Wild Horse Rodeo

February 4, 2024

Hello again,

It appears that I left some of you hanging with my letter last week.  So, without further ado, here is the continuing story of Hidalgo, the loneliest horse on the mesa(when corralled).  The ride into Santa Fe actually was just fine and went off without a hitch.  I gave Hidalgo a few scoops of calming pellets the night before and that very morning before his ride and it really helped to keep him from getting too worked up about it.  At least, at a glance, he seemed fine.  Probably.  After shoving him onto the trailer I had to drop the section of fence panel and jump into the trailer quickly to shut the divider behind him and to trap him in the first of two spots.  Somehow I managed this and got the divider in place.  Then, I fired the truck back up and moved it ahead so that I could shut the trailer door.  Erin met me out on the driveway once I got out of the pasture and away we went.  Our boss had intimated to us that we'd receive all but a valet-type of service and, halter or no halter, they'd take care of Hidalgo for us.  Tranquilize.  Trim.  In any event, that is not how things transpired.  We pulled in at the huge spread south of town just off of the Turquoise Highway and pulled in next to the office.  There was already a truck and trailer sitting there, in the process of unloading a horse, and taking it over to a nearby corral.  I went and checked in at the office and then we just waited.  After about an hour or so, the other horse was taken back to its trailer next to us and they got it all set to leave and the vet walked over to see us.  Immediately, he noticed that Hidalgo did not have a halter on and said that he wouldn't be able to work on him.  I vainly attempted to pick up one of his legs to show him his worst hoof, having to stretch underneath the divider to do it, and he didn't feel any more comfortable about the situation that he did to begin with.  So, we talked about nutrition and diet and rations and the necessity of halter training, just so that he could be brought back to be worked on.  More than anything, he could really use a good hoof trimming.  So, we had no choice other than to just drive back to the ranch and let him back out into the corral.  All the horses seemed much more at ease once they saw Hidalgo get out of the trailer safe and sound.  We were prescribed a thyroid medication that would help him out and also were suggested a type of replacement feed that could be used to help, a low-sugar and low-starch feed.  Now, it was up to us to decide how to respond to the situation and what adjustments we had to make going forward and whether or not we'd try to halter train him.  More importantly, would he even let us try to train him? 

So, for me, life kind of got back to normal after that and I got lost again in the cycle of morning and afternoon feedings and more urgent situations like our need of a finished front walkway at the new house.  Both the boss and I did attempt many times to get a halter on him, but he just won't let you do it.  A few of the other horses will, and think it's cool or something, but not Hidalgo.  More importantly, once I got rid of the rest of the alfalfa that we had, I could just go back to feeding everybody the same thing and not have to keep him separated.  So, that's where we're heading right at the moment.  He's still in the corral, but we're aiming to have him back out of it soon.  I have let him out once and was able to get him back in when I went back out for the second feeding, but I don't trust that that could be done regularly.  We've been communicating with the rescue place where these horses came from and seeing about getting him down there for treatment.  Vets don't always want to waste their time with wild horses.  It's definitely a thing.  And, I'm probably a little crazy myself for being so willing to work with wild horses, but the point is that it's hard to get help when you need it.  We had a Navajo rodeo guy come here a few times who grew up working with wild horses, but it's hard to get him to come out our way.  I did put some feelers out, but to no avail thus far.  The horse rescue place is probably a better option, if I can get Hidalgo in the trailer again.  Seems like it wouldn't be too hard, but I did feel rather sore after getting him on the first time.  I felt like I had wrestled a bear, as they like to say.  My shoulder popped out and I pulled more than a few muscles heaving him onto the trailer.  While glad that I now know that I can do that, I'm certainly not too eager to have to repeat the task once again so soon.  So, for now, we wait and see.  Wait and see and hope to start letting him out to walk around again sometime soon.  His hooves could sure use some self-trimming!

Now, for the best part, some more pictures from the ranch.  First up, two artistic renditions that show Starvation Peak over a horse's back and a weird-looking shot from inside a bird seed can.  Then, a blurry shot of part of a flock of Pinyon Jays, regrouping just beyond all of the bird feeders.  Next, three shots of some of the horses feeding out along the frontage road, two from the morning and one from the evening.  Then, five amazing shots of some stellar cloud formations seen over a few days.   Next, a shot of the mesa from the front of the new house.  Then, two early morning shots when it was actually a little hazy out here.  Next, a massive cloud formation towering over us to the northeast, with it almost absolutely clear to the northwest, like some imaginary line was running from the ranch to Barillas Peak.  And, finally, the pile of leftover flagstone pieces that I have to work with for an upcoming walkway project.

See you next week.