Holiday Weekend at The Horse Camp

Holiday Weekend at The Horse Camp

The big horse rigs really packed in here this weekend. They started appearing as early as Tuesday and even more came the day after Thanksgiving. They camped in friendly groups and dragged picnic tables close so more people could eat together. The weather surprised everyone and turned cloudy, cold and windy, so that eating outside wasn’t much fun. There was frost on the ground this morning.

One group of people brought six pinto horses, one Icelandic horse and a draft horse more graceful and a size smaller than most. I saw him today hitched to a fine looking buggy, his neck arched proudly and tail held high, followed by riders on the pintos and others on their spirited horses, surrounded by a pack of happy dogs racing around. It was just two hours before sundown and they paraded from the front of the camp past two big groups camped near the back end. There seemed to be a lot more picture snapping than riding. You might think that after they had gone to all the trouble of hauling all those horses and gear way up here on this mountain, they would have been out riding early enough to ride up to watch the spectacular sunrise. These people don’t seem to get saddled up until after 11 AM. They miss a lot by not getting out early. That is when you might see deer and coyotes drinking at the little lake where the stream is dammed up. There are large coveys of quail scurrying about at that time as well. I have seen the scat of raccoons and bobcats, but not the animals themselves yet. Bear and cougars have been reported about twenty miles higher up in the Lagunas, but I really don’t care to see them.

 The longhorn cattle have all been released onto the reservation since the graze is gone in their pastures and they are thin. Gates on the reservation have been opened to allow them to roam even farther afield, because a man on a bulldozer has been clearing safety zones around any human habitation in case of fire and that has destroyed hundreds of acres of dried grass between rocky outcroppings. But the grass will be better than ever next year because of cleared areas. I have thought of buying some native grass like buffalo grass to sow in the shade of rocks for the cattle to eat next year. I know a place to send for it in Sun Valley in the Los Angeles area.  Meanwhile, the cattle approach the horse corrals and try to sneak some of the alfalfa from the visiting horses.

When the large group arrived late on the day after Thanksgiving to camp not far from my site, it was pandemonium. Horses neighed as they were backed out of the trailers or big rigs and put into their new digs in the corrals, dogs of all sizes from Weimereiners to cattle dogs and a lot of mutts, were all racing around in circles causing my two dogs and the five rescued dogs to set up frantic barking. I had to threaten them with a squirt bottle to shut them up. And then, as if that weren’t enough, the herd of longhorns arrived, stopped a minute to survey all the activity, and ignored everyone to cross the dry arroyo to drink from the horse trough near the arena. The visiting dogs knew not to go after the cattle, but four people with cameras were fearless. They took pictures closer to them than I ever dared to go. These steers seem rather docile, but I know they are descended from wild Mexican cattle, and with those threatening horns, I don’t get very close. I only know about dairy cattle.

The temperature is in the forties and the wind was down for a while but blowing again, now. There are several big campfires with silhouettes and reflections of people around them and sounds of distant laughter. These are hardy people and they are enjoying themselves. With all the camera flashes I have seen, they will have a good record and pleasant memories of a happy weekend.