More Cassidy Rain

10 06 2012

At last, more pix of the beautiful girl. These are all from her birthday, June 2.

Cassidy Rain with mama Gaia and auntie Aurora.

I like Gaia’s seemingly “challenging” look here, but in truth, she was lowering her head to graze.

Like most first-time mamas, Gaia couldn’t keep from touching her newborn. Sniffing her, licking her, nuzzling her, bonding mama to babe and babe to mama.

A precious thing is the love of a mama for her baby.

Cassidy Rain with her elegant grandmama Alegre (Aurora’s and Gaia’s mama).

These may be my absolute favorites:

Mama checking on her dreaming baby.

Sweet mercy. If you don’t see in this image that babies are the most precious thing to these wild families, I just don’t know how else to convey it. (Creative note: Photos cropped for maximum impact.)

So much beauty and promise in these little bodies. πŸ™‚





Cassidy Rain

3 06 2012

Gaia had her baby. A girl. πŸ™‚

This first-time mama is 4 years old. Baby is a day or less old in these photos.

She’s an excellent mama. πŸ™‚ That’s mud on baby, from one of the ponds (and yes, it was scary seeing her so covered in mud so soon after birth!).

The first time I saw Gaia’s little girl, it was raining. (OK, sprinkling.) So the obvious name Rain leaped to mind. Our new herd manager, Kiley Whited, has been a breath of fresh air. He just celebrated his birthday, and his baby daughter, Cassidy, is the most adorable bundle of cuteness. Having just named Madison after friend Tif’s daughter, the second obvious name hit me like a lightning bolt.

And then I couldn’t pickΒ just one, so baby has two. πŸ™‚

My world got busy, and I haven’t been able to get to photos (!), but I will have more soon.

Welcome to your wild world, beautiful girl!





Waiting

13 05 2012

So many photos, so little time to get them posted!

But here’s a recent pic of Raven, in all her big-belly glory!

Raven and Mysterium. This picture doesn’t do Raven justice. The lady is very large.

Corona looking much less pregnant even than previously, and Gaia showing a bit of her growing middle. The girls are watching Sundance’s band.

Just a matter of waiting. Mama knows best!





Corona and Gaia bellies

5 05 2012

Raven and Kestrel are pretty hugely pregnant. Either or both might foal before I get back into the basin. They’re due May 10 and May 9, respectively.

But there was a request to show Corona’s and Gaia’s bellies, so here you go!

Corona is fairly small, even as mustangs go. The foal’s sire is Grey/Traveler, with whom she has been since last spring. I’ve gone back and forth all spring about whether I think she actually is pregnant. Some days she looks more pregnant than others. Her udder is fuller than normal, though, so I think she has a baby in the belly. Corona is out of Raven, from Sand Wash Basin, and by that range’s stunning stallion Corona – hence her name. (This is known from documentation by an HSUS employee during that time.) Raven, Kootenai and Mona came from Sand Wash Basin in 2008, part of an introduction to keep our Spring Creek Basin genetics healthy.

Gaia at rest. What? You say you can’t see the belly?

Gaia grazing. Her mama is the lovely Alegre; her sire is unknown (she was born in 2008, the year after the 2007 roundup). Her foal’s sire is Cinch.

They both are currently in Grey/Traveler’s band. This will be the first foal for both mares, so due dates are unknown. Neither one looks particularly close, eh?

Speaking of the gorgeous guy … While his girls (and yes, they’re all girls so far!) were napping, he took advantage of the calm morning and warm sunshine to catch a few winks himself. Here, he’s looking at Maia, up from her nap and nursing from mama Alegre. Just a bit later, he was off to treat with Poco, who was poking about alone, having left Duke and Kreacher to themselves (Kreach was much more interested in the stranger than was Duke). Roach was most recently seen with Tenaz … but Hayden seems to have left or been kicked out of Chrome’s band and may be nearby. Poco and Roach seem to split up every spring to go on walkabout, but they always find their way back to each other.





Meet Maia

3 05 2012

Alegre had her baby!

Do you see what I see?

Now?

Shy baby.

There’s the little miss!

She is the spitting image of her big sister Aurora and their daddy, Bounce – except! Maia has two hind pasterns to ‘Rora’s and Bounce’s right hind pastern! I still don’t know whether Aurora will eventually turn grey like mama or stay black like daddy. Sable was jet black until her second summer, when she started to turn grey, and I first documented Ty as black – and look at him now!

Napping biggest sister Gaia watches her mama and new little sister.

Gaia is an Earth Day baby; Maia is a May Day baby!

Another feisty little girl, she kept her mama hopping to keep up with her!

Running …

running …

running …

running! πŸ™‚

Mariah and Maia, Houdini and Alegre.

Mariah is 3 weeks old now.

Grey/Traveler is Mariah’s daddy and Maia’s stepdaddy.

Another sweetheart for Spring Creek Basin!





SCB mustangs in the spotlight

22 04 2012

Most readers of this blog aren’t local to this neck of the woods, but if you are, I’d like to invite you to the “Southwest Colorado Spring Creek Basin Wild Horse Management Program” at the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College in Durango. It’s part of the center’s “2012 Program Series: Celebrating the Preservation of our Natural and Cultural Heritage.”

Guest speakers will be Fran Ackley from Canon City; Tom Rice from the Tres Rios Field Office in Dolores; and Kathe Hayes with the San Juan Mountains Association. Our Disappointment Wild Bunch Partners will represent our member groups – National Mustang Association/Colorado, Mesa Verde Back Country Horsemen, Four Corners Back Country Horsemen and SJMA – during the event. It’s a great way to let the public know about our groups individually and Wild Bunch as a whole, and educate people about our Spring Creek Basin mustangs and how we help, including being part of the Director’s Challenge award that netted our BLM office $25,000 for projects for the horses. We’re excited to be part of this educational series hosted by the Center of Southwest Studies!

The event will start with a reception at 5:30 followed by the program at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 24, in the center’s Lyceum on the Fort Lewis College campus.

If you are local, or even passing through, we hope to see you there!





Family ties

14 04 2012

Baby Mariah with her new family.

Even almost-yearling Aurora takes a role in protecting baby.

Mamas and their daughters. Notice Gaia shedding.

When the babies are little, mamas are constantly checking them, sniffing them, reassuring them – and themselves – that all is well. Each one so precious and unique.





Soft light

12 04 2012

About-to-be-first-time mamas Gaia and Corona – both in Grey/Traveler’s band – are hanging out close together these days.

Little Corona’s little belly is bulging.





Expectant

12 04 2012

Although Corona doesn’t look very wide here, from the side, she is definitely bulging now!

Bounce and Tenaz had split from Seven and Aspen and were down the hill; the girls are watching them … and possibly the pronghorn does farther beyond them, coming up from the arroyo.

Alegre is due in May. Corona’s and Gaia’s due dates are anyone’s guess!





Mama and daughters

26 03 2012

These gorgeous girls caught my eye during my last visit to the basin.

Mama Alegre has beautiful daughters, doesn’t she? Bounce is Aurora’s sire; Gaia’s sire is unknown. Bounce is the daddy of Alegre’s coming foal this year.

These girls are (still) part of Grey/Traveler’s family with Houdini and Corona.

Gorgeous Gaia

Gorgeous sisters: Gaia and Aurora

Aren’t they lovely?!

Speaking of lovely … beautiful mama Alegre.