Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

That’s the bait, but the truth is, so much has happened, I don’t think I can possibly catch up on all the details. So I’ll hit the highs, and at this time of year, that means babies. It also means the stallions are restless. Everybody’s on the move.

Roja and Ze

How far behind am I? This was taken three weekends ago.

Seven, Roja and Ze, Molly

Proud papa stands guard.

Ze and Daddy

Are they cute or what? Look how stout Ze is. This was taken the day after the first two photos.

Last weekend was mostly a visit of observation. I fully expected new foals, and the horses proved once again that I am not privy to “pony time.” But here are a couple of glimpses.

Bounce

Ever-photogenic black beauty.

Gaia and Alegre

Look at the tummy on mama. Spoiler: Not yet.

Kreacher and girls

They’re at the pond below the roller-coaster ridge; I was up on the ridge. Who’s missing? This was my second sighting of the band that weekend, but I hadn’t been able to find them at all the previous weekend. I think I wrote in an earlier post that they went to the saddle between Round Top and Flat Top, where they eventually met up with David and Shadow. I tried to find them to see if they’d lead me to Raven, but they disappeared. The day before this I had seen Duke. A couple of days later, Lynn and Kathy spotted him with Raven and her baby, Corona.

I posted the pic of Raven and Corona from a quick after-work trip last week, but I didn’t get too close to ’em, and I’ll have some better pix from this past weekend. So moving on, here’s your first look at Piedra and her baby, born last Wednesday and first spotted by Lynn and Kathy, here on their vacation!

Piedra and Sage

What an upstanding young man! Lynn and Kathy gave him the appropriate name Sage, and first-time mom Piedra is proving an excellent mother. She’s going to have to be – this youngster is going to keep her on her toes! His little tail was constantly twitching, swishing, switching.

Together again

Two for one: Guess who persevered? At some point, Hollywood managed to get rid of Aspen and get Piedra and Baylee back. Hollywood is Sage’s daddy.

Baby and Mama

To take the first two pictures in this series, I was sitting on the edge of the arroyo across from the finger hills, not far down from the road. Piedra wanted to come back up onto a flat area out of the arroyo, but Hollywood was quite insistent against that idea. He was oddly agitated even before this, when I first saw them and chatted with Lynn and Kathy about the day’s goings-on – some of which I’ll get to in a minute. So Piedra finally started walking the other way, in the bottom of the arroyo, toward Steeldust’s band but also toward the bachelors Aspen, Chrome and Hook. I went back up to the road to get a broader look, and the next thing I knew, Piedra and baby Sage were walking right toward me. Aspen and the boys were coming, but closer was …

Hollywood and Roach

Your eyes don’t deceive you; that’s Roach. He was wreaking havoc running around and around Steeldust’s band – and had been all day, Lynn and Kathy said. He wasn’t all that far out of his home territory, but considering that I’ve only rarely seen him out of his home territory, he may as well have been on the moon.

Chrome and Aspen

But these boys and Hook were on the way, and when they got close, Roach went back to his vigil around Steeldust’s band.

Jumble

There’s a lot going on here. Roach – background – circling Steeldust’s band. First Sgt. Comanche – broadside at right – is circling between him and the band. Lt. Mouse – facing me at right – is moving Kestrel, Mahogany and Pinon back to the main band.

Roach and Comanche

My experience with Roach has been with a very calm, laid-back boy. I’ve never seen him so frantic. Poco hadn’t yet left their home territory, but he would the next day.

Roach

I was sitting on the ground at a sort of confluence of arroyos while all this was going on. The band was across a wide-ish arroyo to my right, and there was a smaller arroyo in front of me as I took this picture. Comanche had chased Roach across the main arroyo but not followed him, and at this point, Roach was coming toward me, then went to my left, where he stopped … then turned around and went back the way he had come. I hated to see him so wound up.

End of day

And with this image, I’ll end this post, though it wasn’t quite the end of the day. When Roach went back around, he crossed the arroyo and ran between me and the band, which effectively sent the band swirling around in the other direction. They crossed that arroyo and went up toward the road. Then they came back to me. Then they swirled around away again. Roach was still with them the next morning, but Poco ended up following Kreacher, Mona and Kootenai to the area from near the double ponds (!) … and after some more chaos, they reunited. They were together up on the east-west hill the last I saw them.

To come, I’ll have images of Duke, Raven and Corona, as well as the newest member of the Spring Creek Basin family: Houdini and Grey/Traveler’s stunning daughter, Terra.