Dark ponies watch a scuffle between their stallion and another band down the ridge and across a seepy arroyo.
There’s not nearly enough snow on the far slopes of Utah’s La Sal Mountains. They rise above deserts in all directions, but they should be gowned in snow by now.
Late-day low-sun-and-clouds backlit silhouette upon a ridge.
One admiring one-other, as we humans so often admire them.
After a not-so-brief discussion of terms over a mare with a neighboring stallion, Kwana trots back to his own mares. Fortunately for the young stallion, though Kwana successfully separated him from his mare, apparently the better part of valor (?!) occurred to him (!?), and he returned to his mares without the acquisition of a new one. The young stallion returned to his girl and made a show of snaking her away up a far ridge and beyond, while Kwana did the same with his girls – in the opposite direction.
I’m all for windbraided tangles and witches’ knots and fairy curls, so how DOES Temple stay so perfectly coiffed!? Not a hair out of place. She’s amazing (and not just because of her show-ready mane!). 🙂
Maiku the mighty returns to his band after a little chat with a fellow lieutenant.
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If you’ve been to Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center and Museum this year to see the special exhibit dedicated to Colorado’s wild horses in this 50th anniversary year of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, you’ve seen this video. If you haven’t been and you’d like to watch the video, watch it at this link! (And if you haven’t been and are even somewhat local, what are you waiting for? It’s open just through this last month of the year. Next year, a new special yearlong exhibit celebrating some other wonderful resource of our Colorado Plateau region!)
If you need more gold in your life, here’s a tip: It’s not under the tree. 🙂
Beautiful Madison in a field of “amber waves of grain” – or grasses, as is the case is in our Spring Creek Basin. Autumn colors of a subtle type. 🙂
… makes a mustang radiant. 🙂
No matter the day on the calendar, to see this guy makes my heart happy.
Storm and his band were moseying and grazing their way toward a pond when I took this pic. When I first saw them, from yonder way across the basin, they were dropping off a ridge above a seep. I hustled back in the Jeep to the start of the trail, then hustled along the trail to where I thought they’d be. Whether because of the low sun casting a glare or because they were still in the arroyo, I basically walked past them on a ridge when they were below. By the time I spotted them from just above the seep and then walked the arroyo to them, they were basically right below where I’d parked! I’m so used to them being elusive, I’m not ready for them to be practically right under my nose. 🙂
One last glimmer of day’s light in Tenaz’s glorious eye as he walks into hill’s shadow following his band.
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 