The Sheriff's Posse and My Bay Mongrel

After locating a double axle covered livestock trailer required by the Bureau Of Land Management (BLM), I hauled home my precious wild cargo. The hour drive left my big boy drenched in nervous sweat. The traffic, city noise, strange objects, and momentum of the trailer were obviously a bit much. Using common sense, I left him alone in his pen with Polky, my Bay mustang, for a few days to adjust.

For one year BLM officers are obliged to come out to your property and make sure you are complying with their rules and regulations as to the horses welfare. Among other things, they inspect the mandatory fencing and make sure you haven't tortured their animal.

When I went out to feed, my big yellow mustang, Ranger Benji, would coward in the corner and shake in terror. Just when I sneezed, he would practically jump the 8 foot fence. There was no way I would be able to hook his harness with the 20 foot lead rope without him rearing up and striking me with his hoof like a fly on the wall.

I took a long, straight, tree limb and taped the rope onto it. At the end of the rope was a hook for his harness. I taped open the hook. The sun would disintegrate the tape and the snap would close. I fed my big boy in his tub then waited until I could fish the hook under his harness. Once I managed to get the lead rope on him, we took baby steps which he fought to a fierce end. Day by day we worked with him taking a little step forward, a little step to the left, a little step to the right...But, always ending on a good note.

Lassen City College in Susanville, California (near the Litchfied BLM) offers good agricultural studies and horsemanship classes. There you can expect to attend classes where the students are Sheriff Posse, Highway Patrol Officers wives, Deputy Sheriffs, Police Officers (about 20 altogether) and others who do not have horses less than $10,000.

ALWAYS TIE YOUR WILD HORSE ON A STURDY POST! The teachers don't seem to stress that enough. And, that is probably because most horses that come into the class aren't wild and they know their basic manners. Otherwise, you won't be as lucky as I was when I tied my horse onto a portable steel fencing panel that was leaning against a wall. Polky was lucky to be alive, the officers and their horses were lucky to be alive, and I was lucky I wasn't hung by the officers when my Polky flew into a rage and galloped away with the steel panel swinging from side to side.

The only injuries out of that episode was only a very slight nicking on the hock of a paint horse. To this day, I honestly think the teacher gave me a "B" just to get rid of me. Stay tuned for "Getting Reprimanded By The BLM Officer".