HORSEHEAD CROSSING TEXAS

Watch the water

Horsehead Crossing, a ford of the Pecos River, is near Farm Road 11 and twelve miles northwest of Girvin in northeastern Pecos County (at 31°14' N, 102°29' W). There the river forms the Pecos-Crane county line. Horsehead Crossing was one of the few fordable points on the Pecos River before the twentieth century. Steep, muddy banks, unpredictable currents, and quicksand were natural barriers to travel. After long treks across the surrounding desert, thirsty animals were often poisoned by the briny river water or became hopelessly mired in the quicksand at the crossing. It was littered with horse, cattle, and mule skeletons. Horsehead Crossing was named for the horse skulls said to have been placed atop mesquite trees near the ford.

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rih01