Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

I was downloading photos from my Sunday trip into the basin when the computer stopped – my 80 GB external hard drive is full! So I’ve been busy with that and a pesky little thing like my day job, and I haven’t tweaked many photos yet. But here are two I did:

From left, Bounce, Gaia and Alegre. They were really close to Seven’s band, up in the north part of the herd area right near the road.

Look who’s pregnant! That’s Molly in the background; she was gathered and released, and I found out recently that the contractors aged her at “older than 20.” Zowie. I do think she’s an older mare, and I really don’t know how long mares in the wild continue to conceive and have foals, but I’m starting to question her actual age?! I’ll try to post a pic of Roja later … I still can’t quite tell with her. She’s not NEARLY as huge as Molly. Isn’t Seven a handsome boy?

I saw almost all the horses Sunday – including the pinto family from a far distance to the south. The two horses I didn’t see have me really curious: David, the bay bachelor with the big blaze, left front fetlock, left hind pastern and right hind sock, and Aspen, the muley bay bachelor with the “upside-down” aspen-leaf star. They’re from two different bachelor bands – normally. Maybe they hooked up? The Bachelor 7 was split, with Duke, Chrome (who has shed out very light grey) and Hook together, and Mouse and Comanche tagging along after Steeldust’s band. Mouse was favoring his right front leg. He didn’t limp too badly when he walked, but when he tried to trot, it looked like he was trying to keep all his weight off that leg. Ugh. I hope it’s just a bad bruise or a sprain. Spring is beautiful, but it’s tough to be a bachelor boy. Kreacher had hooked up with the other bachelors – Corazon, Cinch, the muley bay, Ty and Mesa – but between the time I saw them together and the time I saw them again from the crown of Round Top, Kreacher had split.

Grey/Traveler is just stunning now, all or mostly shed out into his summer silver and framed with his black mane and tail and black legs. I challenge anyone not to be in awe of that horse! Yes, yes, he’s my personal favorite, but WOW, he’s gorgeous! 🙂

I hope to have more photos later this week, including some of the wildflowers that are popping up everywhere. It gets more and more green every time I visit – just remarkable. But I’m a little worried about the water already. Two water holes that I know of are already bone dry, and two others are about half full. There is water in places in some of the arroyos. How could we have had such a monster winter, with all that snow, and the water holes be draining already? There is a water catchment in the area, built with funds from the National Mustang Association, but the water tanks have been dry since at least August before the gather. Time to get those fixed, I’d say. I think that’s my next “project.”