He is too stinkin cute!
Apologies if you mentioned this already- do you board, or keep your horses at home?
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Thanks, @appypaint!! I think he’s pretty darn cute, too (but I’m a wee bit biased 
). I board, although I may have referred to it as “home” (feels that way after boarding there for over 20 years!!). It’s not a fancy facility, but they have lovely, large hilly pastures and back on to a conservation area with tons of hacking trails. Just starting to get Petey acquainted with walking them in hand. I’m pretty lucky!
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So, apparently Petey is an escape artist… Houdini-ed his way out of the pasture three times in two days and no one can figure out how he’s doing it! No bent gates or downed fencing… no tell-tale scrapes on him or hair left behind… maybe he truly wants to be an eventer!! The first two times he was just calmly grazing close by, but this morning I woke up to a text from my BO that Pete threw himself a party last night… got into one barn, broke into three closed feed bins (fortunately, mine), then headed to a different barn to help himself to alfalfa cubes that were soaking for breakfast. Been watching him for a tummy ache, but seems fine (if maybe a bit pleased with himself). We fixed the only somewhat likely place he could be wiggling out — now waiting for him to make his next move. Stinker!!
Buy a Morgan, they said. He’ll be so smart, they said… 
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Eek! I’ve had full grown mares take the hit of the electric fence to crawl in between strands to get to better grass…it’s always greener and all that. He’s so tiny it might be even easier for him if that’s the type of fencing you have.
Hope he has no ill effects from his touring…
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Many years ago, back in my boarding days, I arrived at the barn mid-morning (only person there) to find a message for me scrawled on the dry erase board in the feed room. Apparently, one of my horses – the one who looked like My Little Pony – had gotten into a sack of feed, and eaten an unknown amount (why wasn’t I called?!).
Asap, I called my veterinarian from a nearby clinic to ask what to do. The vet made a farm visit, and prophylactically treated the horse by tubing him with mineral oil to help whatever pass on through.
I moved my horses immediately. My horse was fine, and I hope that Petey is, too.
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“Tiny” is part of the problem, for sure!! When the gal who does morning chores walked in and found him eating the soaking cubes in the barn aisle, apparently he took off into the arena… in the low light, she thought a deer had gotten into the barn!!
The pasture is part board and part electric fencing. If this keeps up, might need to do a covert surveillance operation.
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Thanks @Jarpur! Fortunately, I knew exactly how much was in my feed bins and how much of the soaked alfalfa he got into — obviously more than he would be getting as a meal, but not a ridiculous amount either (and all stuff he has eaten before — thankfully not a huge bag of sweet feed!). I think he was more interested in the adventure than having a full-on feast. There will be eyes on him all day and so far seems to be pooping and moving around like normal. But always good to be cautious! (And yes, I’d be pissed too if no one had let me know!!!)
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Ah, but no one said they would be easy. LOL Smart comes with a price. I look at literally everything with an eye of how can they play with that, how can they get hurt on that, can they get out anywhere, that sort of thing.
My then 2-year-old cleared a 5-foot panel fence from a standstill, and he was at best 13.2 at the time. Like a friggin’ deer.
Sounds like he didn’t do too much damage to himself, thank goodness!
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My Morgan pulled a Houdini the first day in a new place. I kept him in a pole-fenced paddock instead of turning him out into the (large!) pasture. A bit of tell-tale hair showed that he, a smallish 4-year-old, crawled through the bars. Not a scratch on him.
Smart is very good, in general, but you’ve got to think sometimes, to attempt to keep up with them. Not ahead of 
, just up with, IMHO.
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I knew of another Morgan that would lift the first and second rails out of the fencing posts by using his neck and then drop on his knees and shimmy out of the pasture.
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My Morgan kept jiggling the gate until the latch released. Now there is a chain and thumb latch. But he is known for escaping when the stall cleaner comes in. Stinker is my nickname for him too!
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Sneaky Pete.
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Something I wish I had known: When my Morgan got into grain (likely way more than yours!) he initially seemed fine. No signs of colic or laminitis. About 20 hours later he simply seemed dull and unwell. A temperature check showed a temp of 103.8! We had a protracted battle with endotoxemia, which eventually resolved well after many sleepless nights and giving him lots of IV fluids as well as medications.
So, if you can manage it, I would do a temperature check tonight and tomorrow morning to be sure he is okay.
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Great advice — thank you!! It seems he was more interested in tossing the bins on the ground and actually didn’t eat very much, but a temp check tonight is a great idea. 
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my daughter’s Morgan was similar, we kept finding in a paddock with Foxie. I thought daughter was putting him in and she thought I was, turned out he was just jumping the nearly five foot fence into the paddock. Turned out he could easily clear over five feet six inches. Not bad for a 15.2 horse
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Not a morgan, but the qh my parents bought for me. First day we turned her out she went once around the paddock, over the 5 foot fence and down the road!
with my Dad and I in hot pursuit! We raised the fence to 6 foot and she would still run at it but stop…
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Just wanted to report that Petey seems to be no worse for wear after his nocturnal adventure. No further escapes (I assume he’s plotting his next move). Aside from that, he’s just a dream to work with — so sensible about everything. 
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We had a darling little Morgan at a barn I boarded at and I wish now I had had the $$ to buy him. Smart as a whip but needed a job and his owner did not ride him or allow him to be turned out or be ridden by anyone so he exercised his brain by figuring out how to dismantle his stall and that include opening the gate latches. I caught him out one day, put him back in, and as I watched he marched over to the gate, flipped up the latch with his nose and smacked the bar sideways and out he went right past me with this smug look on his face like “stupid human See what I did there?” Took him less than 10 seconds. Smart ass! LOL Sadly because he was so busy and had nowhere to burn the excess energy, he took to cribbing and that was what killed him. Never did see his owner ride him in the 3 years she owned him.
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fully understand, there was a full sister born earlier this year to the now yearling my daughter has. That filly is outstandingly beautiful and smart. The pairing of the stallion/mare are making some of the future got to have bloodlines. The foals are just remarkable in their understanding of what they should be doing.
We never before had young horses until the last two who were purchased as weanlings. Both were/are shown nationally, each won world championships in a very competitive division against horses of all ages (one as a weanling the other was at two)
They have been such an easy learner without opinions (unlike Lexie, our six year old Morgan mare, who is really nice but she Does Have Her Opinion on just what she needs to be doing and How it is to be done)
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That’s a Morgan for you. “Excuse me, but you are doing this wrong. Let me show you how it SHOULD be done.”
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