The next morning, we awakened to ice on the ceiling of the trailer, and an outside temperature of about 17 F. Chilly! Inside the trailer, the temp was 27 F, a bit toastier. Our little catalytic heater warmed us to to above freezing, a welcome improvement.
Here's our gooseneck bed before the trip, just to show our luxurious accommodations:
The horses were tied to outside trailer rings overnight.
At sunrise, Steve let them loose to dine on a bale of weed free hay (required on all government-owned land to prevent the spread of noxious weeds) we had brought along, plus some equally weed-free alfalfa cubes. Steve took off their lead ropes, thinking they would hang close with maybe a short jaunt to the cow carcass-adorned spring for water.
Wrong. They must have taken the lack of lead ropes and hobbles for a license to explore their new "pasture." They took off, with dear faithless Daisy joyfully racing along with her horse friends. We followed much more slowly, across a landscape that stretched forever, roughly 20 square miles of open territory between one lonely fenceline and the rim of Horseshoe Canyon.
I didn't have the presence of mind or camera to photograph them galloping with their tails flagged and heads up, enjoying their unexpected freedom, but it was a pretty, if concerning, sight. Those fools ran for a full 2 miles, completely out of view. We walked a quarter mile to a gate we had driven through on the way in, thinking the horses would stop at the fence. Not. We climbed a little hill and looked around. No horses in sight. After scouting around for hoofprints to see which direction they went, we finally saw them as a white and a brown speck in the distance. We watched for a few moments and decided they were coming our way. They trotted back, coming right up to us. As a reward for returning on their own, they got a couple of handfuls of sweet feed. We breathed a big heave of relief that we didn't have to spend the day hunting them.
So, after a 4 mile romp for them and an adrenaline-charged start to the day for all of us, the boys finished their breakfast, albeit with Boss securely shackled. Daisy had returned with them and enjoyed lounging around camp while digesting dog food and bits of well-aged cow rib.
By 10 AM, we were ready to ride.
A toasty 27?! You're making me shiver in my 73 degree house!
ReplyDeleteLooks like beautiful country though so I'm sure it was worth it.
glad they all came back so you could enjoy the rest of your day....
ReplyDeleteI figured they'd eventually return but who could guess how long it would take them to do so? Not good starting your day like that! Daisy and her pals looks so innocent in this photo. :)
ReplyDeleteYikes, I think I would have keeled over from heart failure watching them run away! Glad you got them back quickly.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it has been explained to me before, I still cannot understand how horses (even cattle too) can tolerate such cold all night long. I suppose you know how horses are and knew they would return. I would have thought otherwise. I guess that is why cowboys in the movies are not too concerned about their horse running off during the shoot-out.
ReplyDeleteOMG, Janie - that even got MY adrenaline pumping! What was Daisy thinking? It's her job as your faithful sidekick to round up those errant horses and bring them back. She's a retriever , isn't she? BTW, your bed looks cozy but 27 is pretty darn cold!
ReplyDeleteBrrrrr... No snow--but it looked COLD... Love your trailer set up... Looks comfy and bet that little heater helped!!!!
ReplyDeleteGlad your horses came back to you --after their ramp...
What a beautiful place... Glad you took us along with you.
Hugs,
Betsy
That's a good stretch of the legs after a long winter. And wow, there are more sagebrush in that photo than the eye can see.
ReplyDeleteHaha! Happy horses! Concerning I'm sure, but what a wonderful sight to see them in their full glory I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds concerning that they ran off, especially after your little experience with horses having run off a few years ago! Very glad to hear they just came on back after a few minutes.
ReplyDeleteGuess they were feeling their oats, or in this case alfalfa. It has been a long winter. Bet that bit of exercise felt good. And of course they'd come back to such wonderful people, just glad you didn't have to wait too long.
ReplyDeleteWhat a start to the day. In special needs speak you could say your critters had elopement issues. At least they de-eloped on their own.
ReplyDeleteMore beautiful photos! It was almost that cold once when we camped in Leadville, CO, except we were in a tent and didn't have a heater.
ReplyDeleteMore beautiful photos! It was almost that cold once when we camped in Leadville, CO, except we were in a tent and didn't have a heater.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of another story that lasted a lot longer with those runaway horses of yours! I"m glad they came back in a timely manner. It must have been nice to get out of the snow.
ReplyDeleteBrrr! Guess the horses don't feel the cold like we do? Lovely pics - a great day for riding.
ReplyDeleteWhat a start to the day! And what amazing views. This sure looks like almost wilderness to me. At least few and far between signs of people.
ReplyDeleteHorses... I think they are much smarter than is generally believed except when they are running like idiots. Glad you got them back reasonably quickly. Better than a cup of coffee, right?
ReplyDeleteWhat a way to start the day! I'm glad everyone returned, although their romp was probably long enough to give you heart failure. The three of them look relaxed after their morning exercise.
ReplyDeleteWhat a start to your day...I hope you at least had some coffee before the adventure began!
ReplyDeleteLoved seeing your sleeping area; it looks quite cozy. I bet it was still too cold for this Florida girl!
I smiled at your account but it must have been worrying to see your horses (and Daisy) disappearing into the wild blue yonder.
ReplyDeleteI bet that was a sight to see them galloping across the open spaces. A horse loves room to run.
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