Horse Friendly Properties In New Mexico

[ognend]

Originally Posted by mike b 1

Why would anyone want to ranch in the arid West? Well, it's a multi-million dollar industry and also a tradition that goes back hundreds of years. The West was largely settled and tamed by ranchers, they built cities and schools and created civilization out of a wilderness. It's all in the history book's, go read up..Also, "your animal will loose respect for you if you act as a vending machine by feeding it" ...LOL.......that's some funny chit, right there.

If the animal does not have a job, heck yes, they will quickly start treating you as a vending machine.

Ranchers didn't build cities, mining speculators did, expansion of railway did, greedy land barons did etc. A lot of the largest beef ranches are in Florida (where it makes perfect sense to have cows, it is green year round). I stand by what I said, it makes no sense at all to have cows on land where 30-40 acres barely support one head of cattle. Just because something was done a certain way, it does not mean it was right. Look back into your history and you will find plenty of examples of stupidity. The Dust Bowl was one of the more recent examples of massive stupidity.

OD

[PasoFinoGirl]

My horses have grass to graze up here in Portland, Oregon but its a frigging rain forest so they are standing in WET 9 months out of the year. Mud and dampness is not good for horses, trust me. Dry climate is best for horses. Their feet (hooves) are high on the list of importance for horses and a dry climate keeps them healthiest. We deal with hoof rot, abscesses and white line here, not to mention rain rot on their coats. My horses do have nice shelter, by the way but the damp permeates EVERYTHING and you can never get away from mud. Mud in pastures and mud on trails. I can't WAIT to move to New Mexico. Planning a trip for 6 days end of February to scout things out.

[RamblinRoseRanch]

PFG-
If your horses have white on/around their muzzles/eyes you may want to invest in some sort of protection for them. Two of mine sunburned while we lived there, despite the fact they had an ample sized run-in shed.