Horse Helpers

The weather today was fantastic and I finally decided to venture outdoors to do some work. While walking the fence line around my property, I noticed that the electric tape had been pulled off a couple of the fence posts. Obviously our horses have been playing with the neighbor's mules. I turned the power off, and quickly repaired the fence because I had no help. I was not so fortunate with the horse stall next to the barn. The horses had been playing there as well. One side of the pen had been bent outward so that the gate could no longer be latched. The pens are made from welded steel pipes, so you can imagine the amount of "playing" that was required to damage them. I decided to use a come-along to pull the corral panel back into position. As usually happens when I embark on any kind of home-improvement project, I was having trouble with the equipment. The come-along, a simple piece of equipment, was not functioning properly. Either the cable would come loose from the spool or the ratchet would get jammed. I struggled mightily with this ridiculous device while trying not to get my fingers caught in it. It would have been challenging enough for me, but Ruger, our three-year old cavalry horse to be, insisted on helping me. Ruger was just fascinated with the come-along. There just wasn't enough he could do to help me. He'd grab the handle with his mouth and try to pull it as he had seen me do. When the cable was taught, he would grab it with his teeth and pluck it like a guitar string. And, as I was trying to free the jammed ratchet, Ruger would press his nose up against the housing as if horse breath might free it. I'd try to waive him off or spank his nose to drive him away, but he just couldn't help himself. A ratchet device attached to a cable had too many possibilities for a curious young horse. I managed to bend the corral panel back into place (and I suspect Ruger had something to do with it being in the condition I found it in) and, before departing, thanked Ruger for his help. He had been more than happy to oblige.