15. Irrational Explanation

09/11/08

That really shook us up for a bit. We were near to going outside to look for hidden corners. But somehow we both accepted that at this late stage, going out would be pretty stupid and we know that field well. The horses don't disappear from view.

So we started digging for another rational explanation:

1. The owners got worried about them and broke quarantine to bring them somewhere nearer to them or more sheltered. Highly plausible - people with horses can be quite obsessive about them and likely to take extreme measures. But why didn't we hear them and where could they take them within the village?
2. The horses became desperate and managed to break through or jump over the fence. Reasonably plausible - the body can do extraordinary things when placed in a life or death situation, so maybe that's true for horses. However, last time we saw them they looked as though they'd got no motivation or energy left.
3. Local dogs have been shut out of their houses and have become a hungry pack capable of completely consuming 3 horses. Not plausible, and anyway we'd hear them howling!
   
4. 'They' saw the horses plight and rescued them. Not very plausible; I can't imagine 'Them' saving horses unless to avoid an outcry later on. And anyway, we'd have heard them.
5. 'They' saw the horses plight, killed them and removed the bodies. Slightly more plausible, except the shots and the helicopter/lorries would have alerted us!

We're going with option 1 as the least irrational explanation. I do hope that the people are OK. I also hope that they haven't caused an extension in the quarantine period.

Fortunately, we didn't let the disappearing horses throw us for long and we got back to the daily programme. We also watered all the plants, cut off the dead bits and wiped the leaves. 4 of my orchids have got new flower shoots coming. Life goes on!

We've kept the curtains open. Still no change out there. We're going to start trying the phones and searching for local radio again now. I expect I'll write again later tonight when things start getting exciting!