Day 19 – Earlier this week I posted this picture of little Mini Pony, Sprinkles, on Facebook. Somehow the 4 week old got between the railings around the horse stables and the white fence that the equestrian neighborhood we’re located in requires every house have – to upgrade the look of the properties.  It’s a mystery how she got between the two fences. Luckily, Pippa – a Whippet – keeps her eyes on everything and duly tattled.  She barked loudly until rescuers arrived to reposition Sprinkles.  She wasn’t in danger and her Mom, Cupcake, obviously isn’t anywhere nearby worrying about her safety.  The guess is that Sprinkles was lying down snoozing under the bottom rail of the yard and somehow turned and got up in the “no ponies land” between the fences. It took two people to get her to lie down and be pushed/pulled back under the metal fence.

Neighborhood kids do not miss out on events like this, especially the two pre-schoolers next door who are obsessed with a “horse” their size. They were quite surprised that a horse would do something she wasn’t supposed to do. We laughingly said Sprinkles might need a “time out” for misbehaving.  It was a novel idea to them that horses had rules they need to follow just like kids do. They learned it could have been dangerous if no one was home to come to Sprinkles rescue. We also explained that at some point Cupcake would have gotten really upset and probably tried to get through the stable fence too – and gotten hurt. We also discussed the fact that Pippa was a “tattle tail” and sometimes it was OK to tattle if safety was involved. It turned out to provide a couple teachable moments – benefits kids learn from pets.