Boulder County The Book

Some of you are really gonna laugh at this, but….my horses have never seen the inside of a barn – or a turnout shed – or any sort of horsey shelter.  I should be more specific.  I have walked them into and around all sorts of structures – for training purposes.  I can even walk them into the Lodge and know they will behave, but to “put them in the barn” due to foul weather?  Never.  They are Mustangs and lived out in the wide open spaces.  They get a little antsy about being shut in.

Yesterday we got pelted with another snow storm.  (GunDiva, you had better intensify those prayers for sunny weather to Mother Nature, because right now it looks like the reverse.)  The forecast was for mid-40′s and showers.  I incorrectly assumed RAIN showers.  After some drizzle it turned to snow … and stayed that way.  My mother told me we were under a winter watch and probably 5″ of snow.  OK.  Later the neighbor said they were warning people to stay out of RMNP because 12″ was expected (avalanche issues in the spring) by 6:00 pm Thur.  Yeah.  It hasn’t stopped yet, although it has gone from huge, very wet flakes to tiny, dry flakes, and I am sure we have passed the 12″ mark, even though we only have about 8″ on the ground right now.

I am digressing….back to the barn story….

I go out to feed and the crew is wet…grouchy.   I decide middle of the day to give them more hay to help with heat…they don’t want it.   Ranger is standing out in the open and every few minutes, lets out a big sigh..I’m sure they are feeling the same about the snow.

Dinner time…really soggy horses…shivering….miserable.   I have become a big softee…so I decide to put them inside…just long enough to dry off so they can stop shivering.

I knew they were cold when I tied them inside the neighbor’s ancient barn and no one complained.  I scraped most of the water off them…mini waterfalls per horse…gave them a flake of hay each and stood back to watch.

One of the wranglers was keeping me company, trying to talk me into just turning them loose inside the barn for the night.  I tried to explain it wouldn’t be safe for the barn because they would soon be getting rowdy.  Sure enough, before he could say more the two grays started nipping and  playing.  Time to go back out.

I was amazed.  Once I scraped the water, it only took them about half an hour to get pretty dry and feeling really good.  In fact, Jesse noticed she could slide the top gate rail open because it had gotten icy, so she hopped out to go play.  Fortunately for me, she discovered a fresh patch of grass under a big tree and just HAD to eat it.  I went home feeling much happier that the crew was no longer miserable.

Morning after:  my glutes are killing me..wading around in 6″ of snow over 12″ of muck catching horses (OK – just Ranger!) last night…what a workout!

It does make for great pictures.  Believer it or not, there is a white horse in this picture.