Hollywood | Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

Wonderful wild – Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008

3 11 2008

Copper and the girls with spots

What a beautiful weekend! Too warm for the hunters still, maybe, but perfect for wandering the wild for our wild beasties. I had a report from Durangoans Tom and Amanda that they had seen Seven, Molly and Roja last weekend at the base of Brumley Point, so that’s where I headed first.

The pinto girls with their boys were on top of the hill they favor, but I gave them a wave and headed on to Brumley. I ended up going almost to the southern boundary fence and looked down into the “meadow” area you can see from the county road across from the Black Snag Road. I made extensive use of my binoculars. I sat on a hill at the base of Brumley and enjoyed the world.

Yeah, I never saw the grey boy and his girls.

The pic above was taken on my way back across the hill. Copper is at right, then Chipeta, Reya, Spook and Kiowa.

Girl guard

Here, Chipeta gives me the stare-down while Copper grazes and Corazon sticks close.

Boy guard

And here’s Copper taking his stallion duties seriously with Kiowa, right, and Corazon in the background.

Kiowa and her baby girls

Mama Kiowa, back right, with baby Spook in the middle and yearling Reya at left.

Ignorance is bliss

Baby Spook ignores Copper having a little “stay away, pal” chat with Ty.

Blended family

All together now: from left, Kiowa, Spook, Reya, Chipeta, Ty, Copper behind Ty, Corazon and Mesa. This is looking slightly northeast. The south side of Round Top is just a bit to the left.

A hunter was waiting at my Jeep on the county road when I hiked out. His question surprised me: “Is this private land?” I told him it was the wild horse herd management area. Then he told me he had just let his buddy out a bit farther up the road. Sooo … kind of a belated question if he thought it was private land? He was after “the big one,” but I told him I’d seen just one deer since spring. He went his way, and I headed up to the main part of the basin.

The first thing I noticed after driving in the main entrance was a hunting camp down at the trap site by Spring Creek – right by the creek, which has running water. Then I spotted the new girls, so I decided I wasn’t going to be shy about driving past the camp to park and hike up the hills to see the mares.

In step

Our new girls look comfortable in their new environment. They’re still together, by themselves. (I did tell them there are many handsome stallions to be found in Spring Creek Basin!)

Curious girls

The girls are curious, not afraid. Makes me wonder how many visitors they had in their Sand Wash Basin home.

Grey boys

I didn’t stay too long with the mares; there’s plenty of time to get to know them. Steeldust’s big group was hanging out right near the loop road, close to the Round Top intersection. I stopped the Jeep before I got to them and just watched them from there for a while. They ended up walking right past me, and I never left the Jeep. In the pic above are Kreacher, ignoring me, Chrome looking at something in the distance and Hook peeking over Chrome’s back.

Peek-a-boo Pinon

Pinon wasn’t above playing the peek-a-boo game, using mama Mahogany to hide behind.

Ember, too

Ember had recently submerged herself in mud, so she may have been feeling a little shy!

After the act

One of the weirdest things I’ve seen yet happened Saturday. Butch bred Alpha – with Steeldust standing about 5 feet away. Butch is one of the two young rose-grey stallions (the other is Sundance) in Steeldust’s band. I’ve been wondering when he was going to kick them out. I think, possibly, Luna is their dam, and I think they’re 2-3 years old. Earlier this year, Sundance decided to hang out with the boys for a few hours, but neither of them has really demonstrated any signs of sexual maturity – until now! (Although they got a little jealous when Hollywood bred Piedra in May.) It has been three months and a week since Storm was born. Alpha got the PZP when she was released last August after the roundup, and my understanding is that she will continue to come into heat. The only theory I have is that Steeldust had already bred her so didn’t mind if Butch had his chance?! Alpha was obviously in heat and receptive. In the pic above, you can see Steely Dan straight behind Alpha.

Venting

Then Steeldust chased Hook off. (What did HE do?!)

Nursing

Then Storm decided it was snack time.

As the world turns, eh?

In sync

These little boys are practically inseparable. Storm was obviously playing in the same mud puddle Ember found so inviting.

Baylee and Hollywood

The family dynamics are certainly interesting to watch in this big band. Hollywood and his small harem are with – and separate from – the band. (What a stud! He gets two girls while the bachelors are still, well, bachelors!)

Piedra and Hollywood

Holls and his other girl, Piedra. Busy day at the spa, eh?

When the ponies had ambled on past the Jeep, it looked like they were going to wander down the hill to the arroyo. I drove on to go around the loop. Guess who I spotted from the roller-coaster ridge road, in almost exactly the same spot where Poco, Bones and Roach were last Sunday?

The beautiful Bounce band

Bounce, left, and his lovely ladies, Gaia, center, and Alegre.

Bounce and Gaia

“Daddy” Bounce and baby Gaia.

Gaia and Alegre

Baby and Mama. I think Gaia plans to keep her sorrel color. She’s still bright red; Ember, Iya and Storm, all born sorrel, are all turning grey.

I hiked down to them on the same trail I found last weekend, and glad I did: Grey/Traveler and his band were behind a hill, close to Knife Edge, where I couldn’t see them from the road. It was cool to see them, but I didn’t hike any closer to them so I could stay on the opposite side of the arroyo from Bounce’s band and not worry Alegre. I did drive on around the loop, but I didn’t see any more horses.

Despite the resemblance to Grand Central Station – people, people, everywhere – it was a beautiful day with beautiful horses in a beautiful place.

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Categories : Alegre, Alpha, Bounce, Grey, Hollywood, New girls, Pinon, pintos, Steeldust, Storm

Far afield

28 10 2008

Stop.

If you’re expecting news of the new girls, stop reading now. Though I searched high and low and found all the horses but Bounce’s band and Seven’s band – and, well, the girls – I didn’t find the girls. At all. Not hide nor hair. I’ll tell you who they’re for sure NOT with (as of Sunday): not Steeldust’s band, not Traveler’s band, not Cinch and Bruiser, not the pintos, not Poco, Bones and Roach, not David and Shadow.

Maybe they’re wandering far afield, testing their new boundaries, walking new paths, learning the landscape of their new home. Maybe they’re looking for something familiar – a hill, a smell, something that reminds them of home that used to be. Maybe they’ll stay together; maybe they’ll split up and go their separate ways. Maybe I’ll find them next weekend.

It was a gorgeous weekend, but it’s so, so dry. We need rain. The horses seem to be wandering quite a bit. My human eyes don’t see much vegetation that looks scrumptious, but the horses look pretty good – even fat in some cases.

First up Saturday was the big band: Steeldust and the Bachelor 7. Right around the corner: Cinch and Bruiser. Hollywood is still hoarding his small harem but basically part of the band.

Object of interest

She’s hard to see in this photo, but the doe the horses are looking at is maybe the first deer I’ve seen in the area since early spring. She caught the attention of all the horses, who stood looking … until Storm suddenly bolted down the hill, which sent all the horses galloping.

Gallop

They ran right down to the pond – the same one the new girls drank from Friday – drank, then wandered out into the open to the south and east.

Drink break

Cinch and Bruiser followed them to the pond and had a little chat with some of the Bachelor 7, not visible here.

I drove on into the basin and around the loop and up toward the north, and kept the binoculars practically glued to my eyeballs. From Round Top, I saw David and Shadow, who have been elusive lately. They were at a little puddle – the one Grey and the youngsters and Bruiser were playing in last Sunday, I think – but a little separate. David waited for Shadow, who had wandered east. His patience won; she finally wandered back at a mosey, maybe an amble, and followed him across the trail and down to the little “valley” below (westish of) Flat Top and Round Top and out of sight.

From a hill in the north, I could see that Grey/Traveler was up by the water catchment – along with Steeldust’s band. I didn’t see any other horses that day.

Grey and his band were up by Filly Peak in the shade by the time I drove around to see them. Steeldust and the big band were nearby but east of the road and still in the light. Hanging out close to the bachelors were the pinto boys.

Bruiser and Cinch

I took this picture of the boys from the Jeep. You can still see some mud on Bruiser, but he has shaken off most of what had him looking like a dark boy last weekend.

Family within the family

Hollywood with his girls, Baylee and Piedra, who was taking a cat nap in the late sunshine.

What about me?

Last fall, I don’t remember seeing any of the foals nursing this late, but this year’s babies are still nursing. Ember, nursing in the photo above, is the oldest of this year’s foals. Pinon is the curious youngster at left.

Seemed like a good idea

And there’s little Storm, youngest baby in the basin.

All the babies – and big babies, too! – are getting fuzzy. The days are practically perfect, but sunset comes early, sunrise comes late, and it gets chilly under that endless night sky over Spring Creek Basin.

Late sunrises are good for a non-early-riser like me. Sunday, Steeldust and his entourage were down in the broad “valley” east of the water catchment. They stayed out there – generally speaking – most of the day. I drove around the loop and spotted Bones’ white face from the roller-coaster ridge road. I hiked down to make sure they were all there.

Spring Creek

They were lounging by Spring Creek, which actually has flowing water! Not much, and shallow, but it has to be better than drinking from puddles.

On guard

These guys are pretty easy going, but I was lucky again to find them across an arroyo (Spring Creek).

Poco and Roach

It’s nice when they’re so worried they get a little shut-eye while I hang out with them. 😉

I headed on out, passing Steeldust again on my way, and drove down the county road to hike in and look for the pintos – and see if the new girls were with them. They weren’t, but the pintos, still with Copper and the boys, were back in the vicinity of their “favorite” hill. The weirdest thing was that they moved between my first sighting of them and when I actually found them, so it took a little looking. So close, so hard to find. Probably more to that than I even know.

When I did find them, they were on a hill across a gap from where I was. As careful as I am with all the horses, I’m especially careful with this group because Kiowa has been so protective of Spook, this year’s baby. I’ve been trying to get her to know I can share their environment without being a danger to them. The weirdest thing about this encounter with them was that I “snuck” up on them in the open. I stood on my hill, occasionally taking a step or two forward, waiting for one of the eight to notice me. I finally got to the edge of my hill where it started to slope down to the arroyo between “my” hill and “their” hill and sat down, and hung out, and enjoyed watching them graze across the hill.

The horses were pretty well spread out, and I tried to look at them with fresh eyes: If I didn’t know them, what would be my first impression of the eight horses on the far hill? On the left side of the hill: Mesa and Copper. To the right of them: Chipeta and Corazon. Sort of in the middle: sisters Reya and Spook. On the right side of the hill: Kiowa and Ty. Because of their size, yearling Reya and baby Spook would be easy to identify. At one point, Spook marched over to Kiowa and started nursing. Pretty obvious relationship there.

Two bay boys

Both the above are stallions; one I have identified as more in the band stallion position than any of the others. Which one do you think is most likely that stallion? The stallion on the left is bigger, his coat is sleek and shiny; he’s in good condition. The stallion on the left is smaller, he looks scrawnier; he may be a bit muddy, but he’s definitely scruffier. Fifty-fifty chance … guess? OK, it’s kind of a trick question. The stallion that looks like the king is at the bottom of the heap. What can I say? Mesa at left; Copper at right.

Corazon and Chipeta

Here’s Corazon, left, and Chipeta, not far up the hill from Mesa and Copper. Copper wasn’t worried.

Back to the what-if-I-didn’t-know-them question. My first thought probably wouldn’t be a mare and a foal and a yearling with a bunch of stallions – or even another mare. Maybe I’d think most of the others also were mares. But which one was the stallion?

Of all things, I think it was my camera shutter that gave me away, and it was Mesa’s little fox ears that heard it. He’s the one that finally saw me. That led to Copper, Corazon and Chipeta becoming aware of me. They started walking toward Kiowa and the others, and finally, a little “stallion” behavior:

Snaky

Once they were all together, they settled down again. At this point, neither Kiowa, Ty nor the babies had looked up or seemed to notice me.

On a mission

This pic of the sisters was taken before the above photo, and Spook walked right over to mama to nurse. She was so funny afterward – almost “drunk” on her mother’s milk, she immediately fell asleep on her feet!

I watched for a few minutes longer, then got up to leave.

Later, ponies!

And this is what I saw when I turned for a last look. Only Mesa is missing from this family portrait.

The glam big band was still out in the open when I returned to the main part of the basin for another trip around the loop. Guess who I found out for a Sunday drive? Photographer Claude Steelman, his wife, Katie, and friends Steve and Lisa Mackey. They were excited to see Steeldust and company, and they reported seeing “your boy” (Grey/Traveler), drinking at the pond below the roller-coaster ridge, and Poco, Bones and Roach! I was happy they saw all those ponies. But they hadn’t seen anybody else, either.

Traveler and the fam were napping between the pond and Round Top when I got around to that area. Northish from the twin ponds, I spotted Bones again, with Roach or Poco under a nearby tree. I looked especially hard back in the east pocket for Bounce and/or Seven, but those ponies had other ideas this weekend.

On the way out, Steeldust and groupies again.

Wild and beautiful

There’s my last glimpse of the wild beauties before I headed out of the basin around 5 p.m. To the far left, you can see Bruiser and Cinch.

Better luck next time! But how can you go wrong seeing so many horses? I did see Bounce, Alegre and Gaia last Sunday, but it’s been a few weeks now – since the tour – since I’ve seen Seven, Molly and Roja. I’d like to see Molly to check her condition.

If you didn’t stop reading, thank you on behalf of the horses. 🙂 I can’t even say I’m disappointed, not seeing the new girls – I had anything but a disappointing weekend! They are elusive, but maybe it makes finding them all the more wonderful … and full of wonder. And there’s always next weekend!

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Categories : Bones, Bruiser, Cinch, Corazon, Grey, Hollywood, Mesa, pintos, Poco, Roach, Steeldust, Storm

Pony Up tour

9 10 2008

Tuesday, I had the pleasure to meet up with Kathe Hayes, with the San Juan Mountains Association, Bob Ball, BLM manager of the Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, and Mimi and Ken and Wendy, high bidders for the tours offered during the silent auction at the main Pony Up event in Durango back in August (I think there also was another, second high bidder for another tour). Bar none, Kathe provided the best lunch I’ve had in the basin. Our lunch bags were almost bottomless! We also got great lessons in plant identification from Bob.

I camped in the basin overnight so I could scout some bands for the group.

Iya and Houdini

Grey/Traveler’s band was northeast of Filly Peak when I arrived in the evening.

Babes in the wild

Big girl Iya, left, is nearly as big as her big sister Two Boots and big adopted brother Twister, both yearlings. Iya is 5+ months old.

I was racing the setting sun, so I left them grazing on a hillside below the road and drove on into the interior of the basin to see who else I could find before dark. Steeldust’s band was back by Wildcat Spring. Bachelors Mouse, Comanche and Aspen are still with the band, and the “breakaway boys,” Duke, Hook, Kreacher and Chrome, are still hanging out in the north (we saw them Tuesday). Shadows had filled the basin clear to the eastern hills, so I found a rock and sat with the band for a little while until it got almost too dark to see them. It’s so fun to watch the babies of that band – Ember, Pinon and Storm! They’re curious about everything!

The next morning, Steeldust’s band was fairly close to Traveler’s band, just down the hill from the water catchment, napping and taking advantage of the warm sun (frost on the windshield that morning!). Maybe both bands are using the water tanks?! The vegetation is kinda “slim pickin’s” back in the east, so I went north looking for Duke’s group. I hiked the trail around the hill from the water hole but didn’t spot them. But from that area, I spied Seven and the girls, Molly and Roja, far yonder south, north of Round Top. By the time I drove out on the loop, they were headed south between Flat Top and Round Top, Steeldust’s group was on the road toward Flat Top (possibly the water hole there?), and Traveler’s band had run down the hill toward Steeldust’s into the broad “valley” south of the catchment.

I spotted Chrome and Co. on the north hills before I got to Kathe and the tour folks at the interpretive sign, but the boys had slipped out of sight again by the time we got rolling. Unfortunately, Traveler’s band was way out toward Flat Top, and Steeldust’s band headed over the loop road toward the east-west hill by the time we got to the catchment. Steeldust’s band stopped to graze in the big open area west of Knife Edge by the time we got in position on the road. Hollywood and his girls – Piedra and Baylee – do seem to be with but slightly apart from the band. They show no inclination to wander off on their own, but Steeldust seems to have decided they’re with Hollywood; he actually snaked them away from his band Monday night while I watched.

Right around the intersection to Round Top, we spotted Seven in the trees in the area between Round and Flat tops. Ken may have seen the mares, but I don’t think the rest of us did. We had lunch on the roller-coaster ridge overlooking the only pond that didn’t go dry this summer and found what seemed to be a gravesite for “Molly” marked “05-07.” She has a pretty incredible view. Thanks again to Kathe for the most excellent lunch.

We made it all the way around the loop in Kathe’s Land Cruiser. I had hoped to spot Poco, Bones and Roach because I haven’t seen them for several weeks now, but it wasn’t to be. In fact, we didn’t spot horses again until Ken cried horse on the road to the north entrance – it was Bounce! I hadn’t seen him, Alegre or Gaia for a few weeks, either, so I was happy to see them … except that we saw just Bounce and baby Gaia. We were in the pinon-juniper, but we all got out and looked – nada. We drove on and spotted the boys, right near the north pond. They ran farther north, so we didn’t get a good look at them, but I’m glad they’re all still together.

On the way back toward the intersection, we stopped, and Bob and I hiked up the hill toward Bounce and Gaia to see if we could find Alegre. I was pretty nervous by that point, memories of not finding Starla with Molly, Seven and Roja a month or so ago still fresh. We headed up toward Bounce, then lost him in the trees and veered off to come up to the side of him and the filly. Then Bob, who was back to my left, spotted a tail swishing in the trees. I thought I’d misjudged or the horses had moved and we had come up the hill right below Bounce, which wasn’t what I wanted to do … but then Alegre streaked across a gap in the trees! Good grief. I could strangle her for scaring me so badly, thinking something might have happened to her … 🙂 She and Gaia reunited, then they trotted off with Bounce.

Alegre and Gaia

When we first saw Gaia and Bounce, everyone commented on how big Gaia is. She’s about 3 days younger than Ember, the oldest of this year’s foals, and about five days older than Iya, who is enormous. I told Bob I was really worried when we didn’t see Alegre because “she’s one of my favorites.” Bob correctly summarized that they all seem to be my favorites, but, really, Alegre and Gaia are among my *favorite* favorites!

And that was about our day. We drove back to Dolores via the county and Dolores-Norwood roads. I looked for the southern horses on the way past but didn’t spot anybody. It was a gorgeous day – just about perfect as far as weather. The basin got some rain from the weekend’s rain/snow storms, but none of the roads were enough to deter Kathe or her Cruiser.

It was nice to meet you, Ken, Mimi and Wendy! I hope you had a wonderful day seeing our wild horses of Spring Creek Basin!

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Categories : Alegre, Bounce, Grey, Hollywood, Houdini, Seven, Steeldust

Makin’ the rounds; checkin’ ’em twice

29 09 2008

Almost every weekend in the basin this year, I thought I had it covered: the June gnats, the July cheat grass, the September nasty-prickles (I don’t know what it’s called, but it’s everywhere). But there’s something else to September that I learned last year, after a day and night in the McCullough Peaks Herd Management Area (outside Cody, Wyo.): I am apparently allergic/uber-sensitive to September sage. Zowie. It hit me like a bull.

Grey/Traveler and his band were way up on the north fenceline/ridgeline in the morning. There’s water in the pond down near last August’s gather site, so they might be getting water there. It makes me happy to see the boy back on home ground.

I had seen Steeldust’s band to the east on a saddle north of Lizard Mesa the night before, so I reasoned they might be in the same area. I wondered if Duke, Hook, Chrome and Kreacher were back with them or still off on their own adventures. Also haven’t seen Poco, Bones and Roach for a while, and it’s been a couple of trips since I’ve seen Bounce’s or Seven’s bands. Cutting to the chase, I still didn’t see Roach’s, Seven’s or Bounce’s bands, but the four wayward boys are still off on their excellent adventures (way up in the north hills), and everybody else in Steeldust’s band looks fabulous. Mouse, Comanche and Aspen are still with the band, but they must be going crazy – or be completely resigned. Hollywood, meanwhile, seems to have added to his harem; Baylee is still hanging out close to Piedra and, coincidentally, Holls. Consider this theory: Piedra may be Mahogany’s daughter (it’s all in the ears), and if so, she’s Baylee’s big sister.

Adding to the harem?

The rest of the band – and the three bachelors – were over to the right. A situation that bears watching.

Bachelor 3

Bachelor boys, playing calm and detached. Comanche, left, Mouse and Aspen.

Who's who?

Name those boys … Butch, left, and Sundance, right. (Pinon playing peek-a-boo!)

Double trouble!

These boys just make me smile every time I think about them. 🙂 Even Ember was getting into the act of playing with them the other day. She’s usually the “grown-up” one! Good thing both Mahogany and Alpha are seasoned mamas. These two characters are bound to keep them busy.

Daddy's girl

Speaking of Ember, there’s the girl, looking remarkably innocent after provoking Daddy Steeldust into nipping at her (!). She’s holding her dark red color, but you can see (maybe not in this small image) the greying all around the edges of her ice-cream-cone star and strip.

Parting shot

Left to right, little to big: Storm, Pinon and Baylee.

A rumble of thunder hustled me out of the basin, but I don’t know if the ponies actually got rain. Hope so; it’s dry out there.

On my way south on the county road, I stopped to scan the big open area south of the county line, and voila! There were the spotted girls with their beaus on the far hill, on the bench that runs around the west side. Mama Kiowa and yearling filly Reya were so clean I barely recognized them! I hope that means they’ve had a “shower,” but I hope it doesn’t mean their mud spa has dried up. Didn’t see David and Shadow or Cinch and Bruiser again.

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Categories : Alpha, Bachelor 7, Grey, Hollywood, Mahogany, Pinon, pintos, Steeldust, Storm

Magnetism

10 09 2008

Piedra and Hollywood

Maybe something in the air, maybe some good karma. It took me all day Sunday to find Grey/Traveler’s band, but when I did, they came right up to me, just like Piedra and Hollywood here. Actually, Mr. Tough there just followed his gal; Piedra was Little Miss Curiosity.

I got into the basin early Sunday morning. It was a beautiful, clear day, but signs of rain a week ago were abundant. Spring Creek was down enough to drive across, but the two biggest rain-related things to report are that the water hole off the doubletrack in “east park” is full again (yay!), and the loop road is no longer passable by a full-size vehicle like my Jeep. If not for a big rock too solid for me to budge, you’d be able to hug the hillside and get by, but the hole created by water running down the wash there makes it just too narrow because of the rock. If you’re going around the loop clockwise, it’s the third bad spot past the washout (which is, ironically, still just barely passable).

Alegre, Gaia and Bounce

Bounce was the first horse I saw through the binoculars after I drove into the basin – way up in the north but right by the road. The grass is marvelous up there, and a water hole nearby has some muddy water in it. I’m pretty sure Grey/Traveler and his band were just a hill or two to the west last Sunday when I spotted them. It was kinda cool to go over there because the horses hadn’t been in that area most of the year, so I haven’t been in that area most of the year.

Pretty girls

Alegre and Gaia. I was standing on the road, shooting through a couple of trees. They were in a little meadow not far from the northern boundary. They were so accommodating for photos that I left them after a short time and took the trail away from the water hole, around the nearby hill, hoping to find Grey/Traveler. I didn’t find his band, but I had a great time exploring the hills and valleys in that part of the herd area. I ended up back on the ridge above the valley where I had first seen Bounce’s band, and to my surprise they were still there. By that time, it was close to noon, and I wondered if they were still there because it was close to the water. I found a seat in the shade of a juniper and watched them through the binoculars for a while. Sure enough, Bounce finally trotted over to the water, where he drank, then stood on the “dam” side and waited for Alegre. It took her a little while, but she finally walked over with Gaia. She drank while Gaia stood with Bounce. I guess Gaia gets enough water in her mother’s milk. One thing I’ve noticed with wild horses is how long they drink. Both Bounce and Gaia did spend a lot of time drinking. Then they took the trail I took earlier. I waited until they’d disappeared, then walked down the hill toward the trail. I spied on them to make sure they wouldn’t see me, then dropped down onto the trail and took it back to the pond and the road and the Jeep. I’d see them later in the day all the way back over at the second intersection.

Steeldust's band

Next stop: Steely Dan. I’ve started calling him that as a sort of nickname. It’s sort of a joke because he’s really a big softie. I actually took this pic as I was leaving the band (they look disturbed, don’t they?), mostly to show our terrain as compared with that of the Little Book Cliffs range. In the background is Filly Peak. The horses were up on top of the east side of the east-west hill, which starts as the “finger hills” to the west, right near the dugout intersection. I hiked out to them from the east side to check Storm and make sure everybody was present and accounted for. I still kinda expect the bachelors to “shrug off” sometime?

Bachelor boys

From left: Kreacher, Hook, Duke and Chrome. They also walked toward me before they stopped there where I took their picture. Comanche and Mouse – as usual – were hanging out closer to Piedra and Hollywood, and Aspen was behind these guys.

Chrome

In the next post about the Little Book Cliffs horses, I showed a photo of Chrome, a sorrel and white pinto mare in Phantom’s band. This – above – is our Chrome!

Ember-girl and Pinon

The babies were curious enough to walk toward me, too. Ember’s closest in the photo. She, like Gaia, is still holding onto her reddish baby coat, but she has started to get a little darker while Gaia is still pretty bright.

Pinon and Storm

Cutest baby boys in the basin! OK, they’re the only baby boys in the basin, but how cute are they?! It’s so amazing to watch them grow up!

Storm and Alpha

Curious Storm checks me out from the protection of mama while Alpha pretends to ignore me.

Mouse and Comanche

When I walked away, these two boys came in for a closer look. Or, I should say, Comanche did. Mouse followed and tried to distract him. A few weeks ago, I watched Mouse take out on best-bud Comanche his frustration over not getting past Hollywood to Piedra. Sunday, he was all sweetness. In the background is Aspen.

While I was watching these guys, I saw Seven, Molly and Roja walking downhill toward the arroyo that runs below the south part of the loop road. Too far for pictures. They look good, but it seems so odd not to see the filly with them. Speaking of her, posthumously, I gave her the name Starla. A long time ago, I heard about a Native American legend or tradition that says the stars are the campfires of our ancestors who have gone before us. I like to think baby Starla is one of those bright stars now.

I was on my way out of the basin toward the end of the day, then, profoundly disappointed that I hadn’t found Grey. In a perfect world, I’d braid some tiny GPS unit into his raven mane so I could find him! But it’s not a perfect world, and I try to remind myself that finding him is part of the fun (when it doesn’t wrack my nerves!).

I did finally see him heading toward the water hole (or so I thought) near Flat Top. I had planned to drive past it on my way out to see if it, too, had filled up from last weekend’s rain, but I didn’t want to get between the band and their evening drink. I waited out on the main road, hoping they’d come that way on their way up to grazing by Filly Peak as they have in the past. They did, but I later realized they weren’t coming FROM water. They must not have found water in that pond because they ended up going TO the water tank at the catchment!

Coming toward me

Because I thought they had just all had a drink, I couldn’t figure out why they were coming right toward me. I had parked back from where I thought they would come out, and I was standing out in the open, not on a trail and not on the road. And because I’d had a couple of encounters already that day where the horses came toward me and Grey’s band is pretty tolerant of me, I wasn’t too worried. They broke off right before they go to me and went past me, to the road … then up a trail to the water tank. Uh oh.

Drinking at the water tank

They went right to the water tank and drank. That’s when I realized they must not have found water at the pond. That was dumb of me, to be between them and their path to another water source. Fortunately, they didn’t hold it against me.

Beautiful boy

Diamond Rio, bay stallion in the Little Book Cliffs, is about 15 years old and looking handsome. I thought about him while I was watching Sir Grey, my formal name for Traveler, who I believe also is around 15. So full of vim and vigor, these boys!

A face everyone can love

It’s getting harder to get photos of this boy looking up; he’s so worried about me, half the time I can’t even see his face because he’s grazing and ignoring me.

Unconcerned

In fact, this view is becoming more and more common. And I love taking pictures like this. 🙂 My beauties; calm, cool and wild. And this is the view with which I left the basin. Left to right: Jif, Two Boots, Twister, Iya and Houdini. You can just see Grey/Traveler through Two Boots’ front legs in the background.

Remarkable day. Remarkable weekend. Remarkable horses.

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Categories : Alpha, Bachelor 7, Bounce, Grey, Hollywood, Houdini, Pinon, Seven, Steeldust, Storm

Calm after the storm

3 08 2008

OK, it’s a little punny, but it’s true. I went back out to the basin Saturday afternoon. I had an assignment for the paper Saturday morning up at the Calico Trail above Rico, which is kinda, sorta, semi-in the same general vague vicinity as the basin. I did not see the clueless man, and I saw only Bounce, Alegre and Gaia, and Steeldust’s band and the Bachelor 7 *minus* Chrome and Hook (I can’t even confirm that they were or were not with the band Friday because I never got close enough to see the whole group). Those two have been wandering off by themselves lately, though, so I’m not too worried about them.

The good news is that Alegre, Gaia and Bounce were up in the trees on the hill past (eastish) the road that goes off to Klondike Basin and seemed very calm, and Steeldust’s band also was relaxed. Still, I was very careful with them and parked a long way away and walked off the road and out around them (they were just at the curve where the road goes from almost straight east to almost straight south). I had thought Alpha’s tolerance of me last week after she had her baby might have been a fluke, and I was worried that after Friday’s mess, the band wouldn’t want any part of a two-legged, but she barely looked up from grazing.

Before emotion strikes and I can’t write about it, I want to say again how awesome is the gift the horses have given me, of their grace and spirit and tolerance. I was so worried about them, but they allowed me back into their world as if I’d been there all along.

And something a little funny/endearing: They are the coolest cats when it comes to “circling the wagons” around the babies. Go ahead and try to get pictures of the babies without a head, a butt, a swishing tail, legs. They’re the most strategic of generals. No matter where you are, or where a baby is, there will be a horse (or two or four) – oh-so-casually – between you and the foal. And even the bachelors help close ranks when need arises. When Storm laid down for a nap, I tried my through-the-legs tactic, but the grass up there is so high, the picture looks like a lot of legs – and a tiny little baby face, just his eyes and ears.

Storm through legs

Kestrel is closest; Butch, Luna and Alpha also are in the frame.

Scratchies

See what I mean? Here’s Hollywood, standing between me and Ember and Pinon. I’d take a step to the right, he’d take a step forward. And look how calm he is … “just here grazing along …” Pretty cool.

Itchies

Kestrel, at right, getting ready to block my view (they learn it young!) and Mouse at left.

Disagreement

Hollywood patiently explaining to Mouse that no, he still can’t have Piedra (background). The compression factor of the 400mm lens makes Piedra look closer than she was. They didn’t get very animated, but just a few seconds after I took this, Hollywood walked off, and Mouse lunged at poor Comanche, who was minding his own business but close enough – and subordinate enough – for Mouse to vent on!

Hungry boy

Luna ready to step in if needed.

Bounce, Gaia and Alegre

I wanted desperately to find Grey/Traveler, but ugly storm clouds were brewing over the east ridge, and I didn’t want to spend too much time with the horses on the heels of Friday’s incident, so I headed out. I had seen shadow-black Bounce and a flick of Alegre’s tail up in the trees when I first passed, but they were in the open when I went back past them. Took a couple shots over the hood of the Jeep and drove on.

As it turned out, I don’t think it rained a drop. However, on the moisture front, I have some cool news to report: The little water hole just off the road back in that area is full of water again! It makes me wonder if the pond that dried up most recently off the double track at east park has any water in it. The grass actually looks pretty decent there in the east, and I guess the horses think so, too, because that’s where most of them were (I think Seven’s and Grey’s and probably Poco’s were just farther to the south). Also, the spring area has water in the low “creekbed” behind the old “dam,” and it trickles over the spillway, but right there it just goes into the ground (the standing water is pretty smelly, but the tracks are fresh). There’s no water from that point on. There’s also still a tiny trickle coming out of the seep between the intersections. And, back near the entrance to the herd area, the pond off the road to the trap site also has a little water in it.

I was really glad to see those “renewed” water sources. Even though there is grass (clumps but definitely grass) in the east, for the first time this weekend, I noticed how parched and crispy the basin looks. And did I mention how hot it was? Friday, the Jeep showed 100 degrees, and that was under a huge cloud. Saturday felt much hotter, but the gauge refused to rise above 99. Ha. It must be too hot even for most of the bugs. The gnats are gone but a few flies remain. The ponies constantly swish, and the babies are always itching and scratching – and Ember and Pinon look kind of ragged (I don’t know whether that’s because of bug bites or shedding or what). I put pix of Storm and Molly’s filly on the “Find a (Wild) Horse” page and was looking back at the baby pix of Ember and Pinon and Iya – they look so little! They do grow up fast.

By Saturday early evening as I was leaving the basin, I realized the beautiful, wild magic had kicked in again, and even though I hadn’t seen my beautiful boy, Grey (Traveler), my spirits were boosted. Billie, who keeps a blog on the Little Book Cliffs horses (see blogroll), reminds me that visits to the ranges are “musts,” a natural tonic to what ails us in the unnatural world. Amen!

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Categories : Alpha, Bounce, Hollywood, Luna, Pinon, Steeldust, Storm

A thousand emotions

15 07 2008

If one picture is worth a thousand words, the wild ones have filled me for a lifetime and beyond. So here are a few favorite photos from the weekend to fill you, at least until next weekend.

Alpha with her band mates

Alpha seems perfectly content and in absolutely no hurry to have her foal.

Heave-ho!

Alpha laid down and rolled, and this is one in a sequence of photos I took of her getting back to her feet. That’s one big belly.

Rivals

Hollywood, having successfully “wooed” Piedra and won her favor, now takes his duty to protect her very seriously. Mouse, meanwhile, doth protest. There’s a definite pecking order to the bachelors, and Mouse is on top. He gets the closest to the band, and his closest pal, Comanche, is allowed to get next closest. When they’re bored of standing around napping, Steeldust and Hollywood will go out and tease the bachelors, nibbling and sniffing, but never letting them anywhere near the band.

Stop following me!

Does Pinon look slightly annoyed? His mama is just another step ahead of him, but he must have thought Steeldust (daddy) and Sundance were crowding him. Look at those ears and curled lip.

Lunch time

Pinon takes a lunch break.

Adults are so funny

Ember and Pinon seem to find Steeldust’s and Mahogany’s ground-level antics entertaining.

Pintos at sunset

I found Kiowa, Spook and Chipeta with the rest of the pinto family just before sunset. They like to come down into a little “meadow” near the county road at dusk. I saw them one evening when I was leaving the area, so I checked the area Saturday, and sure enough, there they were. I’m really glad of every chance I have to see this band; they’re one of the most elusive.

Pintos at sunset

The pintos went back up on a ridge, and I took this last shot of them at the end of the day.

Seven's band near sunrise

Around 8:30 a.m. Sunday, Seven and his band were near the dry water hole off the doubletrack. Beautiful light illuminated the horses.

Seven and his girls

Molly is thin, but she’s feeding her baby well. The band didn’t find water at the pond, but they did find it in an arroyo a bit south.

Seven

Beautiful boy.

Bounce

Bounce, Alegre and Gaia were above the road on one of those little hills around the loop in the east. Bounce took an intense interest in something just out of sight, but I didn’t see anything. Maybe, like a mother bird that will feign a broken wing, his feigned interest is meant to throw the observer off the trail so Bounce can lead his small family to safety. Alegre is usually quick to leave, but she didn’t seem too worried about me … maybe because of their height advantage.

Alegre and Gaia

Pretty girls. All the babies are still pretty fuzzy, but it’s interesting to watch their colors. I think Gaia, Ember and definitely Iya all will lose their sorrel coats and turn grey eventually.

During the weekend, I saw all the horses except Poco, Bones and Roach. It rained Saturday evening, but I did make it once around the loop. I was hoping to see Poco and see if he managed to get rid of the cactus spines in his face, but I never saw those horses. I was surprised to see that the water hole below the roller-coaster ridge road still has quite a bit of water.

The coolest photos I did NOT take this weekend: a bobcat that crossed the road ahead of me as I was leaving the basin to go down and check on the pintos, and two rattlesnakes – one coiled, one slithering – on the road in the dark. I looked at them with a flashlight from the safety of the Jeep. Youngsters, I think, with just a couple of buttons each.

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Categories : Alpha, Bounce, Hollywood, Molly, pintos, Seven, Steeldust

The wait goes on – Sunday, July 6, 2008

6 07 2008

Any month now …

Alpha with Steeldust, Luna, Butch and Ember

Hey, check it out – automatic captions now below the pix. Cool.

So there’s the big girl, looking like she could hold out until August (hopefully not!).

As the Fourth of July approached, I was hoping, hoping, hoping Alpha would do us all the honor of foaling on or near Independence Day. I’ve already – just recently – named her foal … though if it turns out she’s really just monstrously fat, the joke will be on me. I’m going to keep you waiting on that name.

When I first got out to the band Saturday, three things hit me in quick succession, in the space of about three seconds: Where are the bachelors? Where’s Sundance? Where’s Hollywood?

But before I could panic unnecessarily, Hollywood strolled up out of a nearby draw, which contained, you guessed it, Sundance hanging out with the bachelors – minus Mouse, who followed hot on Hollywood’s heels, and minus Chrome and Hook, who were still hanging out close to Wildcat Spring, off to the east. I wondered if Sundance had been kicked out of the band or if he had wandered over to the boy band of his own accord … but there will be plenty of time to speculate about the young man because when I saw the band later – after I had gone partially around the loop, he was back and secure with the family band.

Let me go off on a partially related tangent: Butch was hanging out close to Luna, but he and Sundance hang out – at various times – close to all the other horses. I’ve tried to pay attention and see if I noticed them hanging out more with Luna or Mahogany, but they’re family. Even Pinon and Ember don’t stick right to their mothers’ sides anymore. In the past, I’ve wondered if Luna and Mahogany were the mothers of Butch and/or Sundance. It seemed weird that two mares would produce such twin-type colts in one year. But how about this for a new working theory: What if Sundance is 3, Butch is 2 (they’re almost identical in size), Kestrel is 1 (she really is), and Ember, of course, is the baby. What if both Sundance and Butch are Luna’s? Maybe they were born sorrel – like Ember.

It was partly sunny – mostly sunny – when I got out to them, around noon, which becomes important to the story later.

$Steeldust\'s band in big country$

Steeldust

Home sweet home on the range. The above photo was taken from the road just up from the dugout intersection, looking eastish.

$Grey/Traveler\'s band$

Grey/Traveler

Jif is still with Traveler’s band … I suppose I’ll keep looking for her for a while, given her recent disappearance. She walked slowly, but she didn’t seem to be limping.

Alegre and Gaia

Gaia stamped a foot just as I took this photo. The gnats are still buzzing, but they seem to be *less.* I stamped and swatted and fidgeted, too, but I was never driven so insane that I had to go for the head net.

Bounce

Bounce, trotting after Alegre and Gaia. When I first saw them as I was driving, Alegre and Gaia trotted away, so I stopped, turned off the Jeep and made some notes about Steeldust’s and Grey’s bands and Chrome and Hook. Then I drove on, where, just around the next curve, there they were. She must like me; she used to go a lot farther than that! 🙂 I snapped the above pic of her and Gaia and drove on to the split where the doubletrack goes back to the water hole. I checked it – totally dry – then drove on south. But when I looked back, I saw Bounce leading Alegre and Gaia toward the water hole. Didn’t he know it was dry? The horses – all the northern bands – had been in the area, but they had seemed to move on in the past couple of weeks as the pond became a stinky puddle. As I watched, Bounce led the little procession, then stopped, dropped and rolled on his right side, got up, dropped and rolled on his left side, then got up and TROTTED to the dry pond! Oh, mister. He obviously didn’t know it was dry and was anticipating a drink. If there’s so much as a puddle of water in any of the arroyos that cut through there just south of that pond, I certainly don’t know about them. I wondered if he (or Alegre) knows about Wildcat Spring … I’ve never seen him up in that area, but Steeldust’s, Grey’s, Seven’s and the bachelors know it’s there because they’ve been frequenting that area recently. When I went back past that area later, they were gone. I hope they found water. The pond below the roller-coaster ridge road is the only *pond* now with water.

Not too far away, guess who found me? My boy Roach and company. I was happy to see them because I hadn’t for a few visits. But my happiness at seeing them turned into concern. Poco managed to find himself a prickly pear patch, and I guess they had a close encounter. I’m sure the cactus got the better end of that deal – it left at least three spines in Poco’s face (including one directly below his right eye) and a small cluster under his right jaw. ARGH. Didn’t his mama teach him about cacti!?

Poco and Bones

This photo may be too small to pick out the spine under his eye. Of all the pricklers he’s stuck with, that one’s the longest – naturally. When he’d shake his head to ward off the gnats, he’d do so gently, so I know it was bothering him. I haven’t seen them for a while, so I have no idea how long he’s been stuck. And I have no idea how he’s going to rid himself of the spines. Too bad I can’t just walk right up and help him out!

Dear, sweet boy Roach snuck up on me behind a tree (in front of me) while I was photographing Poco’s spines, then casually came out from behind it, just grazing. He never seemed surprised, and even though I was stamping and swatting, he never spooked. He went around the tree, and I thought he was heading back to Poco and Bones, who had gone back to grazing, but then he turned around broadside and decided to take a nap under the tree. Guess he’s not too worried … or he figured now that he’d successfully snuck up on me, he was in perfect position to keep a close eye on me. He’s one of my favorites; personality plus.

Thunder was rumbling, and I was about as far away from the basin entrance as possible at that point, so I bid farewell to the boys and girl – I hope Poco sheds those spines soon?! – and headed back around. This is a good time to note that the basin has been getting rain, somewhere between enough to dampen the dust and enough to change a bit of geography in the first major arroyo crossing (Spring Creek) before the first intersection. If it rained, I didn’t want to be on the interior side of that arroyo. (And here’s an interesting side-note to this note: The horses don’t seem to be down in that area at all for water – it’s there, however thin a trickle.)

Bounce, Alegre and Gaia were gone from the dry pond when I passed … Grey was still hanging out near the road with his family. Twister must have rolled in the spring just before I saw them the first time because he was as dark as Two Boots, but when I came back around, he had dried into his (muddy) rosy grey color again. Chrome and Hook were still guarding the trail to the spring.

When I got back around to where Steeldust’s band and the other bachelors had been, they weren’t anywhere to be found. I walked off the road in both directions in case they were just below the drops – nope. I had been gone for about three hours, so I figured they might have gone to water … but where? The spring or the arroyo?

The sky didn’t look terribly threatening (but it was completely cloudy by then), and I hadn’t been on the middle part of the loop road in a while since the horses had been back in the east, so I decided to go that way and see what I could see.

Note to self: Voice of intuition not always right. As I drove, I kept thinking, they’re not down here; no way they’re down here. Damned if they didn’t show up on top of the finger hills almost directly across from me! They grazed their way up from an unseen-to-me draw in the hilltop and into the open, then gradually made their way to the top and over. The skies didn’t look threatening, remember, so I wasn’t too worried. Besides, I was still pretty close to the intersection. I hung out there for a while, actually enjoying the wind that kept the gnats away, then went back to the intersection and north. The horses were at the base of the northeast side of the hill and not very visible. I decided it might be OK to call it a day and head back across Spring Creek for the evening.

It started sprinkling. Nothing to worry about.

The sprinkling got steady. I crossed the arroyo and headed – slowly – toward the entrance, trying to decide whether to just stop somewhere and wait it out or call it a day.

Another note to self: Voice of intuition not always loud but sometimes right on the money. I kept going, and about halfway out on the road through private land, my tires started kicking up mud. Uh oh. By the time I got to the curve by the dilapidated cattle corral, I could barely steer, and braking wasn’t much better. I made it around that curve and put it in four-wheel-low. The Jeep doesn’t like it when I don’t come to a complete stop before putting it in low, but I didn’t dare stop. My heart has pounded that hard during mountain bike races but never while sitting still.

Note to readers: If it starts to sprinkle in the basin, get out. Now.

I’ve never been so happy to make it to the county road – an all-weather, graveled road. I came home via the highway, and when I got to the highway, the rain had stopped there, but behind me, the basin was a single curtain of grey shroud. I couldn’t see so much as a single landform.

Gotta be happy about that – for the ponies’ sake!

(Other horses: I also saw three of the “southside boys”: David, Cinch and Mesa. They were just inside the herd area from the county road. And a couple of days ago, I saw Seven’s band by the spring.)

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Categories : Alpha, Bachelor 7, Bounce, Grey, Hollywood, Poco, Roach, Steeldust

Finally … still waiting … huh?

21 06 2008

Where to start?

Look who finally decided to make an appearance!

Duke saw me; I saw Duke. I think we surprised each other. Just to the left (his right) is the little entrance to Wildcat Spring off the main loop road. He shied at something I couldn’t see, and although I didn’t think too much about it at the time, it may prove significant …

$Grey\'s band$

This photo of Grey/Traveler’s band is similar to one I had on the previous post. Who’s missing? The significant part is that Jif is NOT just off to the side like she was outside the frame of the previous pic. She wasn’t anywhere. This is the “huh?” part of this post’s title.

Almost all the northern bands were clustered right in the same area, just north of the little water hole off the doubletrack (I’m afraid it’s going to be dry in another week or two). The only band missing was Seven’s, and I thought Jif might have been with them (however unlikely). They were farther to the south – no Jif. So then I started wondering if she’s with Duke – what he shied at. I saw him before I saw any of the other horses (except the pinto family, from the county road, on my drive to the basin), and I wasn’t looking for any other horse(s) with him. I really, really, really hope she’s with him because I don’t really like the alternative. It’s like a flashback to Slate’s disappearance.

And the “still waiting” comes to rest, of course, right squarely on Alpha’s (still-) round belly. She looks completely serene and calm (how many babies has she had??) … but no baby yet.

$Grey\'s band with bachelors nearby$

Grey/Traveler’s band in the background with some of the Bachelor 6 nearby. Left to right, the bachelors are (in order of heads): Hook, Chrome, Aspen, Kreacher. They’re not *quite* as close as they look because of the compression caused by the telephoto lens, but they’re pretty close. It was like being in the Pryors with all the bands so close.

$Mouse and Steeldust\'s band$

This is just to the right of the previous photo: Mouse and Steeldust’s band. Mouse and Comanche – and sometimes bold Kreacher – are hanging out fairly close to the band. These pix were taken right from the road, and they were all just napping. It was hot (mid-90s) and windy, and the gnats are ferocious.

Bounce, Alegre and Gaia. Look how big she’s getting! I didn’t realize I’d caught Gaia and Bounce in the same stride until I saw the photos on the computer. I don’t know whether Bounce is Gaia’s sire or not. He was gathered with Slate, but Alegre was not gathered.

Hollywood is a fierce protector of his adopted family, even though he’s not the band stallion. But that evening, when the band went to water, he drank right beside Mouse and Comanche – although he *was* between them and the band!

Later in the day, here he’s watching over Baylee while she took a little snooze.

Finally got a good look at Molly’s foal – I think she’s another filly. She’s sorrel like Roja, and not a white marking on her – like Roja. If I’m right about the resemblance between Molly and Roja, Roja is baby’s big sister.

Seven, later in the day, as they were headed to water.

Pinon and Ember were playing together late in the day and stopped to scratch each other’s backs. The sun was just barely gone from a far ridge. That’s daddy Steeldust at left.

These are my favorite two photos of the whole day:

Pinon, left, and Ember, wild, wild babies. I love how the light just cradles them in its glow.

That’s Hollywood at left, guarding the babies. The only thing I did to these last photos was “unsharp mask” and a little cropping. That’s just how they came out of the camera.

At the risk of being totally mushy, I have to say again that each time I’m able to enter the basin and share the horses’ world is a blessing unmatched. Their world goes on with or without me, and as wild and beautiful as they are, for them to allow me to sit back and observe them and take photos of them is just crazy cool. I’m grateful to them. This day was really the first time in a long time I saw them just hang out in the same place without being constantly on the move with the bachelors following.

Looking for Jif, I went up on the tall mesa just north (northeast?) of Knife Ridge so I could look down on the whole area the horses have been frequenting recently. I didn’t see her, but they were still there, snoozing in the sunshine, seemingly not nearly as bothered by the gnats as I was.

I wonder sometimes how they see their world, about all the trails and good grazing and drinking spots they hold in their memories. The foals are starting to nibble on things, following their mothers’ examples. (Luna, by the way, is fat. I’m sorry, girl, but there’s just no other word! Ember was 2 months old Thursday, and Luna is just as broad as Alpha.) That evening, I saw them go to the water hole, and I circled around the bachelors to see what they did. Mahogany led the way, but Luna drank first, followed by Alpha, then Mahogany, then the rest of the band. Mouse and Comanche weren’t shy; they stepped right up to the water and drank, so Hollywood joined them – like they were pals. Was he careful to drink between them and the band, or was that pure coincidence? Ha. Doubt it.

Two last photos:

One of my favorite-ever photos of Alpha, taken just near sunset.

And this one: Chrome, Aspen and Hook, running through the June sunshine just before sunset. Happy boys.

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Categories : Alpha, Bachelor 7, Bounce, Grey, Hollywood, Luna, Molly, pintos, Seven, Steeldust

One stop shopping – June 1, 2008

1 06 2008

Not yet.

Other duties this weekend kept me out of the basin until Sunday, and when I finally got there, I still had to wait to see horses, not finding ANYBODY until I got all the way around to the northeast, near a section I call “north park.” It hasn’t taken me that long to find horses any time I’ve been out this spring. But once I got there, voila, they were ALL there (except the bachelor band that includes the two pintos and the pinto family).

I saw Steeldust’s band first, but Seven and the girls were actually closer.

Molly, Seven and Roja were pretty close to the road, and I took these from right next to the Jeep. Usually this group does not like vehicles, but they were unusually calm, so I was able to stand there and take photos. I was close enough – and Molly has shed out enough – to see her “DC” brand very clearly now. She was gathered and released, and the brand indicates that she got the immunocontraceptive. I was also close enough to think I see a resemblance between Molly and Roja – could Roja be Molly’s daughter? It would help explain Molly’s protectiveness … but where was Roja when Molly was gathered? And I still think Molly is pregnant. Time will tell!

Next were Bounce, Alegre and Gaia, grazing in what looks like a dry pond (I’ve never seen water there, though). These guys were the only ones who acted normally – when Alegre saw the Jeep, she led the baby away into the trees.

But by the time I got around the curve and over the hill, Steeldust’s band was already on the move out of sight, and Grey/Traveler was about to follow.

Houdini and Iya

Two Boots and Twister. These guys are still shedding out. They may get rid of that itchy hair fast now, though; it was 86 degrees today! Definitely the first weekend you could really call “warm”!

Grey/Traveler and Jif. The family was all spread out. These guys were closest to the road, and they all trotted up to it and raised the dust trotting on down it, following Steeldust’s band.

A note about Steeldust’s band: Mesa, who is usually a member of the bachelor band that includes the two pintos, hooked up with the Bachelor 7 (minus Duke), who are dogging Steeldust, last weekend, but during the week, he must have gone back to his buddies. Also, Duke is still on his own, and although I did a couple of drive-bys of the north hills and did quite a bit of hiking in the Wildcat Spring area, I never found him.

I waited until the horses were out of sight and the dust had settled before I drove on. From the road near the double ponds, I spotted Poco and Bones. Then I just caught a glimpse of a red streak – Roach – galloping across the road to the west. After Grey? I never saw his band, and Roach disappeared, so I drove on until I was on a little rise where I thought I’d be able to see to the west – not a soul. I waited, and Roach came galloping back. He stopped just short of the road, looked at me, then galloped back across the road to his own family.

I want to take a moment to say that while the wildflowers are still out all over, the cheat grass is turning purple, and the water is still shrinking. There’s good water in the pond just below the roller-coaster ridge road, but dry, cracked ground is encroaching on the water. The pond just off the road to the trap site, just inside the herd area boundary, is toast.

These sego lilies are so beautiful! And lilies in the desert? Surprising, and that makes it even more worthwhile to stop and appreciate them!

The loco weed also is “podding.” How do you say that? Not everywhere, but from the blooms, pods are sprouting. I hate it, just for the threat of danger, though I think the horses stay away from it.

What else is blooming? Prince’s plume, larkspur, vetch, at least a couple different kinds of daisies, still the paintbrush, lots of globe mallow, the lilies and still some cacti.

$Steeldust\'s band$

When Grey and Steeldust took their bands to the road – unusual for both these stallions – my first thought was “Alpha must have had her foal, and it was her decision to go.” Alas. The girl still hasn’t foaled, so I’m not sure why they took off. Steeldust’s band, in particular, is always on the move these days with those pesky bachelors eternally hot on their heels. They ended up out in the open, northeast of the southern part of the loop road. I sat in the Jeep on the road and watched them through the binoculars, and still they kept moving. Over the course of about an hour, I watched them head west about halfway up that long east-west hill that runs out to the dugout intersection. When they came closer to the road, I walked out to get a closer look at Alpha.

Pretty girl Kestrel, napping right near the band, most of which are just to the right.

Hollywood, ever vigilant.

Butch, Mahogany, Pinon and Piedra. There was a shallow arroyo between me and the horses, which often helps them feel like they’re safe.

You’ve heard about “girl talk”; Hollywood, Comanche (center) and Mouse are having a little “boy talk” here.

Baby Pinon naps with Mama and Daddy (Mahogany and Steeldust). I’m pretty sure he’s a colt.

After a short walk back to the Jeep, I drove back up to the north hills to try to find Duke. But after another drive-by and a cool hike up a hill, across a hill and down to a boulder outcropping looking down on Wildcat Canyon, I still couldn’t find him. Pretty cool view down to the canyon, but the footing changes dramatically to a really volcanicky-rocky, pebbly, hard-to-walk-on surface. I walked down to where the old dam blew out downstream of the spring. It’s pretty mucky there, but there is a steady flow of clear water. There weren’t very many recent hoofprints or manure piles, so I’m not sure whether that’s where Duke is getting his water. I walked all around, but didn’t see him – or any recent sign of horses – at all. Knowing there’s nothing I can do for him doesn’t stop me worrying about him.

Didn’t see the other bachelor group or the pinto family, and I didn’t go looking for them. I was most interested in seeing Alpha! Vacation time is finally upon me, and I’m heading to Texas to visit my family and the horses and cows and dogs and barn cat. I don’t think I’ll make it back to the basin before I leave, so there will be at least a two-week lull on the blog. We could have two more beautiful babies by the time I get back!

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Categories : Alpha, Bachelor 7, Bounce, Grey, Hollywood, Houdini, Seven, Steeldust

Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

Wonderful wild – Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008

Far afield

Pony Up tour

Makin’ the rounds; checkin’ ’em twice

Magnetism

Calm after the storm

A thousand emotions

The wait goes on – Sunday, July 6, 2008

Finally … still waiting … huh?

One stop shopping – June 1, 2008

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