Wednesday, August 13, 2008

The neighborhood gang problem

The neighborhood gang problem seems to be getting worse. I can't leave home without getting mugged...



...by a gang of friendly horses!

The road is unbearably rough these days, so you have to drive slowly, so slowly that these horses take total advantage of the situation and saunter on over to see if there's anything good to eat in the back of your truck.

Since I've never met a horse I didn't want to hug, I stop the truck and get out to visit. These horses are part of a herd that numbers about two dozen. There are six foals this year, another half dozen yearlings, a bunch of mares, one mule, and one stallion. Their owners are rather elusive, and I get the impression that the horses are craving more attention than they might be getting at home. Of course I'm happy to oblige. Some of them don't have the best manners, so the safest way to hang out with them is if I stay in the bed of the truck.When it's finally time for me to go, I pretend I'm "boss mare" and shoo away whomever happens to be blocking my door.
This little buckskin reminds me too much of Lyle, and I have to be careful that he doesn't climb in the back when I'm not looking. I do not need another horse...I do not need another horse...

17 comments:

  1. ya know..i think i'd be in HEAVEN if while moseying along a road ..a gang of horses stopped by to say hi!!
    How sweet is that??
    And look at that SWEET face...you have lots of will power to not bring him home with you!!!
    hugs..
    sandy

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  2. Ok Linda, You can add Horse Thief to your Rancher Woman title! hehe
    Or at least I would! :D

    My kids want a horse, actually. Can you ride-test that adorable buckskin for me? (wink-wink) Love that dun stripe on his back, too. I'd take him in a heartbeat!

    Hey, is that road private property that you have to drive through? How many acres do those horses have to roam?
    Do they hang out on or near your property, too?
    What do Hank and Lyle and the Burro Boys think of this gangsta herd?

    All the horses looks so fat, shiny and healthy. Monsoon season in New Mexico is good to the horses, isn't it?

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  3. Awesome, I wish we had horses hanging around like that. Beautiful background. Can I come visit and take gobs of pictures.

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  4. Beautiful pictures! How funny that "gang" is.

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  5. This is actually a county road, but the rancher has not put up a fence deny his horses access. They have 320 acres to call their own, I believe. There is a cattle guard between his place and mine, so the horses don't come up here. Hank and I rode down that portion of the road one time...it was not fun. They all came out to greet us. I was not prepared for a rumble, so I dismounted and used my mecate to chase them all away.

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  6. Linda, I hate to say this, but I think that buckskin might just be picking YOU. :)

    My daughter would be in heaven if she could ride down the road and be approached by a herd of "wild" horses. I can hear it now. "But mom, they FOLLOWED ME HOME. They're hungry! They need us!"

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  7. I need another horse, I need another horse...

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  8. Very cool! Yes, it can be a little too exciting riding with loose horses, much better from your truck bed.

    What's a mecate?

    Ann

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  9. A mecate, aka McCarty, is a long, braided rope, that attaches to a bit via slobber straps to become reins. The end of the mecate, 10 to 12 feet of it, is used as a lead rope once you dismount. While you're riding, you can tie off the end to the saddle horn or stick it under your belt. This post shows Lyle wearing one in the bottom two pictures.
    http://the7msn.blogspot.com/2008/05/skippa-little-lyle-new-and-improved.html

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  10. OK. I think you need another horse.
    'Cause that means there won't be enough room in the barn/feed area for Deets.

    And then I'll have to bring him home with me!

    I need a cat. I need two cats. I need cats badly.

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  11. Oh, that is my mantra as well. I do not need another horse, rinse and repeat as necessary. lol

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  12. Oh, they are SO beautiful. I would love to drive down my street and have these beauties saunter up to me! :-)

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  13. I haven't met an animal I don't want to hug either. Not all of them want to hug me back, but it hasn't stopped me so far.

    Beautiful horses, beautiful landscape and a nice shiny truck too, by the look of it.

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  14. I don't know Linda...you better be careful out there all by yourself! What if they approach your house...or worse yet...what if they try to get your boys to join their gang??!! Heeheehee...lol!!!

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  15. I wish I had a gang "problem" like that in my neighborhood!

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  16. Beautiful horses and they seem so friendly. That buckskin reminds me of a horse my parents had years ago.

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  17. how beautiful! my horses do the same 'look-in-the-truck-for-somthing-to-eat' thing too.
    i could just spend all day just taking pictures of them!

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