A Unique Spring Break Trip (cont.)
We observed those bands through binoculars. On the first day in the
field, we saw a brand new colt, estimated to be only a few hours old. One of
the trip participants named her Deja Blue, her last name taken from her
father and lead stallion, Blue. Her mother protected her while she tried to
learn to run.
After five day’s work, (and hiking and camping) we had a working
knowledge of the wild horse bands, and the dangers that surround them
without any protective legislation-thanks to presentations made by
Homeboy, Judy, and Paul, a doctor who studies ecology and biology and
teaches at the University of New Mexico. We also had given Homeboy
enough notes and photographs of the horses to create a database, which will
hopefully help them in a legal battle to protect the horses from slaughter. By
the time we returned to campus, we had our work clothes and boots covered
with a layer of dirt and eleven student strangers had become a family, met
interesting people and about 100 horses had become officially documented
on the private mesa.
After coming back to campus, I got many nods from other folks in student affairs because of that collaboration
and the impact it had on the students. It was one more way of showing that outdoor programs at universities can have
something in common with other areas of student affairs/student life. There is already talk that they want another one
of those trips!
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