Mustangs are subject to many hardships, from which they have evolved and for which they have adapted, but they seem to universally share one pure delight: Eating snow.
Jif, Hayden and Chrome grazed, napped, blissed out on the divineness of snow … Yonder, about the region behind Hayden’s forehead and ears, is where Seven’s band later appeared. Kreacher, Raven and Kootenai were down in the valley to the right. Two Boots and Rio were independently grazing a drainage away to the left. (And I’m not sure why they were so distant … not a one of them seemed at all worried. Two Boots did eventually lead Rio across the drainage and at least onto the hill below where Chrome, Jif and Hayden were, but they took their time moseying on to the next. I’ll have pix of them in a future post.)
Ignore for a moment his rather goofy pose … Long-time readers may recognize it as something fairly peculiar to him, which he has been doing all his life.
This young man does enjoy the sunshine on his flame-colored face!
Awake and looking for mama.
With stepdaddy Chrome …
With mama Jif.
How handsome is he, this son of Grey/Traveler?
Lovely Jif. Pretty, delicate face, stout, feathery legs.
Blissed out on snow …
Sleepy in the sunshine …
The best place for her icy treat was apparently just down the hill from where I was reclining (I did my best to leave an angel for them, but the snow was too crusty!), above the deeper little cut through the drainage.
Beautifully wild
Hayden made some great faces!
I just adore him. 🙂
Even normally stoic Chrome got in on the fun!
Their reputations as wild, fierce stallions of the West would be ruined if people knew how languorously giddy they are about eating snow – such a simple pleasure … err … oops. 😉
Jif up the hill.
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 
🙂 Those are some GREAT shots, TJ–you caught them being comfortable and content and happy. Horses are capable of deep and complex relationships with each other and, magically, with humans, too. How close were you when you got those shots?
Wow! What great shots. They gave me a lot of smiles. Hayden is so funny. The horses remind me of a bunch of kids playing in the snow.
Hayden’s particular way of enjoying the fall/winter sun is SO him – completely adorable! Love this grouping of photos: they show family, fun and home! We really like Jif’s coloring and her face, in particular. You caught her at her best!
THANKS!!
🙂
These photos made me laugh, horses can be so expressive! Especially Hayden, I like how he has his mouth all wrinkled up in the last one of him.
Wonderful pictures and commentary as well and as usual!
Linda – Agreed! I’m terrible with distances. I have a range finder for when I start darting, but I never carry it with me … And I rely so much on my 100-400mm lens (a fortune when I bought it, but I’ve never regretted it!). They were on the hillside of this little drainage, and I walked down and sat in the snow kind of near the head of it. They didn’t seem to mind. They napped, grazed, wandered closer – below me in the face shots – wandered away, up the hill, together, apart … and Hayden walked on below me and around the tree I was just outside the shade of and around behind me. When I got up later (I ended up just reclining against the slope of the hill – perfectly relaxingly comfortable!), I saw that Hayden’s hoofprints in the snow weren’t too far up the hill from where I’d been. I do also crop almost all my photos at least a little.
Karen – They remind me of kids, too, sometimes, especially in the snow!
Lynn & Kathy – Hayden does love that sunshine, and he apparently comes by it naturally – he’s been a “sun worshipper” all his life! And mama Jif – what a classic wild beauty!
Toppyrocks – Expressive – yes! They take their snow very seriously, but you can’t help but enjoy their enjoyment!
Pat – Thanks!
People who are not familiar with horses assume that winter is not the best season for horses, when actually, horses are made for cold weather! In Illinois, the worst month to be a horse is August.
I love watching my horses cavort in the snow, they are like babies again, running and playing in the sheer joy of being alive. I came home from work one sunny day in January to find them all stretched flat out on their sides in the snow, basking in the sun. it was great!
My horses too enjoy eating snow, but not with the unadulterated glee of these! Thanks again TJ for this glimpse into their lives, how wonderfully equipped they are for this world, and the lives they lead.
Especially here, in the arid West, our summer moisture comes from winter snow, so we really depend on getting lots of snow in the winter to carry us through until the next season. The elk and deer migrate up the hills and mountains chasing good grazing and water … the horses aren’t allowed that freedom. But, following that line of thought, the horses graze in the winter where they don’t in the summer/warm months because moisture – snow – is readily available, enabling them to disperse over a wider area. Winter is a wonderful time … harder in some ways, but moisture is much more available. We actually need more snow – feel free to do some snow dances out there! 🙂
I just saw your comment about snow, I was remarking on how it looked like low levels in the post above. 😦 Bummer! That is interesting about them able to spread out more though. And I agree, my horses love the snow, too. The hardest weather on them is cold rain and mud.
Tons of ooos and awws from my family and I! I just had to make them look at these. :] I love Hayden’s sweet expressions!
Rochlia – Glad you all liked them! Isn’t Hayden a cutie!?