Work Ethic

You would think this ranch housing is preferable to city living. But, today's generations prefer convenience and welfare to self-respect and honest work.

It is not just the curmudgeonly abyss that separates the immediate post WWII generation from Generation X and whatever contemporary term the current generation of newly arrived "adults" call themselves. It is a fact that today's young to middle age adults are best defined by the ethos of "I want it all and I want it now." Never mind working for it.

The multi generational brats raised on technology, victim hood, diversity, empowerment, self-esteem, psychotropic drugs for urban angst, and sitcoms believe that everything is owed to them. It began with the counter-culture adherents of the 1960s and has proceeded apace since then. Those of us that grew up when "sticks and stones..." was part of learning to navigate life's often unfair waters and learning early that the respect of others had to be earned and was not a right are now expected to make it possible for the "me" generations to have in their 20s what most of us had to work for until our 50s. Self-esteem has replaced self-respect.

Here in west-central New Mexico trying to get someone to actually work is nigh impossible. This place is like Appalachia West. There is a high minority population comprised mostly of Hispanics and Aboriginal Americans and they appear to be overrepresented in those that are on welfare. Lots of white trash too, so don't get me wrong.

You can't hardly give a job away in this area. We provide a beautiful three bedroom, furnished home and pay higher than normal wages for ranch maintenance work. Back in the 1960s and ' 70s there were folks standing in line for a chance to live in beautiful country where neighbors are 2-5 miles away and you cannot even see a light at night as you look westward over the valleys and mountain ranges. Now, all that seem to apply are drunks, drug addicts, thieves, liars and charlatans. Nobody can work to standard because they don't know what standards are. Those that try to work in this remote area collectively seem to have never been held accountable and are resentful as children when accountability is demanded. It is a mess. None seem to understand that you have to work when you must and play when you can.

Lots of folks think they want to live way out here in this rough and rugged land, but few are able to sustain it. In my experience, if you were not born to this life and are accustomed to urban conveniences, you won't last. Research on "back to nature" moves, indicate that most last less than two years. Our experience with employees has certainly been consistent with those findings.

I have also found that the better you treat employees, the worse their performance becomes. I always swear to start treating them like shovel handles but my nature rebels against treating people that way. The lack of pride that seems endemic in the labor force reflects a lack of pride even in themselves. Self-respect is something no one can give to someone else. It is one of those things that is up to the individual and it comes down to doing the right thing. If that has to be explained to them, they are just not going to get it.

Far Rider

See to your weapons and stand to your horses

Weather and horses

Howling winds were the order for most of April and May. Wind makes the horses skittish and, sometimes, downright goofy. Here on my ranch in west central New Mexico, the horses run loose on large, remote range pastures that have coyotes, mountain lions and the occasional bear. During windy conditions, the horses will often not leave the headquarters corrals during the day. But, neither do they leave when the weather is inclement due to rain or snow. Bunch of bums.

The best reason I can come up with after over 40 years of working with these magnificent creatures is that they intuitively sense that nearly two thirds of their sensory early warning systems are not efficient and they are vulnerable to predators because they cannot hear when the wind is swirling among the trees or howling across the open meadows.

A week or so ago, the daytime temperatures were in the upper 70s and one day made it to 90 degrees. The horse's winter coats were just about gone and then the temperature fell through the floor for a couple of days with highs in the 40s during the day and dropping to freezing at night accompanied by high winds, over an inch of rain and sleet, and five inches of snow. The horses were miserable with the cold and wet. Shivering horses worry me not to mention I feel sorry for them. I have spent enough cold, wet nights as a Special Operations soldier and lawman in unpleasant places that I cannot stand to see my horses cold.

The latest research I have read claimed that there are at least 72 causes of colic in horses. Colic terrifies horsemen. I have battled colic for all of my years as a horseman and have had the heart breaking experience of watching good horses die while I helplessly looked on. Those I have managed to save always come with the apprehension that once a horse experiences colic, they are susceptible to recurrence for the rest of their lives. The percentage of horses that ultimately die from colic is extremely high and it is a hard way to go.

The recent erratic weather was cause for concern as it can be a trigger for colic. In the snow, rain, sleet and wind, and often in the dark, I was out sloshing around trying to get blankets on horses to get them warm. Horses can take cold or wet. They suffer when they are cold and wet, and they sure as hell cannot take being wet and cold in the wind. Feed rations have to be bumped up to get heat units into them and the adjustment in feed can also be a contributor to colic. It is a cause for sleepless nights with lots of trips out to the corrals with a lantern to check on them.

I have never been able to hire anyone to work on the ranch here that would get off their lazy butts and out of the warm house the ranch provides when the weather caused stress on the horses. Most folks just don't give a damn.

I run an occasional School of the Old West or Range Rider Seminar where I teach folks western horsemanship and shooting. Most of those that attend all claim they would like to have a horse or two and I tell them that they have no idea what they are getting into. Having horses is not like owning an inanimate toy like an ATV that you can park in the garage when you are not using it. Horses require care 365 days a year, 24/7 and it is a way of life. You live on horse time. It is not just a cool hobby unless you board your horse and give the responsibility to someone else who is doing it for the money. In such a case, you really do not know how your horse is being treated, fed or cared for. If there is a way to cut costs, such places will do so and the horse is the first one to suffer from the cutbacks which the owner may never know.

If you are thinking about having a horse, give plenty of thought to just how involved the responsibility will be.

Remember:

A man of kindness to his horse is kind,
but brutal actions show a brutal mind.

He who made thee made the brute;
Who gave thee speech and reason formed him mute.

He can't complain, but God's all-seeing
eyes behold thy cruelty; He hears his cries.

He was designed thy servant,
not thy drudge.

Remember, his Creator is thy judge.
(anonymous)

Far Rider
See to your weapons and stand to your horses

Introduction

This blog is dedicated to travels by horseback throughout the American West. The emphasis is on riding the historic trails of the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries. Observations on the country, weather, and the experiences encountered during these wanderings will be chronicled. Editorial comments on the state of our once great country and the currently pressing social and political issues that have a direct bearing on our liberty, quality of life, and character as a people will be offered with an editorial philosophy of "let the rough end drag."

Far Rider
See to your weapons and stand to your horses