safe arrival

It was one of the coldest mornings I can remember this late spring. The forecast predicted high 60s reaching almost 70!
Today was the day that the horses would be arriving from Nevada and it seems like it would never come. I have been ready for just about a year to start another group of the horses coming out of the wild. I just wanted to discover that last years horses were not some sort of fluke or some streak of luck. I have all the plans in my head of how this years group would be different and how I would implement my changes in training and handling. I could not wait to get started.
The horses arrived safe and sound and not a scratch on them. There is a lot to be said for someone who drives a big truck and takes good care to deliver your horses safely as they ride loose in a straight deck trailer, thank you H.D. Criswell.
The horses settled in quickly and Lunga did not! She was rather upset at her new job as bell mare for a bunch of misfit wild horses. She has long forgotten that in fact she was in this same boat last year as one of the original misfits of the 88 Ranch program. The horses filled up on water and really nice alfalfa hay; it did not take them long to figure out what the feed wagon is all about.
We decided we would start catching horses right away. We wanted to take advantage of the warming weather and the sunshine and of course we could not wait, it was like opening presents on Christmas morning!
I decided I would use my little horse, Pochito, who is also a horse started last year in the program, but by good fortune we have him for the summer. He spent the entire winter doing abosultely nothing and so I can say that he has less than 100 days riding, so it was a perfectly pleasant surpise to have him handle gathering a small group, getting them in one pen and then into another and finally getting down to the work of roping, haltering and leading his very first horse. I was so happy with him, his heart out-weighs his body. He was very patient and very willing and stood his ground when he needed to show his stature and place at the ranch. Good boy, Cheeto Man!
By the end of the day we had managed only 3 horses haltered. We have halters on Gwen, Cueca and poppy. Poppy managed to hit herself on the back of her right front leg, so we spent the latter part of the afternoon doctoring her and she atually let us clean up her wound and put bandages on and a wrap over her leg, so all in all it was a very good day working with the new horses.