Anchor's Away

Black Cloud (or Art) is in the foreground by a feed bunk. LeRoy’s big two-year-old stallion Brig is behind her. 

Photo by

  
LeRoy Walls  

Written by 
LeRoy Walls 
CEO 

Black Cloud was at it again - banging on the bunk feeder with her front hooves. I don’t know whether it was my concern for her tearing up the feeder, or the awful racket, but either way I’d had it!

My cattle feeders are made with a poly liner that sets on a metal frame. The trough part is closed at each end by another poly piece. Sometimes a little grain will get trapped in the joint where the end pieces join the main liner.

A couple of weeks ago Black Cloud, a two-year old Morgan filly, had apparently bumped the feed bunk joint by accident and discovered the grain. With her huge horse brain she realized that this must indeed be horse manna from heaven. After her first discovery of the button that releases the manna she began continual banging away at that button. If I drove her away she’d soon be right back. If I put hobbles on her she’d be back at it again as soon as I took them off.

Besides all that she was becoming an embarrassment to me as a horse handler and an embarrassment to horse kind in general. When my wife Paula asked, or a visitor to the farm asked, "What’s that horse doing?" I just didn’t have a good answer.

But one day as Black Cloud was pounding away and I was trying to decide whether to throw rocks at her again or get my shotgun - then with my huge human brain I got this great idea! Suddenly the solution seemed clear and it was really gonna’ be quite simple. I’d just tie that filly to the feeder and leave her there for a few hours until she was totally sick of being around that feed bunk.

I was pleased as punch with my brilliant idea and with myself. I couldn’t move fast enough in dragging the feed bunk out of the pasture into the back yard. Quicker than she could hit the horse manna button I had her haltered and tied to the middle of that 11-foot long feed bunk. Being such a thorough horseman I held her head down and tied her up short so she couldn’t get her hoof into the feeder.

The instant I let go and her head came up I saw a beautiful idea go so far wrong that it was scary. In fact I was more than a little frightened myself as Black Cloud began backing away from the feed bunk with it coming right at her and me. She then turned and wanted to run, but being tied close she couldn’t go forward. So she started backwards again, then sideways - first one way and then another. The feed trough was too large for a necktie, but not heavy enough for an anchor. That feed bunk chased Black Cloud all over our back yard. She finally backed herself into a corner with a rock pile on one side and a fence on the other. At that point I quickly came out from behind the big tree, where I was hiding, and unsnapped her from her worst nightmare.

Then Black Cloud and I both gave a big sigh of relief. I don’t know if Black Cloud’s horse friends thought her story of the unanchored feed bunk to be as frightening as my wife, Paula found my version funny, but I do know that Black Cloud had lost all interest in hitting the horse manna button. She indeed got the cure!

And while you may want to go right out and try this at home - this is one great idea that I recommend you leave to us "professional" horse handlers.

12/31/1999