It actually rained this evening!

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It actually rained this evening!

It actually rained this evening!

July 4th

🌧It actually rained this evening (July 3rd), in the horses’ habitat, REAL rain, for the first time this year! (All the other times it went around the horses’ habitat or was only 2 sprinkles.)

The horses seemed just perplexed about it and formed several small stampedes, which was interesting. It has been so long, that there are young horses who have never felt a good rain! The drought situation has been a true challenge for our organization in trying to keep the horses alive and healthy.

One rain does not end a severe drought, but we are cautiously hopeful that it might wake up some grass-seeds deep in the barren desert ground, and that we might get some more rain later.

There is however also a negative aspect of the rain that we know well, and are not looking forward to. The rain turns the falling mesquite beans into a dangerous delicacy for the horses. Colic season is upon us, because rotting mesquite beans can form terrible glue balls in horse intestines.

Therefore if you see a wild horse that seems to be rolling in pain, please immediately take out your phone and film the horse. This may seem counter-intuitive, because it is not pretty, but it is important so that we can assess the severity of the case, and ID the horse in order to check on it. Face pictures are also important. Then after you’ve taken the picture and a one or two minute video, please call our hotline asap at (480) 868- 9301. In severe cases, we can sometimes help the horse through administration of banamine.

We hope the temperatures stay cooler for tomorrow, and that everyone has a safe and happy Independence Day!

SRWHMG