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.