Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

Piedra and Hollywood

Maybe something in the air, maybe some good karma. It took me all day Sunday to find Grey/Traveler’s band, but when I did, they came right up to me, just like Piedra and Hollywood here. Actually, Mr. Tough there just followed his gal; Piedra was Little Miss Curiosity.

I got into the basin early Sunday morning. It was a beautiful, clear day, but signs of rain a week ago were abundant. Spring Creek was down enough to drive across, but the two biggest rain-related things to report are that the water hole off the doubletrack in “east park” is full again (yay!), and the loop road is no longer passable by a full-size vehicle like my Jeep. If not for a big rock too solid for me to budge, you’d be able to hug the hillside and get by, but the hole created by water running down the wash there makes it just too narrow because of the rock. If you’re going around the loop clockwise, it’s the third bad spot past the washout (which is, ironically, still just barely passable).

Alegre, Gaia and Bounce

Bounce was the first horse I saw through the binoculars after I drove into the basin – way up in the north but right by the road. The grass is marvelous up there, and a water hole nearby has some muddy water in it. I’m pretty sure Grey/Traveler and his band were just a hill or two to the west last Sunday when I spotted them. It was kinda cool to go over there because the horses hadn’t been in that area most of the year, so I haven’t been in that area most of the year.

Pretty girls

Alegre and Gaia. I was standing on the road, shooting through a couple of trees. They were in a little meadow not far from the northern boundary. They were so accommodating for photos that I left them after a short time and took the trail away from the water hole, around the nearby hill, hoping to find Grey/Traveler. I didn’t find his band, but I had a great time exploring the hills and valleys in that part of the herd area. I ended up back on the ridge above the valley where I had first seen Bounce’s band, and to my surprise they were still there. By that time, it was close to noon, and I wondered if they were still there because it was close to the water. I found a seat in the shade of a juniper and watched them through the binoculars for a while. Sure enough, Bounce finally trotted over to the water, where he drank, then stood on the “dam” side and waited for Alegre. It took her a little while, but she finally walked over with Gaia. She drank while Gaia stood with Bounce. I guess Gaia gets enough water in her mother’s milk. One thing I’ve noticed with wild horses is how long they drink. Both Bounce and Gaia did spend a lot of time drinking. Then they took the trail I took earlier. I waited until they’d disappeared, then walked down the hill toward the trail. I spied on them to make sure they wouldn’t see me, then dropped down onto the trail and took it back to the pond and the road and the Jeep. I’d see them later in the day all the way back over at the second intersection.

Steeldust's band

Next stop: Steely Dan. I’ve started calling him that as a sort of nickname. It’s sort of a joke because he’s really a big softie. I actually took this pic as I was leaving the band (they look disturbed, don’t they?), mostly to show our terrain as compared with that of the Little Book Cliffs range. In the background is Filly Peak. The horses were up on top of the east side of the east-west hill, which starts as the “finger hills” to the west, right near the dugout intersection. I hiked out to them from the east side to check Storm and make sure everybody was present and accounted for. I still kinda expect the bachelors to “shrug off” sometime?

Bachelor boys

From left: Kreacher, Hook, Duke and Chrome. They also walked toward me before they stopped there where I took their picture. Comanche and Mouse – as usual – were hanging out closer to Piedra and Hollywood, and Aspen was behind these guys.

Chrome

In the next post about the Little Book Cliffs horses, I showed a photo of Chrome, a sorrel and white pinto mare in Phantom’s band. This – above – is our Chrome!

Ember-girl and Pinon

The babies were curious enough to walk toward me, too. Ember’s closest in the photo. She, like Gaia, is still holding onto her reddish baby coat, but she has started to get a little darker while Gaia is still pretty bright.

Pinon and Storm

Cutest baby boys in the basin! OK, they’re the only baby boys in the basin, but how cute are they?! It’s so amazing to watch them grow up!

Storm and Alpha

Curious Storm checks me out from the protection of mama while Alpha pretends to ignore me.

Mouse and Comanche

When I walked away, these two boys came in for a closer look. Or, I should say, Comanche did. Mouse followed and tried to distract him. A few weeks ago, I watched Mouse take out on best-bud Comanche his frustration over not getting past Hollywood to Piedra. Sunday, he was all sweetness. In the background is Aspen.

While I was watching these guys, I saw Seven, Molly and Roja walking downhill toward the arroyo that runs below the south part of the loop road. Too far for pictures. They look good, but it seems so odd not to see the filly with them. Speaking of her, posthumously, I gave her the name Starla. A long time ago, I heard about a Native American legend or tradition that says the stars are the campfires of our ancestors who have gone before us. I like to think baby Starla is one of those bright stars now.

I was on my way out of the basin toward the end of the day, then, profoundly disappointed that I hadn’t found Grey. In a perfect world, I’d braid some tiny GPS unit into his raven mane so I could find him! But it’s not a perfect world, and I try to remind myself that finding him is part of the fun (when it doesn’t wrack my nerves!).

I did finally see him heading toward the water hole (or so I thought) near Flat Top. I had planned to drive past it on my way out to see if it, too, had filled up from last weekend’s rain, but I didn’t want to get between the band and their evening drink. I waited out on the main road, hoping they’d come that way on their way up to grazing by Filly Peak as they have in the past. They did, but I later realized they weren’t coming FROM water. They must not have found water in that pond because they ended up going TO the water tank at the catchment!

Coming toward me

Because I thought they had just all had a drink, I couldn’t figure out why they were coming right toward me. I had parked back from where I thought they would come out, and I was standing out in the open, not on a trail and not on the road. And because I’d had a couple of encounters already that day where the horses came toward me and Grey’s band is pretty tolerant of me, I wasn’t too worried. They broke off right before they go to me and went past me, to the road … then up a trail to the water tank. Uh oh.

Drinking at the water tank

They went right to the water tank and drank. That’s when I realized they must not have found water at the pond. That was dumb of me, to be between them and their path to another water source. Fortunately, they didn’t hold it against me.

Beautiful boy

Diamond Rio, bay stallion in the Little Book Cliffs, is about 15 years old and looking handsome. I thought about him while I was watching Sir Grey, my formal name for Traveler, who I believe also is around 15. So full of vim and vigor, these boys!

A face everyone can love

It’s getting harder to get photos of this boy looking up; he’s so worried about me, half the time I can’t even see his face because he’s grazing and ignoring me.

Unconcerned

In fact, this view is becoming more and more common. And I love taking pictures like this. 🙂 My beauties; calm, cool and wild. And this is the view with which I left the basin. Left to right: Jif, Two Boots, Twister, Iya and Houdini. You can just see Grey/Traveler through Two Boots’ front legs in the background.

Remarkable day. Remarkable weekend. Remarkable horses.