Kootenai is holding her own. I didn’t think she looked a lot different than two weeks ago … and then I caught sight of this!
Quite a change!
Not looking too broad … but neither does Chipeta, and I know she’s close.
The biting flies were bad in the northwest hills where they were grazing.
And she definitely has the look of a mama in the late stages of pregnancy!
So I don’t think the Aug. 20 guess – that’s tomorrow! – is going to pan out, but the good news is there’s still time to guess Kootenai’s due date! Leave your guess – if you haven’t already guessed – in these comments or the comments of the original post.
Do you think she’ll foal in August … or will she make it to September?!
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 
Did you take this pictures on 19 of august?I think she will foal in August because the veins on her belly are very protruding(I don’t know if this is the right word)
I don’t think she will make it to sept.
I am having a conversation with some friends on facebook about management of wild horses and have noticed that there are so many of these mares with Letter Brands on their hips. They all seem to be different in each HMA. What can you tell me about what they mean. One person told me that they were mares that were treated with PZP.
One thing that concerns me is that with all this graffiti on these wild horses how will they ever be taken seriously for adoption. If a mare this age makes it to a gather or is chosen for gather her age might send her to LTH where she would then have a regular BLM brand, then possibly a Sale authority Brand. Then a Long term holding brand on her hip for their management purposes( usually a 4 digit number) the registration number I think, plus this letter brand… thats a lotta brands on one horse.
Love your photography btw. Its nice to follow some of the Sand Wash Basin horses that were transfered here. Thanks for all your documentation.
Maria – Yep, taken Aug. 19. Protruding is a good word, and I noticed that, too!
Julie – That’s exactly what I’m starting to think!
Linda – The letters in Kootenai’s brand (and Raven’s and Mona’s – same “FA”) do designate that the mares were given *PZP-22* after the Sand Wash Basin roundup before they were brought to Spring Creek Basin. I’m not sure whether the mares left in Sand Wash Basin received this same brand? I haven’t seen it or heard it mentioned there. It has something to do with the roundup order and year. Our Spring Creek Basin mares that were given the PZP-22 in 2007 got “DC” brands (the Sand Wash Basin roundup was in October 2008). In our case, the Sand Wash Basin mares were introduced for their unique genetics (because our herd management area is too small to support a genetically viable population on its own), and they will not be removed (in fact, we’ve talked at length about the lack of need to target them for roundup at all – not to mention the fact that two of the three will likely have very young foals).
I’m with you – I hate the brands. I *had* started my documentation by the time Kootenai, Raven and Mona came … Whether because of our specific request or because BLM knows (and has faith in!) my documentation, no more mares here will be branded after getting the PZP (we’re starting a darting program using native PZP – given annually – not PZP-22). And possibly because we have such a small herd, if we had to brand, we’d have a herd full of branded mares before long. There is a provision in BLM’s standard operating procedures for administering fertility control that if the horses are identifiable through photos – my documentation – they don’t need to be branded. We have used that here.
We love our Sand Wash Basin girls (Luna is the remaining 2001 transfer)!
I think there will be a new baby in a couple days judging by her udder.
Kootenai looks in great shape, not huge, but yeah, maybe baby is coming sooner rather than later!
We’re sooooo pleased that, because of your documentation project, branding will no longer be used in SCB!!!!!
I’ll be out again Aug. 24 … the anticipation is already killing me!
She IS in great shape, and she’s having her first baby at age 5, so I expect baby to be nice and healthy, too.
We have made a lot of strides in positive directions for our Spring Creek Basin mustangs, and our advocacy groups are directly responsible for that. We have been inspired by other groups and hope to keep “paying it forward”!
Are Kootenai and Mona sisters?And is there a white spot on the left side on Kootenai’s belly.I hope her foal will inheritate her colour and white marking.
Not that I know of. They have different enough conformation/looks that I don’t think they’re that closely related. And no white spots (like pinto-type markings) on Kootenai. I think I see what you’re seeing, but it’s probably just dirt/dust. I hope her foal has her color, too! It has been a sort of rare thing, though, for the duns to reproduce themselves here. We’ll see!
Thank you TJ, that clears up a lot of confusion about the letter brands and why the did them.
If this mare hasn’t dropped the foal by the time I post this Im thinking last week of August sometime. LOL. My mare looked like this about two weeks before she foaled. Then she came into her milk and dropped the foal in less than 24 hours.
TJ Ive always maintained that each one of these herds need private people documenting them. You all do an amazing job with this herd. The private groups are driven by passion where the BLM most times is at the mercy of politics. It is a good resource for management to have private people who keep track and document them.
I’ll see her tomorrow and will know for sure whether we’re still waiting – or not! I do think it makes a big difference for the herds that have people documenting them. I learned about it first about the Little Book Cliffs herd and then almost immediately after that about the Pryor Mountain herd and recognized the importance immediately for what we wanted to accomplish here. It’s so important to have facts about individual herd areas. It has given our Spring Creek Basin horses a tremendous advantage, I think. I would definitely encourage it everywhere possible.