Navigating Uncharted Trails: Employing rescue horses in a horseback riding vacation business.
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As the snowflakes dance their way onto the ranch, and our trusty herd is cozied up in the barn, we've had a chance to reflect on ten years of Enchantment Equitreks and let's not forget the epic 2023 season that had us all galloping with joy! We started with a dream and handful of horses, and we have successfully become an international destination for adventurous equestrians. The best part of this wild ride? Our guests, of course! We've met some of the most amazing riders from every corner of this big, beautiful world. From sharing stories over delcious meals to ridng in stunning landscapes, you are the reason we love what we do.
So this holiday season we wanted to thank you, our guests, for making the past decade unforgettable.
Cheers,
Justyn, Mel, and the EE Team
Dandy, what a year!!!!!! This plucky pony came to us scared and uncertain about everything, as many of you know. After nearly five years of training, our team has finally taught him to trust. He started the year with his first on trail canter, wich brough Justyn to tears, and he finished with carrying his first ranch guest. We are thrilled to be able to offer Dandy his permanent home. He is the definition of a success story.
Zena, our heard matriarch, has passed. As our first rescue, she was paramount in building Enchantment Equitreks. Like her name implies, Zena the warrior princess had overcome numerous obstacles, such as kicks from many other horses and even a lightning strike! It was evident that we should retire her at the end of the season because she had began to slow down and her nips were becoming bites when saddled. Regrettably, she would be unable to reap the benefits of a life at pasture. She suffered a fractured elbow in a pasture accident and we felt it was time to release her from her suffering. In October, we bid our herd matriarch farewell with broken hearts. She launched our company and brought in the last client of the season. Zena, we appreciate you being such an amazing part of our lives.
Justyn has spent years cultivating an EquiYoga philosophy, which helps equestrians strengthen their bond with their horses. In the past, our yoga retreats have combined horseback riding with yoga sessions that cover some of the principles of EquiYoga. After receiving feedback from many guests, we're excited to announce that we're going to offer a full week dedicated to EquiYoga! The upcoming retreats will feature a combination of trail riding, EquiYoga classes, as well as horsemanship clinics. This experience is designed to help you establish a better connection and communiaction with your horse! For more information and a sample itenerary please visit. EquiYoga Retreats
If you missed it, we were featured in Horse Illustraded magazine in the 2023 January issue! Next month you'll find our ad in the same magazine. We'd love it if you shared it with your friends! Also, in March 2024, Horse Illustrated will feature Enchantment Equitreks in a Ranch Vacation Destinations article!
We have some exciting prospects in the works for 2024 that we can't wait to share. A few hints?
New Merch
YouTube Channel Videos
Local Clinics
Non Profit Business Expansion
Keep following for information about upcoming vacation packages, discounts, news. Help us grow by following and sharing our FaceBook and Instagram pages.
Looking for that last minute gift idea? How about a riding adventure! For being a subscriber we would like to offer a 20% dicount for 6, 7 or 8 day riding vacation packages. Book before Janurany 1, 2024.
20% off RIDING, EQUIYOGA and BALLOON FIESTA PACKAGES when paid in full.
15% off RIDING, EQUIYOGA and BALLOON FIESTA PACKAGES with 50% payment.
10% off RIDING, EQUIYOGA and BALLOON FIESTA PACKAGES with 25% payment.
All Sales will only last 24 hours! Discounts do not apply to Working Vacation Packages or Day Rides.
Payments will be non refundable at time of purchase.
Click on the link to email us for availability and redeem your discount. BLACK FRIDAY
We have had an unseasonably wet spring, which has brought an abundance of wild flowers, fruits, vegetables, and grazing grasses. Our herd, including the new foster horse Dandy, are enjoying a few lazy days out in the lush South Pasture. The gardens are abundant with berries, especially summer sweet strawberries. You can see them featured in our Tres Leches Strawberry Shortcake recipe. Very decadent. Don’t miss out on our Yoga Retreats and Ballon Fiesta Ride. Spots are limited!
Meet Dandy! This 10 year old, pinto gelding joined our foster program in June after placing 4th in the Volunteer In Hand Training Challenge. He originally came to WNCR five years ago with Toby, from a hoarding situation. Dandy has excelled at ground training and is on his way to working under saddle. We look forward to getting this curious little guy out on trail! Follow his progress on our Facebook and Instagram pages.
This spring two of our horses have had a trip to the vet. Jake bowed the tendons in both front legs and Bosley developed moon blindness in his left eye.
A bowed tendon is common in performances horses, especially race horses When people say a horse is "bowed" or that it has a "bowed tendon", they are generally referring to the tearing of the superficial digital flexor tendon in the middle of the cannon bone region. This tear causes a curved, bow-like swelling on the back of the leg between the knee and the ankle. Although the swelling is usually in the middle of the cannon bone, it may be behind the knee, at the level of the ankle, or it may extend from the knee to the pastern. While this injury is common in one front leg, its very uncommon in both front legs at the same time. Although this sounds like a grim diagnoses, our very talented vet, Dr. Dixson performed a surgery procedure to release the tension in the tendon and help speed Jakes recovery. Recovery will be a slow, lengthy processes and we hope he can make it back to his trail riding
One afternoon Bosley showed uo to dinner with his left eye completly clouded over, it happened that quickly, “Moon blindness” is a chronic, painful eye disease, and it’s the most common cause of blindness in horses. It was so named during the 1600s because people thought recurring attacks were related to phases of the moon. Today it’s often attributed to a bacterial infection. Amazingly at 36 years old, this is Bosley only affliction. It took him a few weeks to adjust at the loss of sight in that eye, but now he’s back to his Horsey Hefner ways.
We do hope that both gelding will be able to return to some light riding, but if not they will certainly enjoy their retirement here at the ranch.
We have fruit! With the plethera of moisture this winter and spring our cherry, peach, and apple trees are baring tasty fruit. The grape vines, raspberry, blackberry, and goiji bushes are following suit. Can you say pies, empanadas, jelly and jams??? We also planted an apricot, plum, pear, and crabapple this spring with hopes of future produce. The ret of the gardens have been planted with corn, squash, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, melons, carrots, radish, tomatillos, potatoes, beans, okra, greens….and so much more. We’re very excited for this years harvest!
I will admit I snagged this recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine. I’m always on the lookout for new spins on traditional New Mexican food and you can’t get more traditional than a decadent Tres Leches. Usually a sponge cake soaked in three kinds of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream, this desert is light and rich. The summery strawberry gives it just the twist needed.
Ingredients
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
½ cup buttermilk
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
⅔ cup buttermilk
1 ½ cups heavy cream
2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 10-inch cake pan. Line with parchment paper. Grease parchment.
In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine butter and 1/2 cup sugar; beat on high until fluffy. Add eggs; beat until smooth. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add 1/2 cup buttermilk and the almond extract; beat until smooth. Add flour mixture; beat until just combined. Spoon into prepared baking pan; spread evenly. Bake about 30 minutes or until cake is golden and a toothpick comes out clean. In a medium bowl whisk together sweetened condensed milk, 2/3 cup buttermilk, and 1/2 cup cream. Using a skewer, poke cake all over. Pour milk mixture over warm cake. Chill, covered, at least 3 hours or overnight. Invert cake onto a wire rack. Remove parchment. Transfer to a serving plate and bring to room temperature at least 30 minutes before serving. Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine strawberries, lemon juice, and remaining 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. Let stand at room temperature at least 30 minutes. In a medium bowl beat remaining 1 cup cream and the powdered sugar with a mixer to stiff peaks. Spread over cake. Top with berries. Makes 10 servings.
There are still a few spots available for our monthly yoga retreats! When you truly need to immerse yourself in the restorative powers of equine and yoga, this retreat balances your mind, nourishes your body, and lightens your soul.
JULY 10-16
AUGUST 24-30
SEPTEMBER 22-28
OCTOBER 20-26
There are no words to describe seeing hundreds of balloons durning the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta on horseback!
- Jules
Book now for awesome discounts. Only 3 spots left for this unique experience!
We’ve been hibernating under a blanket of snow for most of the winter, but March’s warmer winds are starting to breath life back into the ranch. With our season opening in April we’re dragging out the lunges lines and push brooms for spring training and cleaning. New life is springing up with our first calf born last month, and it’s time to start interviewing prospect horses for our foster program. We checked the garden and our asparagus is just starting to bud, which will make an excellent tart for our features recipe. We’re excited for our 2019 season and we hope you’ll join us!
We have applied to win a small business grant from Fedex with a grand prize of $50,000!
With this grant we hope to expand our foster program that helps rescue horses find their forever home and fund our young women equestrians intern program that provides the knowledge and resources for young ladies who are passionate about horses. Click on the vote button to show your support! You can vote daily until April 1st. Need a daily reminder? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram for updates.
It’s spring training time! All of our ranch horses will start on a ground work series that includes desensitization, lunge line over obstacles, flexing, yielding, and backing. We will move to arena riding working on many of the same concepts, giving the same cues in the saddle that we would from the ground. Eventually we will start riding out on trail, gradually increasing length and difficulty to promote stamina. With such a long time off, horses tend to slip back into old habits, and this refresher corse helps their conditioning physically and mentally for the upcoming riding season. The horses seem to look forward to getting back to work!
It’s also calving season. We have now branched out into the cattle business, partnering with the Crenshaw Ranch raising Irish Blacks.
We will be visit Walking In Circles and The Horse Shelter this month to look for potential foster horses for the season. What are we looking for? It’s hard to explain “that look in their eye,” but there is a special quality to the horses we pick. They don’t have to be the best looking, have the best manners, or even the healthiest bodies. There just has to be a willingness to trust. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or here for updates on our Foster Horse Program.
We have two spots left for the Gathering of Nations Ride April 25-29. This annual Pow Wow showcases the vibrant cultures of Native American tribes from all over North America.
Looking for the perfect Mother’s Day gift? How about an EquiYoga retreat! Book the Spring Yoga Retreat May 13-19 and receive 10% discount on your second booking.
With an abundance of asparagus in the garden this tart is quick, easy and a crowd pleaser! The initial recipe is from the Food Network (my go to recipe site) and I added a little New Mexico flair.
Cream Cheese Tart Crust
2 1/2 cups (12.5 oz) all-purpose flour (I use Krutzle Gluten Free Flour)
1/2 tespoon salt
1 tablespoon
8 ounces cream cheese
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 to 4 teaspoons cold water
Pour the flour, and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Cut the cold cream cheese and cold butter into large pieces and sprinkle them over the flour. Give the flour, butter, and cream cheese 10-12 one-second pulses. The result should look like large shaggy crumbs. Remove the lid and sprinkle two teaspoons of the cold water over the dough. Replace the lid and process continuously for 3-5 seconds until you see the dough just starting to come together. It should still look a bit crumbly with visible flour and visible streaks of fat. When you pinch some in your fist, it should easily hold together. If it doesn't, sprinkle another two teaspoons of over water over the top and process again. Turn the dough out onto your work surface and divide it into two equal parts. Gather each mound of dough and press it into a flat 1-inch thick disk or square, depending on the shape of the pan you will be using. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. This makes two crusts. You only need one for the tart.
Asparagus Tart
1 Cream Cheese Tart Crust
All-purpose flour, for dusting
1 pound asparagus, trimmed
1 cup goat cheese (about 3 ounces)
1 cup grated comte or gruyere cheese (about 3 ounces)
1/2-1 cup chopped roasted green chili (depends on the amount of heat you want)
1 tablespoon minced shallot
2 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons whole milk
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
In a large bowl with ice water. Bring about 1 inch of water to a boil in a large skillet. Add the asparagus; cook until bright green and crisp-tender, 2 to 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the asparagus. Drain and transfer to the ice water to stop the cooking; drain and pat dry. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out the pastry into a 10-by-16-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and prick all over with a fork. Bake until light golden brown, about 12 minutes. Let cool slightly on the baking sheet. Meanwhile, mix the gruyere, goat cheese, chopped green chili, shallot, egg yolks, milk, nutmeg and a pinch each of salt and pepper in a bowl until combined. Spread the cheese mixture evenly over the puff pastry, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides. Toss the asparagus with the olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Arrange the asparagus on the tart and bake until the cheese mixture is slightly puffy, 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with the lemon zest. Serve warm or at room temperature.
We would like to thank all of our wonderful clients for making our season so amazing. Here's a review of 2018.
The Heard
The plucky paint pony has become a client horse! Although he's not really a pony, two years ago Toby was a lanky gelding who hadn't grown into his head yet. He came to us with a fearful nature, a wicked kick, and no experience under the saddle. With time in our foster program and under Justyn's patient hand, Toby has blossomed into a playful, trusting, and easy going trail horse. We adopted Toby this past spring and even though he still has a lot to learn and many miles to cover, the pinto loves his job. We already know he will be a client favorite.
New to The Pack
Our love of rescues also includes our menagerie of dogs. As our Great Pyrenees, Pearl, began to lean toward retirement, we knew the she would need an apprentice. That is when Lily Bell, a two year Anatolian/Pyrenees mix, joined the pack. Pearl has taught her to patrol the property at night keeping coyotes and even bobcats at bay. Don't let Lilly's size fool you though, she is still a playful, mischievous puppy who loves to be doted upon.
We have restructured the 2019 season to have specific booking dates. Each week will either showcase an event in New Mexico or offer a Yoga Retreat. Although many of these dates are set up for 7 Day packages they can be adjusted for 5 & 8 Day packages.
We have added new events!
Gathering of Nations Pow Wow
Indian Market
Spanish Market
Spring, Summer & Fall Yoga Retreat
Interested in our 2019 dates?
Visit www.enchantmentequitreks.com/events-2 for more information.
By far our busiest season yet, 2018 has brought us new friends, big adventures and a life time of memories. We added a new family member to the pack and gave a pinto pony a job he loves.
This Christmas we celebrated with traditional New Mexican Biscochitos and we are looking forward to the New Year with our 2019 riding dates already posted. We hope to see you during our next season.
Biscochitos
The official Christmas cookie of New Mexico, this biscuit like cookie has a hint of anise and is loaded with cinnamon. As many of you know, we make all of our breads and sweets gluten free.
The original recipe was a taken from Simply Simpatico cook book and we have adapted this recipe with more shortening to counter act the gluten free flour. Mel and I bake around six dozen as Christmas gifts for family and friends. They are the perfect for dunking in morning coffee or afternoon tea.
If you aren't up to the task of making your own, Celina's Biscochitos are fabulous! Many of our clients fall in love with their variety, from green chili pecan, red chili and gluten free. They even ship!
2 3/4 cups shortening
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons anise seed
2 eggs
6 cups flour (I use Krutzle Gluten Free Flour)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water/brandy/honey whisky liquor
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Oven 350 degrees 8-10 minutes baking until lightly brown, 12 min for high elevation.
Cream shortening thoroughly. Add 1 cup sugar and anise. Add eggs to the mixture and beat until fluffy. If using an election mixer switch from whisk to paddle. Sift flour with baking powder and salt; add to first mixture, add water/liquor as needed to help the mixture blend. Roll 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface and cut into shapes. Traditionally round. Mix remaining sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top of cookies. Makes 4-6 dozen.
Beer and Horses?!!?
We've partnered with Ale Republic for a Brewery Day Ride. After a 2 1/2 hour ride though the pine forest of Guiterrez Canyon with spectacular views of the East Mountains from various vantage point. After the ride enjoy lunch, a brew, and a tour of the brewery process. Don't drink beer? Don't worry, they also offer local cider and wine.
Not every training ride goes as planned. Toby and I have graduated from the arena to riding around the property. We were following Mel and Jake over logs, around trees, and Toby was handling every obstacle like a champ. I became over confident and thought it was a great idea to video our awesome training ride. As the horse in front disappeared around a corner Toby became nervous and wanted to catch up. I was busy playing videographer instead of trainer. When I added my leg to aid Toby around the large cactus bush, he didn’t pick up on the cue and aimed strait for the cholla. I’m pleased to report that both horse and rider avoided the prickly, instead I escaped with only a mouth full of pine needles from a near by piñon tree. When I’m asking a horse to learn they deserve my full attention. Although it was Toby’s training, I’ve definitely learned my lesson.
The red waters of New Mexico run through the salted desert like veins through an open hand. This photo was taken in the river bed of Ojito Open Space, where petrified trees and the bones of the largest dinosaur, the Seismosaurus, have been discovered
Two Ears Tuesdays are back! Follow our journeys through New Mexico here each Tuesday. Come stay with us and discover these places for your self.
This pictures was posted a few days ago by a childhood friend. We haven't actually seen each other since elementary school but with the ever updating world of Facebook I've been able to keep up with his beautiful family. Our dads were both team ropers and while I can swing a rope at a dummy, Reed still chases a few steers.
This photo should be in a magazine with big block letters across the top promoting a high performance suplement for horses. Instead it is a superbly captured moment of a horse ready to do his job. His eyes and ears remain pinpoint on the cow, intensity builds in his arched neck, he waits to spring as the gates slam open. Any cowboy will tell you that half the work is done by a good horse. This is a good horse that loves his job.
I wholeheartedly believe that domestic horses need and want a job. With the cold weather and shorter days setting in, my herd has spent most of the past month napping and eating in their paddocks. This may seem like the good life but, like kids cooped up in house too long, it makes for irritable, moody, and bored horses. Their manners begin to slip, nipping at each other at feed time or getting pushy at a gate. We often have to revert back to foundation training. "This is my space, this is your space, get out of my space," kind of schooling. My horses love their trail riding job and in the winter months I have to employ a parental like ingenuity to keeping them stimulated and out of trouble.
Like Reed, many owners can keep their horses working year around. My horses work seasonally, which leaves at least 3 months of down time. I'm hoping to fill some of those days with romps in the new pasture when the weather is nice. Just getting horses out on the walker or out on a lounge line helps. How do you keep your horses fit and entertained during the winter?
This weeks between the ears shot is a throw back to my month spent on the beaches of Africa with Mozambique Horse Safari. I believe the ears belong to Spice Girl, one of the many amazing horses the Retzlaffs rescued. The book 104 Horses follows Pat and Mandy Retzlaff's journey from Zimbabwe refugees herding horses across the war torn nation to horseback riding outfitters in the safe haven of Vinculo.
My journey through Africa wouldn't have been complete without this experience with the Retzlaffs and all the people at Mozambique Horse Safari. This is a once in a life time adventure I highly recommend to any equestrian.
Today's photo is of me! Being the photographer of the business I'm hardly ever in the picture. Although you can't see my face I'm still working hard with the GoPro stuck to my head. The two ears belong to Paige's Appaloosa mare, Risa. You might have seen our young outfitter on our Facebook video of Risa bounding into the Rio Grande River.
https://www.facebook.com/EnchantmentEquitreks/videos/941981499256925/
Between Risa's Ears
I ran across this great between the ears shot on Tumblr and was immediately drawn to the “End of the Road” sign. It looked like the horse was just as eager to see what was on the other side of the gate.
I couldn't choose! The Sandia Mountains are so beautiful this time of year so I decided to show them from the back side, full of golden aspen splendor, and the front side, swirling in clouds and the banks of the Rio Grande stretching at their feet. We had a spectacular weekend riding with this mother daughter due from California. Thank you Linda and Shannon for joining us for this end of the season ride.
It's Balloon Fiesta time! What better way to kick off Two Ears Tuesday than with my favorite shot of a hot air balloon between Cash's ears.
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
It's been a busy Easter Sunday. While many people are out hunting for rainbow colored eggs, we have been evaluating a new horse. Rising Desert, RD for short, is a 17 hand, off the track thoroughbred. For the past eight years the fifteen year old , sorrel has been used in endurance. Now with a new horse coming in, his owner is looking to give him away to a good home. When we asked why no one else wanted him, the owner replied "Because he's so big." He brought the big horse out to our ranch today so that we could all ride together. It was hard to notice anything else but his size as he walked off the trailer. However we all realized there was something very different about his front left leg. Perhaps that was the real the reason he was having a hard time being rehomed.
We had been warned that he has a tendency to hold his leg back and it shakes when he is nervous. His owner believed it was due to an old injury, but when mom ran her fingers down the leg she couldn't find any signs of previous trama. It didn't seem to bother the horse or slow him down as we trotted out to ride, all of our horses were a little fresh. I kept an eye on that left front leg on RD, although his knee never seemed to straiten or lock, he didn't take a misstep. When he finally calmed down I could see that his gate seemed smooth and powerful, his temperament quiet and inquisitive. Mom and I decided to give him a month trail to see if he could fit in our program.
As he wondered about his new paddock, trying to make friends with two mares, we watched his leg it seemed that the way he held it was unusual. Mom looked again and confirmed that he has a confirmation flaw, he is over at the knee. This odd way he was standing wasn't due to an old injury, but just a physical defect, one that non of us had seen on a live horse before. Thankfully many horses adapt to this flaw and have lucrative and long performance careers, such as Seabiscutt.
We are very excited to be working with RD and we hope that he will fit right into our herd of rescues. Yes he isn't a traditional rescue from a shelter or bad situation. He had an owner that cared for him, however with RD's odd flaw, not many people would want him. We are the ranch of the misfits, all with a little something different that needs to be understood and cared for.
So we hope that you have a happy Easter and that the Easter Bunny has brought you something special. Maybe as special as our RD.
I am clearly adulting correctly lately. Although adulting hasn't made it into Webster's yet, its become a highly used slang to describe Performing tasks that are associated with adulthood. I am usually trying to postpone adulting, like leaving my laundry until the last minute. This procrastination is usually the result of working for a boss, i.e. I have to do this or I will get in trouble. However, there are days when adulting produces outstanding results and overwhelms me with a since of accomplishment and responsibility. This go getter attitude is a direct result of being my own boss. There is no one to blame but me. Two things have happened lately due to my adulting. First we received our first repeate booking. When I found out I danced around the house chanting, "We're a legit biz!" Then it dawned on me. We're a legit business, I've got more adult things to do! I would like to think that our client would have booked again this year regardless my little prompting email I sent a few weeks ago. However, my adulting ego was proud of my follow through and was thuroghly beaming.
My next great success is Mia, our little tiger striped dun mare. She is our first foster from The Horse Shelter and my first horse to pick out on my own for the business. Most of the time Mom and I visit the rescues together, pick through a few candidates and work together to choose our newest foster. Last year, due to illness, I trucked out to the shelter on my own, waded through the candidates, and settled on Mia. Since then she has become my pet project, with her snarky attitude, big doe eyes, and huge heart. And as we began this journey together we are finalizing it tomorrow when a representative from the shelter will come out for a home inspection and will have Mia's adoption papers in hand. I'm so happy to say Mia will be joining our heard as a ranch horse and will be avalible for clients to ride this season.
My adulting is simply trusting that I can actually do adult tasks effectively and realizing they're not as daunting as I believed. When I complete a project, a blog, or even the laundry I feel a since of order and accomplishment. It gives me the drive to do more adulting, even when I sit in my pjs all day binge watching Gotham.
You don't go into the horse business to get rich. This is very true. Yes there are the elite few who do make money in the horse industry but for the majority of us equestrians we usually eek by with paying our bills, often filing our barn stores before filling our own fridge. Many of us work one or more other jobs to make ends meet and inevitably the emergency fund is being tapped for yet another vet visit. I'm blessed that my regular job can support my horsey habit and offer me ample time to enjoy my ponies. I applaud all of those who feed before and after your twelve hour shift and sneak in a weekend ride. I recently spent time with my boyfriends mom on her ranch in southern New Mexico. With the passing of her husband and her boys gone, she works the near 4,000 acres on her own. Back in its prime they supported 60 head of horses and twice as many cattle. As we drove around that day looking for early calves we chatted about livestock and her days training race horses. “I had few years where I was making really good money at it,” she said. “But it takes a long time to make a living at it.” I thought a lot about that as we bumped along. In a world where so many people are focused on making money, horses give us a way of life. For those of us who have stayed up with a foaling mare, walked for hours with a colicing gelding, or finished feeding before making our own dinner, we know that these moments aren't done just for a paycheck but for a passion that runs deep inside the horseman. It’s a way of living that only those who get up at dawn and end at dusk can understand.
Now the ranch only run a few cattle, chores are done in a Mule, and horses no longer grace their barn. Yet the halter that still hangs on a fence and old tubes of wormer sitting in the medicine cabinet linger like spirits of a time gone by. “I still love horses,” she said as we pulled through the last gate, “but I just don't have time for them any more.” No this rancher woman sitting next to me may not have gotten rich on horses but they have definitely enriched her life. Two generations of horsewomen sat there together enjoying the warm, quiet morning without saying a word but fully understanding each other.
Usually with Valentine's Day creeping upon us I would be writing about how much I love my horse, my dog, my man, friends and family. Instead I'm wanting to spread a little love this year. Five years ago Mom and I spent about a month volunteering at Mozambique Horse Safari with Pat and Mandy Retzlaff. We came to them with a big five year plan to start our own horseback riding business. I'll never forget Mandy looking at us and saying, "Darling, don't wait, go home and do it." With out the encouragement, guidance and friendship of these wonderful people and their horses we would never had taken the big leap and start Enchantment Equitreks.
The Retlaffs have an incredible story themselves. Mandy actually wrote 104 Horses about their harrowing endeavor to heard 104 horses across Africa during the Zimbabwe land reallocations. Yet their struggles continue. Mozambique has found itself in a devistating drought and much of the grasses that their horses survive on is gone. Pat and Mandy are now in need of help to feed their herd. Here is where I am asking all of you this holiday to send a little love all the way to the horses in Africa and give what you can. They have a set up a go-fund-me account for any one who can make donations. I thank you in advanc for these amazing people mean the world to Mom and I.
If you are interested here is the like to the Go-Fund-Me account on Facebook. Happy Valentine's Day.
https://www.facebook.com/africanhorsesafari/posts/10153919606659287
