On Tuesday, Sept. 27, around noon, I was delivering a water trough to Teeatta Lippert for the wild horses. She and Shelley McAlister own the property that the wild horses were supposed to be delivered to when they came home and they were short a couple of water troughs. I thought I’d drop by because I heard the property was locked up awaiting the arrival of the horses.
Now both of these women are rather drama proof, a necessary virtue when dealing with a mob of worried, hysterical horse folks.
Shelley is brighter than the rest of us; she doesn’t get on Facebook.
So I’m talking to Teeatta and her phone rings. In two seconds she says, “Gotta go, get back with you later.” That was the lawyer. A couple of hours later, I find out (via Facebook) that the wild horses are finally home. I immediately did what everybody else did, I drove out there. Just a few folks were there, but we all had to see for ourselves that they were all right. They are fat and happy.
They have been checked by a vet and all mares are in foal. I can’t tell you how reassuring it was to see for your own eyes that they are doing fine.
We have all been waiting for this day, and upset that we heard nothing about when the horses were coming home. Even Shelley and Teeatta were not told ahead of time. When Teeatta was talking to me and the lawyer called, she said, “Go to the property.” The horses weren’t even mentioned.
As a matter of fact, Teeatta thought she was going to the property because maybe there had been some vandalism or damage to the fencing on the property. She was surprised to see the New Mexico Livestock Board with a trailer full of horses.
This worked out great for the horses. They were quietly unloaded, no drama, safely. Remember, these are wild horses, and this was the second time they had ever been trailered, and half were foals.
There are two sides to this story. Our government officials and the New Mexico Livestock Board look at this whole fiasco differently. I have been told, “The NMLB was just doing their job.”
There was a complaint… yes, by one person. If she could do it all over again, I think things would be different. I know for a fact there are a ton of real estate agents that would LOVE to list her house for sale. They could sell it for a lot more than it’s worth just for the wild horse value. I have one real estate buddy that said, “These horses will affect my job and the economy of Ruidoso.”
One government official said that these horses are not mustangs, they are not of Spanish descent, they are just some horses that are descended from horses that were turned loose 30 years ago. The fact that folks will hand feed these horses also comes up, however, folks try and feed the deer also. Both sides mention the fact that these horses cross the road and can cause accidents. The last time I went up to Ruidoso, it was dusk and I came to a screeching slow down for a deer at the side of the road. If you’re driving at dusk, you should be especially careful of the wildlife.
We don’t have a court date yet; both sides are passionate. Ruidoso just wants the NMLB to go away and never come back.
We’re only talking about 12 horses, not counting the stud… and that’s another story. He’s an old guy and they took his family away. He was hanging out with a small group of deer, now he’s alone. Folks get on Facebook and report sightings so we know he’s ok. I have heard no one in Ruidoso complain about the horses. I have been stopped by folks saying how much they love the horses and they want them wild.
The court case can’t come soon enough.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Contact Kathy Kolt at kathykolt@msn.com.)
