Excerpt from MAU Happenings

A Tail of Two Horses or the Pied Piper finds the Scarlet Pimpernels

It was mid April, when two horses known as Duke and Silver, decided there were greener pastures to be found. They had come to Grizzly Flats (just north of park boundary) from their Nevada Ranch to enjoy a retreat and some riding with their human counterparts. They soon discovered some fine grasses outside their pasture and were on their way to a real adventure. Since they were new to the area, they had no sense of home. For Duke and Silver, it was just one big pasture. They were west of County Line Road and north of Bear Mountain heading down Coyote Creek just below Grizzly Creek when their tracks disappeared.

Horses can easily travel 26 or more miles in search of water and food, but there was no need to travel far this time of year in Coe Park. The East Fork of Coyote Creek had plenty of water and there was an abundance of grass. Surely someone will sight them in this area. But what condition will they be in? Duke had an injury to his leg before his escape. Was the bandage still on? The fact that they were not barn horses was in their favor. Both were comfortable in the outdoors since that was where they spent their time at the Nevada ranch.

Good news came from a mountain biker. He had been riding near Robison Mountain, actually near the top. He took some pictures of some wild horses on top of the mountain. Sure enough, it was Duke and Silver. They had crossed County Line Road traveling east and climbed up Robison Mountain, perhaps to enjoy the view. Now why would they wander east when there was plenty of grass and water to the west? How do you find these two elusive scarlet pimpernels (and I’m not talking about the flower) in 90,000 acres? It seemed that they were not inclined to stay in one place for any length of time. Do we try to ride out near the area and search on horseback looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack or do we wait for another sighting? This was also bad timing as far as the park and volunteers were concerned since Back Country Weekend was just two days away.

A call for help was put out just before Back Country Weekend. All eyes were on alert. Surely a backpacker or a mountain biker going to that area will spot them. Even with all the eyes available for spotting the horses, there were no sightings that weekend. Where were they? Were they OK?

Three days later, some riders from San Antonio Valley spotted the horses in Red Creek. They had a spare halter with them and were able to halter Duke. But when they tried to pony Duke he tried to bite at the rider’s horse. That was that, they did not want to risk injury to horse or rider so they released Duke and rode off. Upon returning home, they learned that the horses belonged to their friends who were quickly notified.

The owners, Carol and Bill, had already returned to their Nevada ranch and were preparing for a trip to the UK in two weeks. Carol decided it was now or never. Plans were put in place to rendezvous in San Antonio Valley the next day. Carol would drive from Nevada over night with a friend and a horse trailer. Now that there was a confirmed sighting and their location was pinpointed, we did not want to miss this opportunity to retrieve them.

Dark clouds were forming as we arrived in San Antonio Valley. The weather service was reporting potential thunder storms. Carol and her friend Kathy had driven 12 hours to get here. As the sky darkened, we took a quick inventory of everything that was to go with us in the Jeep - bags of carrots, halters, lead lines, saddle, bridle and blanket. We knew that taking the trailer was not an option so it was left at the southern end of San Antonio Valley. I had a park radio with me although I doubted that it would get any reception where we were headed. We were as prepared as we could be.

We drove along County Line Road to the intersection with Red Creek. We wondered out loud what the best strategy would be to capture these evasive pimpernels. Would they run away? Will we be able to put halters on them? Were they OK? As we rode we discussed our strategy. Our hopes were high that we would find them somewhere at the bottom of Red Creek Road. Once we found them, our strategy was to ride one horse and pony the other (ponying refers to a rider leading one horse with a halter and lead rope while riding another). Carol had never ponyied a horse so this was an unknown and she was nervous.

Dark skies threatened, but our luck was holding as we drove down the steep Red Creek Road. I was personally thankful for the Lick Fire which had made it possible to navigate this section of the park. We had not seen any signs of the horses as we reached the bottom and made the sharp turn to cross the creek. As soon as we crossed the creek bed, there was undeniable evidence of horses being in the area recently.
Moments later, we spotted them about 200 feet away. We put our plans in action. Kathy, a non-horse person, was to stay with the vehicle and drive to us when signaled. Carol set out on foot with a bag of carrots in hand. I stayed back with the halters and lead ropes. We hoped that they would recognize Carol. I was on pins and needles as she set off toward them. At least they did not run away on approach. Their heads were up. Ears forward. All attention was focused on Carol as she approached them. When she reached them, they put their noses forward to breathe in her smell. It looked like a reunion of long lost friends. Plenty of carrots were exchanged. Confident that they would not run away, Carol turned and walked away from them. The horse whisperer would be proud. The horses did what many a horse person has experienced when a horse “joins-up”. Carol had a huge smile on her face as Duke and Silver followed her like the pied piper.

Our next challenge was haltering them. Would they bite, kick, run away? I stood quietly as Carol walked toward me with the horses following her. I waited for her to come to me then handed her a halter and lead line. She had Duke next to her. Silver was near me. Silver was the one she was most concerned about as he had formerly been abused before she rescued him. We weren’t sure what to expect. I offered Silver some carrots which almost always works. It did this time. While he munched on a batch of small carrots, I swung a rope around his neck and then slipped the halter on him and sighed with relief. Carol followed suit with Duke. We all let out a huge YAHOO! that could be heard on Mt. Stakes.

We weren’t home free yet. There was the no small matter of getting them out of this canyon. Our plan was to saddle Duke. Carol would ride Duke and pony Silver if he cooperated. Kathy and I would follow in the Jeep. We had at least a three mile climb up Red Creek to reach County Line Road and then from there another mile to San Antonio Valley. It was not yet raining but the clouds were looking more and more ominous. We knew if it started raining, Red Creek Road could be difficult to climb even with four-wheel drive.

Once Carol was in the saddle, I handed her the lead line for Silver. Ut Oh! Silver did not know what to do and I could see that Carol was about to get tangled in the rope. Silver and Carol were given a quick lesson in ponying and how to not get tangled in the rope or hurt in the process. Things looked a little better as long as Carol could keep Silver to the side of Duke. I warned Carol to not let the rope go under Duke’s tail. Our little party started up the hill. Things went well for about the first mile. Then Duke seemed to tire. I guess the green grass and nice water in Red Creek was calling to him. Even with a rest he was refusing. Not only is Red Creek steep, there is a sharp drop off. So if a horse is inclined to act up, this is not the place to be. For safety sake, we decided Carol should proceed with Duke and I would follow on foot with Silver. After another mile, Carol and I switched. At that moment it started to sprinkle. We continued our ascent. It seemed to take forever. The rain was coming down harder now. Kathy was managing the Jeep in 4-wheel drive despite the steady rain. After every bend, we swore we would see County Line Road only to discover, there was more climbing to do.

We finally reached the top with no slips or slides. Carol and I switched again. We were soaked now but we really didn’t feel the wet. We were surviving on the adrenaline and the ecstasy of finding the horses and making it out of the canyon with no issues. We were homeward bound. A short ride/walk/drive later and we were at the trailer. We shared lunch and horse stories while the horses munched on treats. We jointly laughed at how easy it had been and how much fun we had. It had been a truly great day.