Horse Drive 2013, Day 2: Smooth As Butter

This year on Day 2, the horses were much more energetic than they had been the previous year.  From our stopping point the night before, we had to get back on the highway for a mile or so, then turn off on to a dirt road that took us across the desert.  Then we'd get back on the highway for a few miles, then turn into a field along the road.  At the end of the field, we'd be back in the sage and sand along the road, headed up Sweetwater Summit and then down to towards the Sweetwater Ranch and our destination for the day.

We tried to find a route with as little pavement as possible as the horses were barefoot.  Last year, some of them got sore from trotting on the road, so we tried to keep them at a walk while on pavement so they wouldn't wear their feet off so fast.  We had a trailer ahead of us in case we needed to give a sore-footed horse a ride, but this year we didn't have too many.

For those of you wondering about the mileage we traveled each day, here is a rough estimate:
Day 1: 14 miles
Day 2: 18 miles
Day 3: 23 miles

Once we were off the pavement, we held the group up to get organized before we headed out through the desert again.

Do you like the very picturesque storage unit in the background?

Headed through the desert.  The bay horse with the blaze is Brave, the gray horse is Hugwapi, and the paint on the right is Shiloh.  

Some of the sneakier horses know that it's hard for us to keep them together in the sagebrush, so they lead their little groups off in different directions...and then they try to get ahead of us.  It's quite exhilarating to go crashing through and leaping over huge clumps of sage!  You can see Blair and Betsy in the background.

Rhiannon, Lauren, and Jon trot through the sand ahead of the herd.  Look at that beautiful sand...arena quality!  No dust, thanks to Mother Nature and her rain shower two days before.  

Shiloh decided to follow my horse almost the whole day.  He never tried to sneak past me...what a good boy!  Behind him (with his tongue out, silly boy!) is Cochise.

We held the horses in a little bare spot.  One of the horses had stepped in a tangle of wire (just baling wire, so not too serious), and I stepped off to get it unwound from her foot.  From here, we headed up a little draw and then back to the road.

Jon looks over his shoulder at the horses coming up the draw.  Shiloh's right on his tail!

Mulan, Otis, and Shiloh lead the charge up and out of the draw.  Jeff was trying making his way to the front with us but still has some fast trotting horses to pass!

  After a long lope to get to this little sheep meadow, the horses stop for a little snack.  Can you see any of your favorite steeds?

Sweaty horses at snack time!

Jon, Lauren, and Rhiannon.  Insert witty joke about "putting your life on the line" here!  Or maybe you could hum a few bars of "Walk the Line"...

The horses get a little drink before we head up the meadow. Liz, one of the members of our draft horse team, is drinking.  Behind her is Santiago, Dulche, Paisley (the paint horse), and Grant (Liz's teammate) who is getting a little nibble of the green grass.

Sim tries to lead the charge...but the horses are too busy with the green grass!

Ahhhh....a nice foot soak, a drink of water, and a bite of green grass!

Aaaaand we're off!  This is the beginning of a two mile lope on an uphill slope, headed towards Sweetwater Summit.

Rhiannon heads to the front.  You'll have to excuse the camera angle--the meadow 

isn't actually that steep!

 Starting up Sweetwater Summit.  Back in the sagebrush...

 

Hi, Blair!  Haley (she looks like a tiny person in a green shirt coming out of Blair's hat), cracked her whip at the bay horse to get her back in the herd.

 Getting closer to the summit....

 Shiloh, back to his position behind my horse.

 Denise made sure the horses didn't get on the road when we were going through the trees.

 My horse was pretty sure she wanted a nap...

But then Jon made her pose for a picture...never a dull, serious moment!

 Haley leads the herd down Sweetwater Summit

 Just a few miles to go and Sim is always ready with his whip...just in case!

Made it!  Little Joe looks glad to be done for the day.

 

We put the main group of horses in one field and our saddle horses in the field next to them.  Well, that was the plan...until we realized that the gate between the two field was open and several of the horses had found it...

 Hey, guys!  Wrong field!

A large, gray pair of behinds heads for the right field.  

And so ended Day 2...pretty uneventful, but super fun!  We like it when things go smoothly, even though the exciting bits make for a better story.  Stay tuned, tomorrow is the last part of the horse drive.  Hopefully you didn't mind the hundreds of photos... 

Until next time, dream of green meadows, fat cattle, shiny horses, and blue skies!