Night after night, the stable doors at Misty Meadow Farm kept getting opened. At night, when a hidden camera revealed the real culprit, everyone at the farm was astonished.
When you share your life with animals, you can be surprised by their ingenuity, their individual personalities, and their intelligence. For Tim, the stable manager at Misty Meadow Farm in central Michigan, that was one of the secret perks of working with horses.
Some horses can make you laugh with their comical behavior, such as yawning when being groomed or sticking their tongue out in response to a favorite treat. Others can make unusual noises when bored or use their mouth to do all kinds of clever things. But today, he was barely paying attention to the snorts, winnies, and neighs that came from all directions. He was distracted from the ears that moved as soon as they heard his voice or mouths that nipped playfully at his clothing.
Something was not quite right at the stableyard. It was plagued by an intriguing mystery. The first clue could be found in an open stall door. Why was it open? Had someone sneaked about the yard in the dead of night while everyone slept? Well, that was the most logical explanation. He checked to see who was missing. Marisa. That wasn’t a surprise. For some reason, the gorgeous Fjord mare was usually a beneficiary of whoever decided to let some horses out. Was she okay? Ah, yes, there she was, happily chewing on some crispy green, D-laden grass in one of the pastures. Well, she seemed unharmed.
But Marisa’s stall was not the only one that had been opened. Several of the other horses had also been freed by a mysterious prankster or do-gooder. A few of the unlucky ones who had remained in their stalls voiced loud complaints at the unfair treatment. Pondering the enigma, Tim wondered which of the school kids who regularly came to Misty Meadow for riding lessons or trail rides could possibly be responsible for this situation. He reminded himself that he needed to remind Sandy to have a talk with them about responsibility and safety around the yard.
Don and Sandy Bonham, who owned Misty Meadow Farms, had built their enterprise out of a shared passion for horses. They had both loved riding since childhood, and running a horse farm was like a dream come true. They cared deeply about the well-being of their charges. When their stable manager, Tim, told them of the strange goings-on at the stableyard, they were understandably as eager as he to get to the bottom of the mystery.
Although horses are blessed with an impressive size, their nature as herd animals can cause them to spook easily if they encounter something they do not understand, such as a shopping bag or a piece of fabric fluttering in the wind. That’s why having a group of free-range horses wandering around the stableyard might not be such a good idea. Horses can easily injure themselves or cause unnecessary damage around the stableyard, and they wanted neither thing.
As Tim followed up on the mystery, he questioned his employers who owned the ranch and their stable hands. It soon became clear that none of them knew anything about it. The horses were all fine and unharmed, but there were no clues as to what had happened. Could it be the work of pranksters? Someone with a grievance? He couldn’t remember ever getting cross with anybody or even receiving complaints about anything. He was inclined to suspect an inside job, but since there were very few people on the inside, even that theory seemed baseless.
But as Tim shared his discoveries and doubts with the Bonhams, they all realized that there was another equally serious security breach. Someone had been stealing from the feed bin as well. Theft was a serious issue. The same thing happened night after night because Tim was also the one who locked the horses down at night. He felt responsible for the security situation and suggested a solution. By installing hidden cameras, they could monitor the stableyard and discover just who was behind these mysterious events.
When he reviewed the video footage the next morning, Tim couldn’t believe his eyes, and the Bonhams were amazed as well. When they saw who the culprit was, video footage from the hidden cameras clearly showed that the horses were not led out by high school kids pranking the people at Misty Meadow. Instead, the Bonham family discovered that they had one very special horse on their hands.
Fjord horses are known for their striking black coats, long showy manes and tails, feathered hooves, and their powerful appearance. It is believed that this horse breed was once favored by medieval knights, and now they are commonly used for pleasure riding and as sport horses. Their intelligence and their willingness to learn make them highly suitable for different sport disciplines, such as dressage, where obedience, good confirmation, and precision are required. If you love medieval films or TV, you might have seen a Fjord or two on the big screen, as they are also in high demand in Hollywood as equine actors. It’s really easy to see why Don and Sandy Bonham loved the breed so much and decided to raise them.
But as Tim’s video footage clearly shows, an enterprising Fjord mare can also take it upon herself to supplement her formal education with a series of skills more useful for her own entertainment. The Bonhams discovered that Marisa, one of the horses who had been freed from the confinement of her stall night after night, was, in fact, responsible for this mass equine breakout.
The nocturnal video clip revealed that Marisa had found a way to manipulate the stall door latches to let herself out and some of her equine buddies. By using her teeth, Marisa was able to unlock two different kinds of locks. She even managed to open up an old freezer in the feed room that now served as a feed bin whenever she got the munchies, which was often, as she was known for her very healthy appetite. Breaking into the larder may have been her true motivation for getting out of her stall. Of course, that explained the thefts in the feed room as well.
Watching this footage, Sandy Bonham recalled that even as a young filly, Marisa had been exceptionally clever at using her mouth and her teeth as a tool to investigate objects that interested her. And there was a reason why she did not let out all of the horses. Tim noticed that Marisa often skipped opening up for the horse in the neighboring stall when she was on one of her equine liberation drives. But Marisa had a really good reason for that too – because they did not always get along. She would only open the stalls of the horses she liked the most, leaving the rest to wait for the humans.
Sandy Bonham uploaded the video clip of Marisa escaping her stall and freeing her friends to social media. When the post went viral, Marisa became somewhat of an equine celebrity. People in Michigan began to refer to her as their Houdini horse, and as her popularity grew, she also attracted fans and visitors to the farm. She became the subject of news posts and photo shoots. To date, her videos on YouTube have received over 13 million views.
But soon, Tim and the Bonhams faced a new challenge. They had to come up with a new tamper-proof locking mechanism to ensure that the delinquent mare and her gang of escapees stayed put for the night. Why? Well, Marisa was pregnant, and for the safety of both her and her foal, it would be best if they kept her confined, at least until the little one arrived.
The secret sauce to keep Marisa in (and perhaps we’d better whisper this, as she might be listening) was to add a padlock to the locking mechanism. Marisa, of course, was not quite amused by this development curtailing her freedom. But hopefully, the new chore of taking care of an adorable filly called Lisa was enough to distract her. Also, if matters are allowed to continue with her nightly trips to the feed bin, she might end up with an obesity problem. It is highly debatable, though, whether she is truly a reformed character.
Some nights, the good folk at Misty Meadow just couldn’t resist leaving that pesky old padlock off, just to see whether the clever mare was still capable of performing her old tricks. Marisa has yet to disappoint them. Whether her gorgeous little daughter would inherit her clever mom’s special talent remains to be seen.
What a shocking surprise! Would you have ever suspected one of the horses? If you have a similar story about a horse that surprised you by mastering a clever trick, tell us in the comments.
