JD goes South!
By Patty Wilber
It snowed (a lot more than predicted) on Wednesday 2/15, but I had the truck and trailer pulled up near the road. By Friday 2/17, things had melted quite a bit, so figured I’d have little trouble driving onto the road so I could load JD and head south to Elephant Butte Reservoir with JD’s mom, Marcia, and his “Uncle” Junior.
WRONG.
Got about 20 feet and the back wheels started spinning, sending snow and gravel spraying out. I backed up some and started again, only to have the truck’s back end drift sideways. Backed up a little again, but by now I was running out of real estate.
But I HAD to get out. JD and I had plans! …Panicked.
Called a neighbor. Not home
Called a friend. Yes. Yes. Be there in a while.
Oh good. Am rescued. Brain fog cleared. Thinking recommenced. Gee, I had a shovel! Gee, maybe I can clear a little ice using said shovel. Huh. Amazing how well that works.
Started up the truck and…drove out on to the road.
Five feet of clearing, on left most track, about 1/2 way up picture was all I needed. Doh.
Called friend back. Apologized for being such a GIRL. Thanks for having my back!
Loaded JD and headed South to Peralta, for the Trailer Switch.
Save Gas! Trailer pool!
Snowy, but warm enough at my house, GORGEOUS in Peralta, drove south to Elephant Butte where it was…raining.
Maybe we should have stayed in Peralta...
Decided we would ride anyway.
"do u think u could maybe just let me back in the trailer and go for a ride without me?" says Junior.
Sorry Junior! Not raining that hard.
We rode a 4 mile loop, over sand and gravel substrate. The footing was soft but not muddy. The rain spiffed up the rocks so the reds and greens and whites stood out. I was tempted to get off and check a few of those rocks out, but stayed mounted!
We did get wet and when we were done, I could not unbuckle the chinstrap on the bridle for a while because my fingers stopped listening to my brain and were complaining instead about being cold! (Left all my rain gear at home. Forgot all my back Country Training, maybe near the point where I failed to recall how to use a shovel.)
So, it rained a little. Had fun any how!
Rain Shmain! Didn't ruin our day!
The spare xeriscape in this part of New Mexico is very different than my mountain home! Creosote and mesquite dominate.
This picture is from 2/18 when it was not raining. The greenish plants are creosote and the grayer are mesquite that are winter dormant. There was a fair amount of Mormon tea, prickly pear and in some places Apache plume.
Saturday dawned clear, with a weird fog bank south on the flanks of Turtleback Mountain.
Marcia wants to know, "Did Stephen King dream up this fog?"
Snow in the distance to the west.
Snow in the West.
There is something about this wide open country that can make you feel like you might blow off the landscape (says Marcia). At first this seems too much, but once you are used to it, anything less seems suffocating.
Creosote bush
I’d been to Elephant Butte Reservoir for a triathlon, and while Jim was competing, I was thinking about how much fun I might have with a horse down there. So, this was the perfect opportunity!
Junior says, "u know u'r going in the lake, right?" JD says, "uh? what? am not."
JD did better and better with ditches, bushwhacking and just all the general newness, but when we got to the lake, and I wanted him to approach the water, he would not! It was MOVING (waves about three inches tall…)
After a few unsuccessful asks, decided to get off and lead him. Since I was going first, and I would clearly be eaten first, thus satisfying the Lake Monster, JD had no problem coming along.
Pretty soon he was in the water.
"told u so", says Junior.
"not so bad!", says JD. I was happy with how quickly he agreed to go in, too!
Finished the ride, JD had good roll,
rolling...
rolling all the way over (unusual for a such a big horse). Of course he hit the feed bucket and scared himself... but not too much!
got a drink
Drinking unfamiliar water (water from different sources, tastes different you know), is a great trait for horse to have, especially if you want to take the horse on outings. JD is a drinker!
then we packed, loaded and drove back North!
What a cool mini vacation!
Tags: adventures, horses, land, New Mexico, riding, The Write Horse
