Wild Basin Ranch

You know I typed this to a friend on another post and all of you need to share in this too as you have not only brought blessings to us but to the lady that owns this place. All of us can hope if we have dementia or problems that a kindred spirit will make sure this happens to us as well : Once we get the place in a little more shape we are going to have the owner visit from her assisted living and get some of our gentlest mares in a pen (she has to go in a walker) and let her get outside, see her house in good shape and best of all, feel the warm breath of a horse on her face again!

An update from Lil Bit Wild :

We are working, working, working. I found out the owner (she is in assisted living) had CHICKENS and 13 coonhounds in the house. So filthy in the house, barn, etc and we have been cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. The boys have already filled 2 @ 300 yard roll offs and we need another~ugh, so much crap and junk. Kills me and it would be impossible without all of the help you did for us. They are $500 a pop!

Horses are doing well and I think they are starting to gain weight. Had a rain/snow mix day last week and I was SO happy to know they were right here and fed. Kevin and I were delighted to be feeding them, drenched, slipping in the mud, freezing our butts off but so happy (the boys were off), yelling at the greedy girls and those trying to bully the others.

The girls with rub sores from the trailers (some had never been in a straight load, even our stock trailers are slants and we have BIG girls even when they are a bit thin) have lost the dried out skin and have healthy pink underneath with hair coming. We did have one colic pretty badly but she is now fine after a week of a special watered down diet and a healthy slug of mineral oil. One of our others that has a history of a sporadic pinched nerve in her back had an episode. Probably the nerve sheath was irritated from the rough trip down, she is right as rain now but kept us on pins and needles for a couple of days.

A week of high 60s so it has really kicked us up and in to working more. I laughed and was SO tickled when we moved some of the horses to eat the high grass along the driveway (there are gates at both ends) Jose was holding the gate and when I called them out they came towards the house where I was sweeping pigeon p**p off the porch (there is a nest in the rafters and I am hoping they will be old enough to fly off soon), so I had to go out to them and chase them with the broom (hah my vehicle of choice as they wanted to come up for scratches and skip the grass part. Made me chuckle.

I cannot tell you the relief I have to get up and watch the sun come up over the girls or to go out to the barn at night to shut off the lights and check Scooter the stallion. I know I am so overdue for checking in and getting everyone an update but I do not want to miss one minute of the warm days when we can get so much done in preparation for winter which will be here sooner than any of us think. I will try to stop and get some pics for everyone to see if they think the girls are starting to gain or if it is my imagination

Every day ALL of you are in my thoughts with enormous gratitude. I know not one minute of this would not have been possible without the heaping of positive good thoughts, prayers and help you have given us! More to come as we get this cleaned and organized. The girls at their temporary home, Lil Bit Wild :)

Wednesday 09/25/13 Update:
So sorry for not being able to follow up on all of you as to the progess/back sliding of the last 2 days. It has been a flurry of activity here, no time for the computer, burning up the telephone lines. More snow and cold on the way for tomorrow night.

Here is what we have :
Kevin was able to fly in with our FANTASTIC neighbor Steve Smitherman and get additional grain into the mares and check everyone closely. Milkdud’s (Secrets Ofa Senorita) arthritis is really bothering her with all of the moisture (nothing that Bute will not take care of) but everyone else is doing fine though getting a wee bit tenderfooted standing in so much water. Our farriers have always said our horses have hooves of iron!

The mares that are in foal are showing their signs of pregnancy and we have noticed that the herd is very spread out as they all look for grass. The grass is still green (THANK God) but very short.

Yesterday brought the news that there would be absolutely no state or Fed assistance with doing feed drops. It was a VERY disheartening day when Kevin arrived back home late ( grumpy and tired and hungry) with the latest pictures and the road status. By the way : everyone that I talked to knew about us and the plight of the girls and that credit goes 100% to ALL of you.

We all had the uplifting news on Sunday afternoon that they had temporary repairs to Cabin Creek and we thought we would have an easier go from there. Well the pics are here and there are some very big problems in front of us. While Kevin was able to get down to the Cabin Creek fix via ATV, approx 6 miles of dirt road from the ranch; 2 of the countie’s BIG earth moving vehicles became stuck and they totally pulled back from any road repair progress. We had heard the incorrect information that we would have fixed roads and SUV access to our ranch in a few days, totally wrong

Kevin had the opportunity to also look over the buildings and the access to crucial resources for foaling and staying up this winter and it is not good. We have bridges out, roads completely gone that are now active riverbeds with tons of water and lots of work and repair in front of us.

With all of this, we have made the decision that we must get the mares out of the mountains for the winter. Our county is seriously taxed (as is the state), our facilities are either unreachable or very difficult to access and winter has not flown yet.

That being said, I have spent all day looking for a place that we could lease for 4-6 months and move everyone off the mountain. Plenty of people have graciously offered a couple here and there, that want to split the herd but we would really like to keep everyone together for vet care, foaling and feeding. I have been in touch with Al Ohms (AWESOME man) in regard to the extraction.

So the plan right now is this : secure a safe place for all of us for the next 4-6 months, move as much down as we can in regard to supplies and small equipment (water tanks, blankets, drugs, forks, wheel barrows, on and on and on), all by ATV and not sure if we could even do it with small trailers attached to the ATVs, set all of this up at wherever place we are able to find and then get the girls down.

Our immediate and biggest worry is tomorrow night and the 2 following days of weather. Cold and snow. Steve has grain for the mares and Kevin is planning on heading back up with Steve tomorrow, depending on the safety of the weather (lots of wind forecasted as the front comes in) and he will spend several days with the mares and Steve making sure they have as much feed as possible. He will also start winterizing the house since we will not be there and making sure the 4 wheelers are in shape to do more work then they have ever done.

As always ALL of you have given me hope and strength and a positive (YES STACEY I am staying positive) attitude to carry on and get this done. Will keep you posted on the next steps and NONE of this would be possible without all of our cheerleaders egging us on!

09/22/13 Sunday afternoon update :

Al Ohms had plans on riding into the ranch today from Hwy 7 by way of Cabin Creek Road which we knew was washed out, in the hopes of scouting an overland trail for food delivery and road conditions. Last evening we were told that he would be stopped and arrested if any attempt across Cabin Creek was made by a non resident. A flurry of activity, letters, calls and emails ensued. I reached out to Larimer Cty who sent a person out to the checkpoint to make sure we did not have any problems (they know Al and his expertise).
In the interim, we received a text message from the Road Engineers that they had completed temporary repairs across Cabin Creek. While the contact was there, the checkpoint had been removed and they met a person coming out. We have a map of the area and it is another step forward!

Al did not attempt a ride today as we are under severe thunderstorm warnings and flash floods again today~~UGH. We are hoping to plan a ride later this week to get our own eyes on it when it is safe.

I spoke to Brandy Perkins from Boulder County Animal Control and was able to update her to this point. She had some additional resources for me to pursue which I will do once everyone is updated.

• Brandy mentioned that there may be several horses in Big Elk Meadows but she has not been contacted by owners and was unsure of their condition or if they needed assistance. Again we offered to utilize our ranch, resources and help if need be. I offered that if it was easier, we could bring them up to our ranch from the back trail, isolate them (I have strict quarantine practices with my herd) and care for them if need be. Once we get food in there of course.

We are hoping for additional updates and road repair schedules tomorrow as there are some meetings planned in regard to CR82 & SCR59 and the current plan by Larimer to utilize Johnny Park Road as access for the Big Elk Meadow and Pine Springs subdivisions. I will update everyone once we know what the plan is but this is HUGE to us because if they repair to Johnny Park, we are all willing and able to repair from there to our ranch if need be. So we are fortunate that the needs of many may serve to get our roads some priority.

We are still exploring all possibilities of delivery hay to the ranch (first choice) or extracting the mares safely (second choice). Our neighbor Steve Smitherman (with a plane) will be graining the mares with the 3 bags he flew in with my husband earlier this week, before he leaves to get a D9 for anticipated road repair. This will ensure that the mares have some protein to help with the cold snap and possibility of snow at the ranch this evening.

THANKS from the bottom of my heart to all of you for your help and concern. I will keep everyone apprised as the events unfold. Laura