So we?ve got our horses turned out for the winter. They?re on about 240 acres and they’ve been thriving. The only drawback is we have to go chop ice every morning. No big deal, but with driving, it’s about a half hour chore.

Yesterday morning, my wife had some errands to run in town, so she swung by the horses to chop ice on the way. When she got there, her horse was on the wrong side of a five-strand barbed wire fence. That is NEVER a good thing.

He was cut up, but only minimally. We didn’t even need to treat the wounds. So I went back that evening to check him and the fence out.

The only damage was the top wire was stretched?not broken?and a t-post was broken off. Huh? I don’t understand how: 1) this horse wasn?t shredded from stem to stern 2) how the fence was barely damaged.

My wife found a ?Happy Birthday? balloon in the fence. So here’s what I think happened. The wind was blowing that night and I think the balloon ?chased? him toward the fence, he jumped it, nearly cleared it, but caught on his front leg/chest and did a somersault over. I know it sounds crazy, but he was on the wrong side of a barbed-wire fence with no cuts on his back legs.

That’s my theory. What’s yours?