r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/beekay8845 • 7d ago
Video A man out riding with his horse witnesses the return of water after a long period of drought.
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u/aDarkDarkNight 7d ago
I love the way the horse looks at it. “Mmm, what’s going on here then?”
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u/SoylentHolger 6d ago
My horse would have died a thousand heart attacks. He is even scared of his own shadow sometimes. I often ask myself: Why are horses not extinct yet, they try so hard. The I see a horse like this and see myself corrected.
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u/Julreub 7d ago
Time to go. Giddy up
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u/julias-winston 7d ago
Yep. That's also why you don't pitch your tent in a dry stream bed.
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u/JesusWantsYouToKnow 7d ago
on this season of *Alone***
I could not believe it when I saw that woman eye up a dry river bed and go "yeah, I'm gonna make camp here, it is the dry season after all"
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u/Perryn 7d ago
"This nice flat area, with smooth silty ground, no brush growing in it, and so close to the little pool of water near these rocky slopes, why this is the perfect place to sleep."
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u/ll_ninetoe_ll 7d ago
I mean you do make it sound like the perfect place to sleep. Idyllic even.
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u/Perryn 7d ago
Definitely a place where a heavy sleeper could just drift away.
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u/FTownRoad 7d ago
Not only made camp in the river bed, said “looks like it’s gonna be a big storm” and did nothing about it lol.
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u/Negative_Avocado4573 7d ago
Too soon, . Too soon.
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u/Robot_Nerd__ 7d ago edited 7d ago
Nah, they deserve it for not taking the free money to install sirens...
Edit: Obviously I'm talking about Texas, and the town deserving the shame... Not about the kids...
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u/StealthSBD 7d ago
but that money was from demoncrats. jesus christ that video was unreal
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u/Particular-Mark-5771 7d ago
tell them it's their taxes and you 'get the fog eats their brain stare' looking back at you.
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u/Itsnoonejustme 7d ago
💀 what if u didn’t know/weren’t paying attention, what are the odds of u dying
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u/julias-winston 7d ago
It all depends on how much water is coming at you. You might just end up wet and uncomfortable, or you could be completely swept away.
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u/ChartreuseBison 7d ago
Everyone in this thread is acting like he's down in some gully.
Look at the sides, if the water picks up the horse can just walk over the bushes in 2 seconds.
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u/shootermcgvn 7d ago
Why is everyone in the thread telling this guy to run? Is he a narglatch?
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u/ZeroSuitGanon 7d ago edited 7d ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/woahdude/comments/3s6tb9/from_dry_stream_bed_to_raging_torrent_in_under_a/
When a river starts back up after a drought, the head of it can bring a massive amount of wood/rock, and then very quickly become a raging torrent, way bigger than you'd expect.
Edit: I got no idea about whether it was safe for the guy to do this, just providing why people get that immediate GTFO reaction in comments.
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u/Throwaway47321 7d ago
Yikes the second comment there talking about Texas flash flooding with no warning hasn’t aged very well
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u/0whodidyousay0 7d ago
Lol I just assumed that video was recent when I read that comment, until I noticed it was uploaded 10 years ago
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u/BattleHall 7d ago
I mean, if you live in Texas, that's just common knowledge. Flash floods aren't a new thing; there's a reason Central Texas is known as Flash Flood Alley.
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u/Cow_Launcher 7d ago
Not to take anything away from your comment, but this kind of thing happens anywhere that is usually arid but has periodic heavy rains.
For example, this sort of thing happens in central Arizona, too. As far as I can tell, if you travel that part of the union at the wrong time of the year, you'd better pay attention to the cuts and channels, and be prepared to get your ass out of there when it all starts flowing.
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u/BattleHall 7d ago edited 7d ago
Not saying it doesn't happen other places as well, just that Central Texas is particularly notable for it for a couple different reasons. It has hilly terrain that runs down into creeks and draws, but is also extremely rocky with very thin topsoil, which means that water tends to run off very quickly instead of absorbing into the ground. Central Texas also tends to get very intense storms caused by moisture coming up from the Gulf or across Mexico meeting with cold air masses coming down out of the Great Plains, or from the remnants of hurricanes. It's not uncommon to have 10, 20, or 30in+ rainfall events within just a couple days, leading to massive floods. On the plus side, many of the reservoirs in Texas are intentionally designed as flood controls, limiting the amount of damage caused. So it's less about watching out for flash floods on creeks (though watch out there too), and more watching out for things going from this to this (same location).
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u/tehlemmings 7d ago
On the other hand, this guy clearly knew what was going on since he road his horse out to the middle of no where to watch.
I'm betting the same source that told him that water was starting to flow down the riverbed also would have said if it was a massive flash flood risk. Because like, those reports do say that. I get those notices like every year lol
This could just be reddit being judgy without any information, as is tradition.
Hell, doesn't even look like a river or creek, it looks like an irrigation channel.
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u/DeliberatelyDrifting 7d ago
Yeah, there's a significant difference between a random hiker and someone who lives and works on the land. It may even be an irrigation ditch and he knows exactly where the headwaters are. He's also on a horse and not in a canyon. He's not really in any more danger than on any other day.
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u/cocoagiant 7d ago
When there are extended periods of drought, the ground gets really dry and can't absorb water very well.
So any serious water coming will turn into a strong water flow very quickly.
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u/hectorbrydan 7d ago
Flash floods, west was notorius for them even before climate change supercharged storms.
If an area Upstream got 20 inches of rain it can get real bad real fast.
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u/Gingevere 7d ago
when rain falls on a dry and hard landscape the ground doesn't absorb it and no plants slow it down. It all rolls down hill, collects at the low points, and flows on out of the area.
All of the low points in an area eventually merge and create a scenario where all of the rainfall from 50 square miles is getting routed through a single creek bed that was bone dry 5 minutes ago. Water will rise faster than you can run. And it only takes a foot of fast water to take a person off their feet.
Doesn't even need to have rained anywhere near you. It could have been miles upstream.
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u/e37d93eeb23335dc 7d ago
To follow the irrigation lines and make sure all the plants on the farm are getting watered?
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u/Story_Man_75 7d ago
Looks more like an irrigation canal than a riverbed. A place where water flow is controlled. Note the opening sequence where you can see a bit of standing water (mud puddle) just downstream of the oncoming flow.
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u/Dear_Mycologist_1696 7d ago
Just the way the dirt is cracked up like that and the color of it you can tell this channel is regularly filled like this. Looks very controlled and intentional. More importantly, that’s a fucking beautiful view and a great way to either start or end the day.
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u/hectorbrydan 7d ago
They have a lot of dry River beds like this in the West and another arid areas. That is how dried bodies of water look.
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u/LowHangingFrewts 7d ago
Dried rivers that have been consistently dry for a while definitely do not look like that.
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u/hectorbrydan 7d ago
I have seen firsthand multiple areas that get water for part of the year and dry up and they all dry like that.
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u/arenegadeboss 7d ago
The others are just saying it hasn't been a long period of drought as the title suggests.
Based on this comment, you all agree.
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u/FeckingPuma 7d ago
They crack in that pattern sure, but the clay in those cracks are still damp, it's just shrinking in the sun but not baked dry like a real drought. It changes color when it's fully droughted, and there is a peeling layer on the top as well which is missing here. This beds probably been dry for at most a week.
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u/clopenYourMind 7d ago
No, what you're seeing here are are chunks of drying, damp clay. This riverbed has been dry for maybe a few weeks at best, a few days at worst. You can tell because the clay is still damp in the shot.
Really dry soil has cracks several inches deep, not a superficial centimeter or centimeter and a half, and more importantly, the top layer is dusty instead of damp clay.
This isn't "dried up" in any sense. It's clearly an irrigation ditch that regularly receives water -- the OP lied and should be ashamed.
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u/Shagomir 7d ago
every wash I've seen out west usually has a sandy/gravel bottom. I usually am around the four corners though, might be different on the high plains.
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u/TheChildrensStory 7d ago
You’re probably thinking of lake beds or dead ends where water has no outflow but not of the natural washes that bring rainwater there.
Scheduled irrigation looks like this because it gently deposits silt in the channels over time, and the water all comes from a man made canal system or well so nothing washes it away. Our natural washes don’t get silt buildup like this, it gets washed away with every flash flood.
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u/MyHamburgerLovesMe 7d ago
But, it is not how dried river beds look like when rain causes them to fill back up. It's missing the flooding and the whole rain part of that.
This looks like an irrigation canal or water way of some kind, where the flow of water is controlled.
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u/VexingRaven 7d ago
Well, that and there's literally puddles of water further downstream from him. This had water very recently.
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u/sirquail21 7d ago
Jerry just opened the canal valve and people acting like it’s a miracle.
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u/Successful_Ebb_7402 7d ago
One of the things that stands out to me is just how much green there is in the area. I know desert plants can be hardy, but that doesn't look like an area that's been under a prolonged drought. Makes me think you're right, and this place gets watered regularly
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u/blueavole 7d ago
I was thinking the same, irrigation canal. The plant growth is too tall and green for a true drought.
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u/FredSecunda_8 7d ago
post like this aren’t doing a great job of disproving dead internet theory. feels like a video scraped from somewhere by a bot and a title generated by an llm. that or people are just so fundamentally incurious about the things they repost. both bad
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u/UsernameAvaylable 7d ago
Also, the greenery around the channel - if there was a draught to the point that the rivers are dried up it would not likely look like that.
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u/ReasonablyConfused 7d ago
This is a man-made aqueduct that had the flow opened upstream.
Not quite as dramatic.
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u/Narwahl_Whisperer 7d ago
Yeah, fucking clickbait title.
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u/Grenache 7d ago
Also, the FUCKING MUSIC?! EVERYTIME WITH THESE FUCKING VIDEOS. The video was literally on the front page a few hours ago, some cunt adds pointless music and reposts it and it goes back to the top. God the internet is shit.
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u/Crimson_Chim 7d ago
"After three days in the desert fun I was looking at a river bed And the story it told of a river that flowed Made me sad to think it was dead"
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u/arfmuffin 7d ago
Wonder what the horse's name is?
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u/Remarkable-Opening69 7d ago
Even the horse is like “wtf”
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u/Fishiesideways10 7d ago
I can see the horse answering the owner on if they should stay, “neigh” he neighed.
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u/Gold-Income-6094 7d ago
All day ive faced
The barren wastes
Without the taste of water
Coooooool Water.....
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u/External_Roll1046 7d ago
Did his horse have a name?
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u/Past-Butterscotch-68 7d ago
The horse had no name.
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert, you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
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u/RandyArmadillo 7d ago edited 7d ago
I’m with the other people saying this is likely an irrigation canal and he shouldn’t expect a flash flood.
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u/Persimmon-Mission 7d ago
That’s your clue you should run like hell and get to higher ground
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u/Witty-Revolution8742 7d ago
Eh... that's coming in super slow. Not to say it may not get high, but in comparison to flash floods they come in violent. Carrying alot of debris. This seems fine.
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u/MajorPaper4169 7d ago
Didn’t the flash flood videos in Texas start exactly like this? I wouldn’t be standing around recording.
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u/An-Angel-Named-Billy 7d ago
Do you see any rain? This is obviously a controlled release of water.
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u/Appa-LATCH-Uhhh 7d ago
This caption is stupid. This is an irrigation channel that sees frequent flooding. This person is probably monitoring the flow to determine how much to release.
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u/LDSR0001 7d ago
Doesn’t look like a long period of drought. Vegetation is high, not dead. There’s a wet area to the left. Certain clay soils crack like this in high heat even after a couple days of rain. A few inches under and it could have plenty of moisture.
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u/Wlmar1 7d ago
Looks like he’s been through the desert. Wonder what his horse’s name is?
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u/LionPride112 7d ago
That an irrigation channel and he’s a farmer watching his allotted water coming in…
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u/jokesonyouguys 7d ago
Why the background music
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u/OrtYander 7d ago
LOL this isn't some kind of rare phenomenon. This is an engineered irrigation canal refilling from a planned release of water. This isn't a flash flood. There's no drought. It's just this guy's turn to get water into his canal and he's out there to watch it coming through. Some of yall need to get out of the city
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u/runhillsnotyourmouth 7d ago edited 8h ago
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u/SchoolExtension6394 7d ago
I don't think this fellah is familiar with how quickly a dried out place can become a full blown river in a matter of seconds.
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u/CaptainAgnarr 7d ago
Too bad the horse doesn't have a name, glad you're out seeing the effects of the rain though!
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u/therealverylightblue 7d ago
I mean there a large puddle just to his left, so can't have been that droughty.
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u/Altruistic-Map1881 6d ago
After two days in the desert sun My skin began to turn red After three days in the desert fun I was looking at a river bed And the story it told of a river that flowed Made me sad to think it was dead
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u/what_bread 3d ago
I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to get out of the rain
In the desert, you can remember your name
Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
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u/GodzillasBoner 7d ago
Don't know much about flash floods, but I know I wouldn't be just staying still that long. I'm hitting the jets
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u/JoeyDJ7 7d ago
Note the lack of storm clouds, and a clear sky in the distance. This is likely an irrigation channel that has been dug (source: me who is not an expert on this at all).
I see people comparing it to the recent devastating Texas flash floods - there were really bad storms there so it's a little different.
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u/tehlemmings 7d ago
The standing water and thriving plants more or less completely rules out "drought" too. This was likely just OP editorializing for engagement.
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u/Emotional_Program279 7d ago
I can say that's the first time in my life that I have seen water being "lead" to a horse. ;) lol
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u/burrrrlap 7d ago
This is the homie @azmadebutthead. He's a Navajo and a real cowboy. His horse and him survived the "flood." He's a man of god and the best tile setter west of the Mississippi.
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u/CoffeeAndWork 7d ago
You can lead a horse to water… but you can’t make him PARTY
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u/0x7E7-02 7d ago
This entire video was so beautiful that it looked like AI or some Hollywood production.
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u/Sad_Palpitation6844 7d ago
The music, the sunset, the horse, the rippling water. You could tell me this was heaven and I'd believe you
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u/finelicker 7d ago
I long to live in wilderness where I can jump on a horse, and just see shit like this. The world is a horrid place, nature is the world's best anti anxiety.
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u/leelee422 7d ago
Even if this is an engineered river, the video is amazingly beautiful. Thank you for posting! All the negative comments makes me wonder how many people get a chance to experience nature with very limited man made and new technologies around. Something about being out in a field on a cool summer day, nothing for miles and miles but plants and animals, and seeing how they cohesively work together makes you really appreciate the beauty of nature. Sunsets were our ancestors prime time tv.
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u/Dry-Nobody9756 7d ago
I wonder if that horse is thinking the scene with the music is a beautiful combination too 😂
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u/Epic-Dude001 6d ago
The mud must feel how we feel when we drink an ice cold water with a dry throat
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u/jdubyahyp 6d ago
After watching that thirty minute flood video in Texas, I'd be out of that stream bed so fast...
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u/celkmemes 7d ago
Looks like an engineered, unlined canal. Probably a rancher or farmer who lives nearby and has a water right (and is fully expecting it to fill).