JB Moonie – A Horse of a Different Color
The Beginning

What would you do if something you’ve always wanted walked through your front gate? I mean, literally, physically walked through the gate?

It was Sunday morning, one of those days we have all too often in Colorado during July when you can feel a record heat coming. Merlin and I had ridden early, trying to beat the rise in temperature, after which I immediately jumped into a cool shower.

Phil stuck his head in the door. “There’s a Leopard Appaloosa at our front gate!” I quickly dressed, hair still wet and no time for amenities. “He’s wearing a halter.”

I ran to the barn for a lead rope. “Oh crap,” I thought. “The neighbor’s stallion is out again.” It had happened several years before – a large, very forceful guy with absolutely no manners wanting to meet our mares. But I hadn’t seen that neighbor’s horses in many years.

By this time, “Spots” (his temporary nickname) had wandered down to our neighbors to the North. Out here, that’s about ¼ mile. As we approached in the Gator, Martin was petting the horse. “I assume this is yours,” he said with a chuckle. “No – I think he belongs across the road. Is he a stallion?” I checked underneath – yep. “I’ll take him home,” I volunteered. And off we went, Phil following along behind with the Gator. I doubted I should try ponying a strange horse with a mechanical device.

It was getting hotter and both “Spots” and I were wearing down a little on our mile jaunt. He led quite nicely, but that was what I expected from the older horse I presumed him to be. I asked Phil to go ahead to the owner’s house to explain. He came back in too short a time for my liking. “The place is deserted,” he exclaimed. “No cars, animals, tractors, nothing.” So back we went and “Spots” got his way about which gate he could enter.

Thankfully, we have a fairly sturdy outdoor arena. He went in happily and was very anxious to have a flake of hay and water. After a few photos, I trekked inside to call the Sheriff. “We don’t have animal control in Elbert County,” they explained. “You’ll need to call the Brand Inspector.” I groaned. Our experiences with Brand/Livestock Inspectors in other states had not been good, so I was not hopeful. Plus it was Sunday.

“I wonder if he’ll let me check his teeth,” I asked Phil. “Spots” was standing at the gate, acting like a fully domesticated horse, lapping up the rubs we were giving him. I gently parted his lips; he objected for a second, then cooperated. “Good grief,” I exclaimed. I am no expert on teeth, but this was definitely not an older horse so probably not the neighbor’s old stallion we had met years ago.

What next? Facebook, of course – first to my home page then to every horse forum I’m on. We got lots of likes and shares; however, no owner came forward. “Spots” was doing well in the arena, but we kept careful watch on him throughout the night.

At 6:30 the next morning, Danny, the Brand Inspector returned our call. After hearing our story, he said he would check with others in the area and be out in the afternoon. He turned out to be very conscientious, extremely helpful and one of the nicest people on the planet. He has gone overboard to help both us and this poor horse.

Danny explained that if no owner surfaced, “Spots” would have to go to public auction after advertising in local newspapers. July 4^th was approaching, so it would probably take 3-4 weeks to complete the process. He could possibly work it out for him to stay with us during that time, but with our three mares, we didn’t think so. Plus, every time he saw one of our horses, he went nuts, charging the fence. We parked the tractor in front of the gate to assure he would stay put.

Danny worked it out a few days later to transport him to the sale barn. We parked his stock trailer in the indoor arena and between the three of us, managed to get “Spots” into the trailer with minimal effort. We were all relieved, and I tried hard not to cry as he drove out the driveway, promising to keep us posted (which he did). I didn’t sleep much that night or any other for the next three weeks.

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