like to do during the summer besides plotting on a great escape?  One of my favorite warm-weather activities is taking a leisurely nap underneath the shade the trees.  I also like to get a good scrub down massage during a grooming or cool-down bath. Then, I’ll head back out to the pasture and sprawl out in the dirt.  That’s my routine: Rinse. Dirt. Repeat!

I think we should start calling these, “the horse days of summer.”

Until next time!

Your Pal,

Lord Nelson