I haven't seen hide nor hair of the horses since Ida moved them from the upper pasture to release them on her property behind a rock quarry. Mom and Bill usually hike in once a week to get their hands on the horses and check up on them, but haven't been able to due to Mom's hip surgery. We're used to turning them out for the winter, but we usually have an idea of where they are and the condition they're in. This is the longest we've ever gone without seeing them.
Needless to say, we were getting a little anxious.
Mom called Ida a couple of days ago to ask if she'd seen the horses and the answer at that time was no. But she called back on Friday morning and said that the horses were at the homestead and she was able to see that they were doing well, even if they weren't close.
I drove Monster up to the Lodge later that afternoon and was delighted to see the entire herd down in the lower pasture, where they are accessible. Monster and I pulled off and went to the fence to talk to them. The entire herd came off the hill and congregated at the fence to say hi. Even Ranger, who loves to be a wild horse, joined in the fun.
Washoe is a little on the thin side, and has a ton of cockleburrs in his coat; Jesse looks wonderful - she's lost her hay belly; Ranger, of course, is thriving; Estes is a little on the thin side, but not dangerous; and Eli looks great. All of Ida's horses look amazing and I still want to take her little black fillies home. Too bad they won't fit in Ripley.
I took a ton of pictures with my phone, but I can't get them to load from my phone to the computer and emailing them to myself didn't work either. Once I get the pics from my phone, I'll get them posted.
Bill and I are planning on hiking out to see them on Monday. If they're at the homestead, we'll just spend some time grooming them and getting our hands on Ranger so that when Ida moves the horses again next month she won't have problems with him. If the horses have moved back to behind the quarry, we'll get a good workout in while we search them out. Either way, I'm looking forward to it.
3 comments:
I'm jealous that you get to spend the day with the horses (hopefully!)
Would love to be tagging along!
And as far as Kona goes - no one ever has to worry about wondering where she is... she comes thundering in when she hears my special food whistle :)
I'm sure you guys will have a blast!
I don't think I could go without seeing my horses every day, I'd worry too much!
You know, Shirley, the first couple of years we turned them loose, I was the biggest worrywort. I had to constantly remind myself that they had taken care of themselves in the wild before we got them. They didn't NEED us, but after you have lived with them close for awhile, it's really hard to turn loose again. I am sooooo happy they have graced us with their presence again.
Juanita
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