A few days ago, the mother of Chad, who owns the property across the way, appeared driving her stock truck. I went over to her, said hello, and asked what was up. She said that she was first going to finish unloading her horses, and then beef up the fence. I stood back and watched as she released six or so into the yard. One was a three week old foal.

Then I returned home, deep in thought. This afternoon, I returned. The horses have no shelter – this will be problematic for the foal. And the fencing is primarily barbed wire. Pete rightly reasoned that the horses are in the yard because Melinda is low on hay.

My hands are tied – I can’t report what’s going on to animal control because my name would be on the form. This would then ruin any chances we might have of acquiring the land. At the same time, these people are savvy. They’ve dealt with animal control in the past, and know what they have to do to stay out of trouble.

I feel terrible about this. The best I can do right now is remind myself that we have five horses on our property who live in the lap of luxury. Every day, they get multiple feedings, multiple pen cleaning, and lots and lots of attention. I just wish we lived in a world where all horses had it as good as Tinni, Raudi, Siggi, Signy, and Hrimmi.

Next: 298. 10/4/12: Still More on Follow Through