Truby's Field of Screams

Last week my husband had his longtime friend from Maryland come visit. Since his friend had never been to the Grand Canyon, they decided to head up there for the weekend, and come home around dinnertime Saturday.

Right before I went out to say hi to Truby, I got a text saying the Painted Desert was really awesome and they wouldn't be home until much later. It was a beautiful evening, almost cool out. I decided to go for a little bareback ride in the front field since I unexpectedly had the time.

Arizona has great sunsets

One of the things I absolutely love about Truby is that she's a very comfy horse to ride bareback. It's like sitting on a chair that's just right. She's smooth, and soft, and padded in just the right way. Since we're both rather lazy, we like to go for little bareback rides with just a sidepull (bitless bridle). We don't do anything fancy, but it's wonderful to just go for a stroll and enjoy being with each other.

turns out, I don't have a nice pic of her in a sidepull

We went into the front, and as I patted her back I noticed how sleek and shiny her coat is. Ah well, just going for a walk, no worries, I thought as I hopped on. And by "hopped", I of course mean used a 3 step dressage queen mounting block! Even thought Truby is just about 15 hands, I am not in any way graceful or athletic, and far too heavy to be throwing myself around. So we DQ it proudly.

yay! DQs! What's that? Is it cookies?

Our ride was lovely. We strolled around the trees. We looked at the Catalina Mountains. we walked along the fence line, and up and down the tiny little rolls in the pasture. Then we stopped to admire the sunset. And we walked off again for another few minutes of bliss.

nice view of the Catalinas

golden sunset

We stopped for a moment, and I heard a quiet "fhhhhhht', and felt Truby tense under me. I went to put my hand on her neck to reassure her, unsure of what the noise was...

ahhhhhhhhh!

And then the sprinklers went off, and Truby exploded! I had forgotten the field got irrigated in the evening. The sprinklers are a couple feet high, and shoot water out in alternating patterns of full circles and semi circles. And Truby does not like them. Truby does not like the sprinkles with a fox, she does not like them in a box, she does not like them a ham, she does not like them, Sam I am!

So there we were, standing in the middle of  where THREE sprinklers overlap. Me with loose reins and bareback, Truby in a panic, every muscle tense. She leaped up and forward a bit, trying to run, trying to rear, maybe to spin...she couldn't quite figure out where to go, but she was ready to get there! I remember sliding back, and thinking "oh shit, I'm gonna fall off!". I fought to keep myself on, and to stop Truby. I remember looking for a place so I could fall safely. Not seeing anything, I just hauled on those reins (sorry, Tru!!) and gripped with my legs. I finally got her stopped, and looked for a place to jump off. We were in front of the tall metal pole fence, so not there. The ground on either side was uneven. I feared that if I leapt off, I wouldn't stay on my feet. With Truby's panic, she could easily trample me if I lost my footing.

Truby does not approve of sprinklers

As I looked, one of the sprinklers to our right changed direction and splattered Truby on the bum! Cue the rodeo ride again. This time I was sitting better and more prepared, but really not wanting to play buckin' broncs! Luckily I was able to steady her much faster, and found a flat place to land. I jumped off quickly, stayed on my feet, and rushed to give Truby all the hugs, pats, and comfort she needed.

water attack!

With me safely on the ground, Truby calmed quickly, but was still pretty unhappy. For several minutes I gave her pats, and hugs, lots of apologies and laughter. Poor Truby! What a terrible thing to interrupt our ride! And to add insult to injury, I had to walk her back through allllll the sprinklers to get back to her night pen.

everything is better with noms

Happily Truby recovered fairly quickly and completely once back in the safety of her nighttime pen and away from the sprinklers. I stayed with her while the sun set. The next afternoon she was 100% happy Truby. Perhaps now I'll  remember not to ride up front in the evenings?

unlikely

Desert Dirty

Truby is no stranger to being dirty. Actually, she loves it. A good roll in the muddiest or dustiest spot after breakfast? Yes, please! Roll after a bath? Of course! Roll in your stall after a pre-show bath and braiding? Let's not even talk about that one!

Sometimes I take pictures just to prove that she can be clean!

So while I may like to pretend Truby is a gleaming horse of the palest silver, the reality is...well, a bit different.

Dirty

Dirty

SO dirty

Yup. Pony likes to get dirty! In fact, the day she arrived at her current farm, she was down in about 10 minutes. She said hi, screamed at everyone, ate a cookie, and then rolled.

 It seems most horses out here live in either a traditional barn stall with a small run attached, or a "mare motel", a pipe fence enclosure about the same size as a regular stall and run. The "stall" part is shaded and the "run" part is open. 

Example: Mare Motel. Pic found via google search - credit Fox Equine Rescue

And some horses live in various size pens, anywhere from slightly-larger-than-your-average-stall to round pen or even larger sizes. But mostly I see some variation on the mare motel being the most popular. It's a far cry from the large grassy turnouts on the East Coast that we're used to! In fact, when Truby first moved to Tucson, she stayed in a mare motel at a very nice ranch. As a special feature, they had GRASS TURNOUTS. Twice a week (or more, if you paid $$$) the horses went out for a couple hours. Not the 24/7 field board on 20 acres Truby enjoyed in Maryland. Or the out-during-the-day, in-at-night we had in Pennsylvania. But something. And a luxury out here in the desert.

While Tucson isn't the barren desert of cartoons, natural ground is basically dirt/sand/rock. Grass has to be irrigated and pampered. Open space is usually covered with various types of cacti, scrubby brush, gnarly trees, and desert dirt. And trust me, everything is pokey. Even the trees.  (Ouch.) So general turnout areas are (a) loose dirt/sand or (b) a minefield of sharp pickle-y stuff. It may seem weird, but the stall/run option is probably the best (and safest) way to keep horses out here.

So. Let's get to the point. Want to know my very favorite thing about where Truby lives? 

Just up from - you guessed it - rolling!

Actually, this is "just up". Graceful, isn't she?

She lives out 24/7. And during the day, she has access to a very nice, fairly large, pasture. With grass. And trees. In fact, it's nicely shaded, so even during the sunniest Arizona day, her grazing area is cool (well, relatively) and shady. It's not lush, emerald green grass, but it's grass! The grassy area connects to the riding ring. It's basic desert dirt. Truby and her buddies are fed in the ring, and spend the night there. It shares a fence with another pasture, so the neighboring boarders can talk, or squeal and fight, over the fence if they like. And there's some big trees that provide shade during the day. It's a pretty nice, and spacious, place for her to live. Of course, this provides Truby with ample choices on when, where, and how to get dirty! As a bonus, if we have a heavy rain, like the one a few weeks ago, the ring puddles up nicely. Lots of mud to play in! My little gray horse, always spoiled for choice. 

Morning after her first Monsoon

Yeah, someone had fun!

So, as you can imagine, between Truby's love for rolling, living in a desert, and just being a light colored horse, we do A LOT of brushing. And currying. And brushing. And more currying. 

She loves it though. I love spending time with her. She likes me spending time with her. And she does clean up nice, doesn't she?

No shampoo, no water, just a lot of brushing.

Welcome!

Welcome to A Truby in Tucson! Ideally I would have begun this blog in November 2016, when Truby actually moved to Tucson, or even earlier, in June of that year when I decided to move to Tucson. Alas, I did not. I finally got started today.

I thought it would be fun to chronicle the tales of Truby and I as we experience a life very different from what we're used to. (Spoiler alert: Truby is better at it than I am.)

Come join us, won't you?