And then there were just two I haven’t seen yet … and still Poco and Roach remain elusive.
But I went up on Round Top to get a bird’s-eye view of the basin … and had to laugh when I saw David right below … right off the saddle trail.
And no, your eyes aren’t deceiving you! He has Shadow back!
Besides Poco and Roach, the only horse I didn’t see this week was Storm – who previously had Shadow. Bounce and Tenaz are together.
There’s another surprise – no, not Mona, though it is her band …
I’m loving these updates! And I’m wondering how some of our other mustangs are doing, so if you’re willing to share, please do email me (mtbgrrl (at) fone (dot) net).
Tif reports: “Ze is doing remarkably well. I was able to get a halter on and off him twice today. He leads very well, still a bit touchy here and there, but wow, what he lets me do. He’s starting to get very comfortable, which can be a problem at times, always coming into my space, so I have to send him away and remind him who’s boss! I’m so proud of how far he’s come and how brave he is. He amazes me each and every day. How did I get so lucky? :-)”
Getting him used to a string over his head and neck.
Getting him used to how a halter will feel in anticipation of this …
Look at that!
Love them! This boy, at 2.5, is a study in patience. He has come a long way and is clearly bonded to Tif. I soooooo love to see them together!
She lights up like a star when she talks about her boys, and the updates I get lots of are balms to my heart.
Little Asher also is awesome and growing like a weed!
“He’s doing great. Still loves milk and drinks it like crazy. Obviously he’s halter broke and does okay with it. The blanket is new and he’s not too fond of that yet. I explained to him he’ll appreciate it when it gets into the 20s again! He’s a sweetheart, learning that I’m not a horse and he can’t jump on me. 😉 He still hangs out with my gelding Quest, who just adores him, and my mare Pepper, although mostly it’s the ‘boys’ hangin’ in the upper pasture. He’s grown a ton, he’s had his first month old shots, which he took like a trooper, and all in all seems to be in excellent health. The mornings are his favorite time, when he gets let out to run around like a crazy kid. This morning, he got running so fast, right to the gate, and did a sliding stop about 6 inches from it. Heart attack! Man, he’s so athletic at almost 7 weeks old.”
We’ve already had snow here in Colorado, but lately the weather has been gorgeous, typical beautiful autumn.
Asher, Tif, Selene (sp?) and shadow of 10-year-old Madison! Saintly Mr. Quest in the background.
My beautiful, beautiful friend and hunka baby Asher!
How did she get so lucky? The universe returns what we put into it, and this lady has put so much of her heart and soul into advocating for our Spring Creek Basin mustangs, her “luck” amazes me not one bit. 🙂
I’m fairly sure Mona is still pregnant … but she’s sure not huge (Roja looks more pregnant (after three babies), and she’s not due till May!), and so we’re really just in wait mode (when are we not?!).
Shane, Killian and Roja with a great view of the basin behind them.
Curious critters – Shane, Killian and Roja.
Pretty girl Shane. And she has some size – her first birthday was Sept. 15.
Baby hunk Killian with mama Roja.
And Mona walking into my photo. 🙂
Mona. I’d love to hear opinions …
Seven moving Roja and Killian away from Aspen.
Seven
Aspen with the quintessential Spring Creek Basin background – McKenna Peak and the unnamed promontory.
Working hard to keep Aspen at bay. I love this boy!
A great update from Melissa, who adopted Varoujan, now named Banjo.
In her words: “As for the horses that have made their way into new homes, it sounds like there ARE a lot of happy ponies & people. We are definitely one of those happy families. Here are some pics of Varoujan (Banjo). He is really doing well. In these pics, you can see the things we have been working on, leading, bathing, the big soccer ball, trailer loading, picking up his feet and getting loved all over. He gets his exercise by ‘free following’ us when we go for rides. I was gone for 10 days doing the Tevis Cup 100 mile endurance cup race and so really didn’t start a consistent training regimen till I got back, and Geeze Louise, he was ‘doing it all’ in 48 hours. He is very level headed and brave. Not skittish at all and loves to be scratched. It is amazing how much he like the HOSE! Too funny. His color is constantly changing but when he is having his baths, it looks like he is really going to be a dark steel grey color next. All of his nicks and scrapes from the round-up & his initial trailer ride are coming in with a dark coat. He will be the ‘mystery horse’ for what his FINAL color will be. I will keep you updated on his progress.”
Easy to see that he loves the water!
I’ve heard from a couple of adopters that their mustangs can’t get enough of the clean, fresh water.
With the BIG soccer ball!
Calmly walking right into the trailer.
These ponies are SO smart.
Brushing for extra handsomeness!
I think Melissa takes the cake for “most beautiful location”!
Melissa and Banjo – LOVE the update! Thank you!
When I saw these two last week, my first thought was “where are Comanche’s?” They’ve been hanging out with each other for so long, I look for them together.
But nope, they’ve split – at least for now.
Lovely Piedra, waiting on Hollywood. When I first saw them, from a distance, they were on a little hill, but when I walked out, only Piedra was visible, so I walked around her to see if Comanche’s were below. Nope, but Hollywood was, napping.
Greeting when he eventually came up the hill to her.
Only Bounce of the released horses didn’t reconnect with his mare (Alegre; she’s with Traveler still). I think I saw him earlier in the day with Tenaz, but they had split by the time I got a closer look (if, in fact, it was them together the first time).
Mr. Handsome
Ms. Beautiful
I hung out with them just a little while, then headed on to get a closer look at Mona. Spoiler alert: No foal yet.
… and shines with golden light …
End of the day … Kootenai and Mysterium.
Some well-deserved praise after …
and …
How gorgeous are they?
I got to spend some time with them this week (Sherwood is my “godchild,” Pati says, and I couldn’t be more proud!) and am just thrilled at the sight of them. I mentioned before that Sherwood isn’t Pati’s first mustang, but he’s certainly her latest challenge. Smart as the proverbial whip, this boy. Good thing she’s a great teacher!
First of all, Jif is fine. In fact, Jif is better than fine now.
Her story needed to wait to be told (to this point) because it was different than the others and had a bit of the law attached (quite a bit, actually, though I don’t know all the details).
Jif was branded.
Not a BLM brand, a ranch brand. Possibly registered in Wyoming.
So after the roundup, she became the responsibility of the state of Colorado while the law was followed in trying to find her owner and/or the owner of the brand. During that time, she was a “guest” of the sale barn outside Cortez.
Jif was one of the first horses I documented the day I started documenting the mustangs of Spring Creek Basin. She was with Hollywood. So I never knew her as anything but one of the herd. She was not rounded up in 2007. Grey/Traveler stole her in the spring of 2008 (out from under the noses of Hollywood, Steeldust, the two young stallions in his band (Butch and Sundance) and the Bachelor 7, who were all basically attached to Steeldust’s band at that time). In the fall of 2009, she was stolen by or went with Chrome, who had been dogging Traveler’s band since that summer. She was still part of his band during the roundup.
Wednesday night, she found a forever home, courtesy of K of the Telluride Animal Foundation. It was an ordeal, and that’s all I’m going to say about it. K and A came with a trailer, and they also took home a weanling colt and a bay gelding. Many, many thanks to D, who was involved from the beginning, and huge gratitude to K and A, who put in a very long day to see her home.
These are the hardest posts to write, and we’ve had maybe more than our fair share now.
Kiowa was put down at Canon City because of rapidly deteriorating condition from an infection that started with a leg injury. I spoke with Lona at Canon City for quite a while. Don’t know how the original injury occurred. Hacho is doing fine, and she is soon to be on her way back to the area with most of the other horses that are being adopted or bought (according to age).
Kiowa was an excellent mother and alpha mare. She’s one of three mares that had a surviving foal each year between 2007 and 2011, and at least two of her foals (Reya and Maiku) carry on her legacy in Spring Creek Basin.
Yesterday, I sent a friend a quote I read on another blog:
“Think of all the beauty still left around us and be happy.” – Anne Frank
Today, I picked up a couple of the magazines that have accumulated in the last few months, that I’ve been too busy to look at, and read a headline about having purpose in your photography. I’ve tried to do that with mine, of the mustangs of Spring Creek Basin. I couldn’t quite read the article.
Then I picked up the latest issue of News Photographer. Though I no longer take photos as part of my job, I keep my subscription. The story was by an American photojournalist embedded at a NATO hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan. I read most of it. The photos are intense. One small part of the opening photo, spread across two pages, stays with me, a nurse or doctor, looking over her shoulder at something behind the photographer … her hand under that of the man in the bed; he doesn’t seem like he could possibly be aware.
At the end of the article, after a particularly difficult day, the photographer spots James Nachtwey, war photographer, and stops to speak with him, to tell him about his influence, the reason he’s standing there, at a NATO hospital a world away from his home. The article ends with this quote:
“If you go some place for a purpose, you want to fulfill that purpose. It requires you to keep yourself together, and pay attention and concentrate and get the job done – well.” – James Nachtwey.
That’s exactly – exactly – how I felt at the roundup. A dear few, much respected and loved people helped me keep it together; I would have been lost without you. I would have been lost all along without the purpose of the horses. To all of you helping with that purpose … I thank you again and again and again …
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 