Iya | Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

Earlier

4 08 2009

So … I should have posted these pix before the ones of Seven’s band and Chipeta’s new colt, but I wasn’t going to post these until I could relate the story of the whole day … and it looks like it might be awhile before I can get to all the pix, so I hope you enjoy the teasers from last Friday until I can get to the rest. I have some really lovely images of stunning Corona and her mama, so I promise it will be worth the wait.

The water situation continues to depress me, especially after seeing all the nice ponds in Sand Wash Basin – with water, not just cracked, dry depressions in the ground where water should be. Grey/Traveler was being harassed, but the fact that it was by bachelor Chrome was just something I couldn’t do anything about. Kreacher picked up the chase at the end of the day, even leaving Mona and Kootenai far behind to keep up with Grey’s band and Chrome. Maybe they didn’t want any part of it, but they always followed. When Aspen was with his band Sunday, it was at a respectful distance, and the horses were relaxed and not moving too far.

But on to happiness. When I checked Wildcat Spring – yes, water – I spied Hollywood on a hill above me, just watching me. Ha. I haven’t spent much time exploring the hills in that area, so I walked on up. The ponies have a good network of trails up there. Poco and Roach are still with them; I did take pix but didn’t tweak any of them yet. It started sprinkling out of the clear blue sky – have you ever looked straight up and had rain falling into your eyeballs, looking silver against turquoise? There was a big cloud, but it wasn’t directly above me … and I learned something new a little later: It’s hard to plan for rain coming when you can’t see it coming. I found a seat under a juniper to hang out with the ponies for a bit.

Hollywood and girls and boy

The theme of “do you think you could stand just so” kinda started with Piedra acting shy behind this little bush. This was taken from one of their trails on the side of a hill looking across a sharp drainage. The spring is basically downhill and to my left. Poco and Roach were in the trees not too far up their hill.

Photos of the babies with their mamas are lovely and aww-inspiring, but I love to see the daddies interacting with their offspring.

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Sage walked over and stopped at a respectful distance. Piedra did comply with my photo direction here; she had just walked out of the frame to the left.

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Then Sage made his approach. At first, Hollywood acted a little annoyed and flattened his ears.

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Now look at his ears. He thinks there might be something interesting about the little mister.

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Then Hollywood decided Sage was quite sturdy enough to use him as a rubbing post!

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Sniffing him again. Check out the ears.

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Synchronicity of tails.

Do you love those misters?? 🙂

Edge of the world

Piedra, Sage and Baylee. You can see part of the road in the distance and part of Filly Peak at far back right.

All together

Including Hollywood in the shot, and you can see more of Filly Peak in the background … which should maybe more appropriately be called Humpback Hill?

Hollywood and Baylee

This is looking almost west … like west-west-southwest-west … and the other end of Filly Peak.

Elder mister

He’s not very good at hide-n-seek. But he’s awfully cute. 🙂

It did rain then a bit later – heavier – but it was also still sort of sunny in most places. I could see the “haze” against the western hills outside the herd area that said rain, but it was weird. But the road was also starting to get gummy already by the time I got to the catchment! When I first got there, I saw Kreacher’s band and Cinch and Bruiser (as not-good as the water is, it’s better in the north than in the south, apparently), then Grey/Traveler’s out on the corral hill. Wouldn’t you know it, by the time I got to the flats below the catchment on my way out – in the rain – and did I mention the road was getting gummy and a hit to the brakes meant a bit of a slide in the wet before actual stoppage – they were right off the road? Confirmed that it was Chrome with them – and so Twister still away (and he’s with Hook, at least) – and no foal for le petite dun Jif. OK, OK, I’m leaving already. I went down the county road to see if I could catch enough of a glimpse of the pintos to see Chipeta and/or walk in to them – nada. A couple of hours later, it was sunny and warm and breezy enough, I decided to try the road into the basin again – no problem-o.

Horses and hills and sunshine and shadows

Left to right: Cuatro, Two Boots, Iya, Grey/Traveler, Jif. Houdini and Terra (still OK) were to the right. Chrome was to the left … and now for a wider view …

Love that after-rain light

I know the horses are small, the land large, but can you make out who’s there? I love the graphic quality of these photos, by the way. This is looking sort of east-east-northeast-east. I don’t think there’s ever an easy single direction anywhere out there! They’re up in the area by the catchment – I think I took this from some point alongside Filly Peak – but although I have confirmed Kreacher and the mares drinking from the catchment troughs, I haven’t yet seen Grey’s band drinking there (and to go slightly off-topic for a minute, I did see Cinch and Bruiser very close to the troughs Sunday). Chrome was (mostly) dogging them pretty hard – he’s the grey at far left in these seemingly quiet moments – so they kept moving and moving – they went down off the “edge” south of the catchment to the flats, then ended up moving toward Spring Creek – north-northeastish. And in the foreground? Left to right: Kootenai, Kreacher and Mona. Just “above” Kootenai are Terra and Jif, and then Houdini out to the right. Horses to the left of Jif same as in the picture above this one.

From here I also spotted Steeldust’s band up in the north hills above the northwest road. Those ponies think they’re mountain goats lately. Driving out to see them, I found Duke, Raven and Corona! Now that was a hoped-for treat, having just seen Raven’s former band stallion and Corona’s likely daddy in Sand Wash Basin!

I hate to leave ya’ll hanging, but as of now, I have just one tweaked photo. Time … it’s all a matter of time. A full-time job, a taking-its-sweet-time computer. I’ll put up more soon; I promise.

Duke

This might be one of my favorite pix of the boy. Isn’t he handsome? They were watching Steeldust’s band in the trees up on the hill, so I walked way out around them to get better light.

And it’s late again …

I must have been happy to see my ponies – I took lots and lots of photos – I was on my second memory card before I left. Always great to visit other horses, but it’s great to be home. 🙂

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Categories : Baylee, Chrome, Cuatro, Grey, Hollywood, Houdini, Iya, Jif, Kootenai, Kreacher, Mona, New girls, Piedra, Sage, Terra, Two Boots

Terra-ific update

20 07 2009

Terra

All seems to be mostly well with this baby girl. I wouldn’t say she’s 100 percent – still seems to step a little delicately – but she’s not limping at all. Doesn’t she look fabulous?

The other big news comes from the same band and is about Mister Twister.

Little boy among big boys

Whether Traveler kicked him out or whether he thought the boys were cooler than hanging out with all the girls, I dunno, but our young orphan was with the bachelor boys: Aspen, Hook and Chrome.

Alegre and Whisper

Bounce and Gaia

Looking up the hill at Cinch and Bruiser in the trees.

Bounce and family

All together just over the hill from Wildcat Spring.

All but Jif

Grey/Traveler’s band off the east-side loop road.

Iya and Jif

Jif

Waiting on the belly.

Cuatro

Growing into his legs.

Nippy

It’s always the same with little brothers, isn’t it? Fortunately for Terra, Cuatro was only annoying in passing. Iya at left.

Brother, sister

Not to mention … aunt and nephew?

Cuatro, Houdini, Terra

Let’s break it down: Houdini is Cuatro’s grandma and Terra’s mom. Cuatro’s mom is Terra’s half-sister. Possibly, Cuatro and Terra have the same sire; I’m only certain Grey/Traveler is Terra’s daddy. Whew.

Grey boy and babies

Terra lying down at left; Cuatro at right. Two Boots behind.

Aspen and Chrome

The boys – who by this time had lost Hook and Twister – take a look at Traveler’s band.

Chat

The boys wisely deferred to da man.

Bounce and Twister

Meanwhile, Twister was checking his options.

Lets go, little buddy

In the above pic, Hook was wisely keeping his distance – in fact, Bounce and Twister are looking at him. Here, he seems to be shepherding the youngster away from Bounce’s family.

Steeldust under the trees

It was hot – between 96 and 100 degrees when I was there – and the horses sought the comfort of the shade.

Seeking shade

A different time of day, and they were back under the “shade trees.”

Sable and Mahogany

Love Sable’s face here.

Ember and Sable

Storm

Storm and Ember have both gone from baby-red to grey. Master Storm will be a year old next Saturday!

Alpha and Storm

Storm here is deliberately stopping mama so he can nurse … and she let him. He’s just a big baby. 🙂

Hannah and Sable

I love to see the babies interacting with each other.

It was a really wonderful day, though pretty warm. A nice breeze all day mostly kept the bugs away, and some clouds came up in the afternoon to provide some spotty shade (not rainmakers, though). Most of the northern bands seem to still be hanging around the Wildcat Spring area. Also saw Hollywood – closer to the dugout – and his band, and Kreacher and the girls by Filly Peak. Didn’t spot Duke’s band or Seven’s, and didn’t have the luck this weekend of seeing David and Shadow or the pintos from the Disappointment Road.

The horses look great, and the babies are growing and shedding their baby hair like crazy. Cuatro has a little line of hair still on his belly that’s very cute. Not much water, which I’m sure is one reason the horses are all close to the spring. They’re taking advantage of the trees for shade and keeping the activity level low in the heat.

Comments : 7 Comments »

Categories : Alegre, Alpha, Aspen, Bounce, Chrome, Cuatro, Ember, Gaia, Grey, Hannah, Houdini, Iya, Jif, Mahogany, Steeldust, Storm, Terra, Twister, Two Boots, Whisper

Baby girl hurt

15 07 2009

Don’t panic. But it’s been on my mind and will be till I see her again. Terra-love was limping on her right hind leg this weekend. I couldn’t see any obvious injuries or swelling, but binoculars never give you a close-enough view when that’s what you want to see.

Stiff

Not a good image, of course, but can you see how “humped” she looks? Think good thoughts for our little girl, people. Thanks-a-bunch.

Artist Karen Keene Day was back in the basin to visit the horses. While she was inspired by the wild ones for future artwork, her husband put inspiration to canvas during our weekend trip.

It was another good day for seeing horses. We even saw David and Shadow! The horses are staying close to the water, in this case Wildcat Spring. The small pond off the road to the old trap site still has water from the latest rains, but I haven’t seen horses drinking there. Kreacher and the girls are taking full advantage of the catchment, but they seem to be the only ones. Wildcat Spring is the current “neighborhood watering hole.” Bruiser and Cinch are still up with the northern gang.

It’s warm, and afternoon rain is always something to be aware of. The bugs are out – but not as bad as last year. They seem worse in the south than in the north. The cheat grass also doesn’t seem as sticky. Something to look forward to, I guess!

Corona

Isn’t she a stunning little girl?

Most of the bands were east of the section of road between the intersections. We came first to Duke, Raven and the beauty above. Then Steeldust’s band strolled by us like a wave.

Daddy and baby

Steeldust and Hannah.

Mama and baby

Mahogany and Sable.

Buckskin and bay

Luna and 2-year-old Kestrel and Mahogany and yearling pinon.

Mamas and babies

Luna and Hannah, Mahogany and Sable.

Ember

How she’s changed. She actually looks quite a bit like her big sister, Kestrel, except for her color, of course!

Coupla boys

Aspen and Chrome following the big band.

Wait for me!

Hook-at-the-trot. While we were watching Steeldust’s band walk past – and Aspen and Chrome follow – we looked over to see Hook, apparently forlorn at having been left behind.

Horses and hills

Still le petite Jif hides her treasure from the world. Terra is lying down by Houdini.

The misters

Daddy and Sage. Aren’t they handsome fellows!

Family bonds

Daddy Hollywood stands very nearby as Sage takes an afternoon snack from mama Piedra.

Admiring the scenery

What does he see out there? Does he see something faraway? What’s on his mind? Lizard mesa in the middle distance; the east pocket beyond.

As we drove out, not only were purple clouds rising over the western hills but thunder was rolling, and lightning was striking – not near(ish). We were privileged to see David and Shadow off the county road near dysfunction junction. I left Karen at our lodging and went back to look for the pintos.

Kiowa and baby

Did I say I thought the foal was a filly? Then I thought it was a colt. But as it turns out, none of my pictures were close or clear enough to really determine, so baby’s gender remains a mystery. And a little more research into the timing of Copper’s take-over makes it very possible – and given the foal’s color, likely – that he is baby’s daddy.

Surrounded by spots

The little holds his or her own.

Mama-to-be?

Wouldja lookit the size o’ dat belly, la! Time will tell.

And such was the day. We didn’t see Bounce’s or Seven’s. I hope to not see Terra limping this weekend.

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Categories : Aspen, Chipeta, Chrome, Corona, Cuatro, Ember, Grey, Hannah, Hollywood, Houdini, Iya, Jif, Kestrel, Kiowa, Luna, Mahogany, Piedra, Pinon, pintos, Roach, Spook, Steeldust, Terra, Twister, Two Boots

The dry and the wet of it

1 07 2009

They might have been waiting for me, as close as Steeldust’s and Hollywood’s bands were to the entrance when I returned to Spring Creek Basin for the first time after my recent vacation. They were working their way up the main drainage that comes down to Spring Creek from the upper north hills. Spring Creek has some water in places; the arroyo they were in is dry.

Some good news: The little pond by the road to the old trap site at Spring Creek has water! The proof of recent rain is evident, but the roads were all dry. It’s pretty green, and even though most of that is vegetation like four-winged saltbush and greasewood and sage and etcetera, there actually is some grass – besides the gone-to-brown cheat grass.

The ponies are in great shape. The babies are growing stout and healthy, and even the stallions, who got a little lean last spring sparring for the girls, look super. So good to be back!

Sage

The little mister is trying to give us a glimpse of his true color … but what will it be? Keep in mind his dorsal and zebra stripes. Mama is grey – likely born bay; Daddy is dun … grandma may have been grulla (that is to say, the mare I think is grandma was grulla).

Watchful

Steeldust and his band pay close attention to Hollywood’s band and friends Poco and Roach.

Siblings?

Little Hannah, now almost 3 months old, with big sister Ember, barely seen behind Butch, with Sundance at right. Brothers? Hannah and Ember’s brothers? You can see Sundance is still keeping his “pink” shade, while Butch is tending more toward grey now.

Must be lunch time

Storm, 11 months old, is still nursing from Alpha. At left, you can just barely see Hannah’s chinny-chin-chin as she nurses from Luna. Two-year-old Kestrel (who no longer shows signs of a bulging belly) is in front; big daddy Steeldust is in back.

Pinon and Storm

And a little action: Although Pinon is two months older than Storm, Storm’s mama is an “alpha” mare – that would be Alpha! – and he inherits some of her status. He’s a big boy, outgoing, confident and strong. And look how grey he has become!

Heads and tails and a baby face

Extended family

Comanche at left, Steeldust’s in the middle, Hollywood’s at right. Poco and Roach were out of the frame to the right. Steeldust’s is Piedra and Baylee’s original family band; Mahogany is Baylee’s dam, possibly Piedra’s … possibly Sage’s grandma! Fun. I love watching their family interactions. This is looking to the northwest. Between the nearer green hills and the hills dotted with pinon-juniper is the little valley through which the upper northwest entrance road runs.

As I headed into the heart of the basin, clouds were looming over the western horizon, but I was prepared to wait out any rain from inside the basin (serious danger alert: you better be prepared with food, water and possibly sleeping bag and extra clothes if you’re going to do that; know that the roads will – eventually – dry out, but it might be several hours, even the next day). After three weeks away, I really wanted to re-connect with Grey-my-boy.

I spotted Bounce and his girls and little boy up on a clear hill near the road to Horse Park. My, they were up high(er than usual). Then, below them and more west or northwest, ghosts in the trees … Grey/Traveler and Houdini and the fam! They were headed down out of the trees toward Wildcat Spring. By the time I got around to that area, the horses were on the trail to the open from the spring.

Time to play

When I got to them, I was surprised to see a couple of the youngsters playing “chase.” Now for the cool part: That’s Twister – 2 years old – chasing 2-month-old Terra! Houdini was already across the road (to the right) by this time. Cuatro, infected by the fun, was trying to get mama Two Boots (also 2!) to play, but she wasn’t nearly as accommodating. Jif leading and Iya bringing up the rear.

Playful Cuatro

Catch me if you can

Hide n seek

I love this scene. Daddy Grey in the foreground – ears up, happy. Cuatro at right, trying to get mama to play. Then, see that butt? That’s Twister. See the sly little girl hiding around the tree at left? Ha! A couple of moments later, she took off for mama.

All right with the world

Grey/Traveler, Terra and Houdini

Jif with da belly

Someday soon …

Two Boots and Cuatro

Just about now it was starting to rain, so I headed back to the Jeep – all the better to protect the camera, see.

It rained for about an hour and a half – a nice, gentle, excellent rain. The ponies mostly stood napping as it rained, but as the rain started to ease, the horses started grazing, moving back toward me but not all that close. The ground was wet, with puddles, but it wasn’t sloppy muddy. It had cooled down quite a bit, from the 70s to the 60s, so I put a jacket on and started to head out toward them … when I heard a sound – loud, like ATVs.

Watching

I kept watching back around the curve of the road for people on four-wheelers, wondering why they were out so soon after it rained (but look at me, waiting out the rain IN the basin). The ponies watched, too …

Away

But then they started running …

… and then I realized why.

Bird of prey

To wild horses, especially those that have been rounded up by helicopter, helicopters might as well be hawks, the horses, rabbits. “Mad” doesn’t begin to describe my emotion watching that helicopter cruise over the basin – over Grey’s band, over Bounce’s band and over, as I found out in the next moments, the bachelors (Aspen, Chrome, Hook, Cinch and Bruiser – yeah, they were back in the north). Traveler, Bounce and Bruiser all were gathered in 2007 – with their families, by helicopter.

I don’t know the origin of the helicopter, private or otherwise, or on-the-ground launch site. It came from the west and flew almost directly east. How low was it? Low enough. I’m willing to entertain the thought that it was related to some kind of firefighting effort – bless those brave folks – but way not cool to fly a helicopter so low over a wild horse herd management area.

Still running

They ran from about the middle of that big open area west (southwest?) of the east-side loop road to the road past where it curves south.

STILL RUNNING

They’re on the road now … still running. I don’t know that it’s possible to convey the distance with photos, but they were running after the helicopter – and the sound of it – was gone.

Bounce’s band just disappeared. I became aware of the bachelors when they came galloping down out of the hills and into that open area.

Running away

They ran in the opposite direction from the helicopter, got to the cottonwoods in the Wildcat drainage and finally stopped. Then they headed toward the arroyo and the east-west hill.

Rollin

They found the spot to roll in the mud – yummy! Cinch had already rolled; Bruiser went all the way over!

Thats the spot

There’s Cinch checking out Aspen.

Telling secrets

It’s gotta be the sweetness that keeps the spotted boys coming back …! Is this weird: Cinch and Bruiser come to the north, but I’ve never seen the northern boys in the south. First thing that comes to mind: water.

The clouds disappeared, and the sky was bluer than blue (well, it was). I wasn’t driving anywhere any time soon, so I followed the path Traveler’s band had taken. They got to the dry pond around the curve (still dry), then headed toward one of the saddles of Lizard Mesa, up and over. I found them grazing on the east side of Knife Edge.

But this is the real news:

Water, flowing

How cool is that! OK, so it’s pretty cool. Hard to tell, I know, and it was muddy, but no one looks down their muzzle at flowing water in the basin – unless it’s while they’re sipping.

Water - more - flowing!

What can I say, flowing water deserves photographic celebration.

I went on up to the crest of the east-west hill to watch Grey/Traveler and family, and I got another surprise: Seven’s family was on or near the west-side loop road! How ironic; can’t get to them because of the mud, and they wouldn’t have stayed on/near the road with company of the two-legged variety anyway, but there they were. I watched them (both bands) through the binocs for a while and did finally see both of Seven’s foals – Ze and Liberty – so I headed west along the top of the hill back toward the Jeep. Beautiful, glowing light. Lovely visits with the horses – dumb, crappy, insert-bad-name-here helicopter notwithstanding. Did I mention I was glad to be back?

You can get lost in the basin. Not geographically (too many landmarks) but in thoughts and emotions. The magic of the basin, when it envelopes you, does it subtly, gently. It’s the horses – they have their own magic – but it’s the light, too, and bucking the “nothing is out there” myth, the air, the breeze (against you when it brings dust, dries out ponds; your friend when it keeps the gnats away). It’s miles away from people and what doesn’t matter.

I was lost in THAT place walking across a bench above the arroyo (flowing water!) toward a hill when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye: Alegre … Whisper … Gaia … I froze, camera on the monopod over my shoulder (I cleaned out my Jeep for the trip home, so excited to get back to the basin, forgot to replace my backpack; I know, I said I was prepared – mostly!), and watched them come up out of the arroyo. I thought Gaia saw me, but Alegre – leading – didn’t until she had come many steps closer … to me … frozen in … THAT place … in wonder … in the magic.

Then ‘Legs saw me, and Bounce came up at the same moment, and they changed course and trotted up the hill in front of me.

Mama and her boy and her girl

Those horses … that light … that place.

Sweet girl, lovely mama

They stopped at the top of the hill. I was glad to see them at the end of the day, and again, after the helicopter.

Bounce

Magic.

Doesn’t get much better than that.

Comments : 4 Comments »

Categories : Alegre, Alpha, Aspen, Baylee, Bounce, Bruiser, Chrome, Cinch, Comanche, Cuatro, Ember, Gaia, Grey, Hannah, Hollywood, Houdini, Iya, Jif, Kestrel, Luna, Mahogany, Piedra, Pinon, Poco, Roach, Sage, Steeldust, Storm, Terra, Twister, Two Boots, Whisper

Count day and a wee surprise

21 05 2009

Saturday was the big day, and it was a beautiful day. The wind was a little nippy early, but eventually the sunshine conquered the chill. Four groups of riders rode out to different areas, one group drove up to hike up on Round Top, and another group drove in to look for horses from the vehicle.

On the way to Round Top, we spotted Hollywood’s band with Poco and Roach in a meadow northeast of the second intersection. We stopped to watch them, and it got pretty intense over there – especially when Kreacher came up out of the trees. The mares never were visible from our location. We also saw Seven and his band at the crest of the east-west hill (oh, and I forgot to say, they were down toward the arroyo east of the road Friday night).

While hiking up to Round Top’s summit, we spotted one group of riders, off their horses. Then we saw the pintos way, way out down yonder, very close to where I’d seen them the previous morning. Each of the rider groups had a radio, as did one person on Round Top and someone in the vehicle so they could communicate about where they were and which horses they saw – also so the folks on Round Top could give a location of horses, like the pintos, and tell the riders their approximate location relative to the group.

One of the groups that went south saw all the southern horses – the pintos with all their boys, David and Shadow and Bruiser and Cinch. D&S and B&C ended up being the horses I did NOT see over the weekend. Another group that went south and made a big loop that took them up into the east pocket didn’t see any of the southern horses but then got lucky with a few bands gathered – still – in the east pocket. One group didn’t see any horses, but two of their members were riding Spring Creek Basin mustangs that they adopted after the 2000 roundup! And the fourth group saw a black horse that I think must have been Shadow and Hollywood’s band.

And then the ponies had one more group of visitors – birders on a tour as part of the Ute Mountain Mesa Verde Birding Festival. Now when you can combine seeing birds with seeing wild horses, I’d call that a pretty cool opportunity! My plan was to take them back to the east pocket to have the best chance of seeing horses. We met at the water catchment, and I realized we could see Seven’s band from there, so I pointed them out. Then we found Hollywood’s band and the boys down on the north side of the east-west hill (and a group of riders heading back on the road). Then a quick scan up in the north hills turned up Raven, Corona and Duke. They were all considerable distances away, but still pretty good sightings for not having to work too hard.

When we got back around to the Wildcat Spring area, Hollywood and pals had moved east so they were fairly close to the road. We stopped before we got to them so folks could get out and have a look. Sage was lying down out of sight the whole time, and while we watched, Baylee laid down, too. They were really calm, so we saddled up (figuratively speaking) and slipped slowly by them. Four SUVs full o’ folks. Super slow. I kept watching the horses … they never moved, and neither Sage nor Baylee was bothered enough to even get up! I was so proud! Of the horses AND the people! 🙂

We got back to a little “meadow” before the little triangle doubletrack that leads back to the east-pocket pond, and Grey/Traveler’s band was back against the hill. Close for viewing, and also napping in the sunshine. We could just see the top of Terra’s head and back at Houdini’s feet. We couldn’t see Iya.

We went around … and found Kreacher and the girls off the doubletrack toward the pond, Bounce’s band just past the pond and Aspen and Chrome out sort of south of the pond. We stopped on the road and took to the shade for lunch (K, thanks so much for the sandwich!). Then Steeldust’s band members started to become visible at the pond. Cool!

While we were there, the rider group came up from the south and also hung out to watch the horses. Kreacher and the girls were so worried they ALL laid down! 🙂 (Obviously, they weren’t worried at all.) Steeldust and his band ended up moving into their meadow, but they didn’t immediately get up at that intrusion, either.

Pretty nice sighting for the birders and the riders. They left after lunch, going back out the same way so they’d see horses again on their way out. I stayed to watch the horses and take notes. I told the riders they’d find Traveler just around the bend. I spent another little while watching the horses from the Jeep, then headed back the same way.

The grey boy and his band were still in the meadow, a little closer to the road. Iya was with them (just checking) … and Alegre and Whisper were farther back toward the back side of a hill. There’s a little valley behind that hill, and there’s a little gap that comes out in the little meadow where Kreacher and the girls and Steeldust’s band were, right by the pond. Hmm. But Alegre and her band were behind the other horses. It seemed weird that she’d come up through them and through the gap or over the hill to the back valley … And something looked weird about her …

I looked back at the band and realized Two Boots was missing. Now what. She had been with the band earlier. I looked back at “Alegre” … But the foal? Do you see where this is starting to go?

I had to go for the binoculars. Holy horse. It wasn’t Alegre; it was Two Boots. And it wasn’t Whisper … it was Two Boots’ foal. Dear, sweet, 2-year-old Two Boots. Two-year-young Two Boots. Oh my goodness.

If I hadn’t gone back past them, I wouldn’t have known (yet). Remember when I saw the band the day before? No mystery foals. So there’s the background. Now some pix.

One extra

So at left is Two Boots. Looking at me is Twister. Baby seen through his legs. Terra and Houdini at right.

Visit

Aunt Iya comes to visit.

Twister, Two Boots and baby

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: Twister adores Two Boots. If I was a betting gal, I’d put money on Twister as the “teenage daddy.” No practical way to know for sure. They were almost yearlings when Traveler stole them and Houdini from Seven last March (2008).

Boogie-baby

Terra’s curiosity overcomes her certainty that she is approaching something scary.

Terra

No words for the cuteness.

Mama and girls

How weird is it to have a baby two weeks before your baby has a baby?! Maybe not so weird for a wild mare, but goodness me. Iya, right, is Houdini’s yearling.

Up and at em

Baby finds the milk bar.

Uh oh

Whoa, mister. Wrong warm body.

Right body

He figured it out.

Baby boy

So he’s a colt and brown – but I’d also bet he’ll go grey – and he has front socks that zip up taller at the back of his front legs (if that makes sense) and hind stockings. His star looks like a backward apostrophe or speech bubble. A looker, for sure.

Birthday boy

In honor of the colt being born on the day of the count, I asked P, the 4CBCH rep, to ask the club members to come up with a name for the little guy.

So our foal count stands at eight, with Jif expecting … and remember Kestrel? Now you know why I’m suspicious of that belly!

I’m a little nervous about Two Boots’ mothering skills, but a new life is always something to celebrate! And what a truly wonderful weekend.

Comments : 4 Comments »

Categories : Houdini, Iya, Terra, Twister, Two Boots, Uncategorized

‘Its meaning is Earth’

5 05 2009

Houdini and Terra

A name for Houdini and Grey/Traveler’s daughter didn’t come easily.

Mama and baby

She’s a stunning little girl and Traveler’s first baby since his return to Spring Creek Basin. In fact, she’s the only (so far) foal I can confirm is his offspring. I kinda stumbled on the name Terra, but when I read the definition – “its meaning is Earth” – I knew it was the one.

Mama and daughters

New big sister Iya looked like she didn’t quite know what to think of this little creature that suddenly appeared with the family.

Curious

Twister was very curious, too.

Two Boots and Jif were content to stay close to Traveler – as was I.

Twister

Cute ‘n’ curious.

Roach was still circling Steeldust’s band. I came upon Kootenai and Mona … and Kreacher … and Poco?! just off the road by the double ponds a little later while I was looking for Bounce, Alegre and Gaia.

Together ... alone

There’s a wide but fairly shallow arroyo between Kreacher and the girls and Poco. The girls eventually crossed the arroyo back to the left, which Kreacher wasn’t particularly wild about.

Wait for me

Poco trotted after them, but soon he’d come back.

Git

Kreacher hot on Poco’s heels. If it looks like he was running flat out, he was.

Fightin over little ol us?

The girls watched for a couple of minutes before they took off.

Coming

Followed by Kreacher …

Me, too

… followed by Poco – again.

I continued on down and up onto the roller-coaster ridge, where I spotted Seven, his girls and his baby boy just below the ridge on the northwestern end.

Nap

Ze naps while Seven grazes nearby. Baby picked his head up for just a moment, but otherwise, he was flat out.

Roja might have thought Seven was too close to her baby because she moseyed over between them. Seven didn’t seem concerned. Molly was a little farther to the right, and boy is she shedding. I took a couple of pix of her, too, but she hardly lifted her head from her grazing. I was sitting up on the ridge.

Roja suddenly got really nervous, which made ME nervous because she knew I was up there in plain sight … She ran away from Seven and Molly – Ze right at her side – and crossed the arroyo. Seven went after her, but Molly ignored both of them. Then I realized what was bothering them: Here came Mona and Kootenai, racing west along the base of Knife Edge, followed by Kreacher, followed by Poco! They totally ignored Seven’s band and kept right on going. They eventually ended up over on the east-west hill, where they passed below Grey/Traveler. At some point even later, Comanche and Mouse got Roach cornered down in the arroyo, and he decided enough was enough. He and Poco ended up back together up on the crest of the hill.

I eventually found Bounce and the girls – no foal – so I went on around to where I had seen Duke, Raven and Corona north of the second intersection, and found Lynn and Kathy watching them! We talked a bit, they went back to the west-side road to watch the bands, and I headed out to take pix of baby Corona. But by the time I got going, the horses had moved out of sight. I ended up on a trail through the trees above the road, but then I saw them down below the road, quite a bit farther away. We had talked about where they were getting water; it turned out they went all the way back down to Spring Creek to drink. By the time I got down there, they were coming back from the arroyo.

Mama kisses

Raven, as all the mares – even the first-timers – is proving to be an excellent mother.

Baby kisses

The light was pretty high and harsh by this time.

What a sweetheart!

Pretty big girl. I’m going to go with a Sunday, April 26, birthday for the girl.

Instant family

Did Duke find Raven before or after she had her foal?

Corona

She’s a cutie, all right. Still not one hundred percent sure of her color, and we may have to wait a little bit to know more. Maybe roan (?). Maybe dun … maybe palomino. My family has a 24-year-old mare at home that is dusky palomino in her summer coat and almost white in her winter coat.

The rest of the day was just watching. Some of the stallion drama calmed down toward the end of the day. Hollywood chased Aspen away, but then he had to squabble with Chrome and Hook (which involved a funny little twist on “ring around Piedra, Sage and Baylee” with Hook) to assert his position.

Saturday – rain. It stopped raining long enough for me to slip into the basin and find Alegre – spoiler again – no foal. The girl has to be close. She has a great big belly and for about the first time is looking uncomfortable lugging around that weight.

Bounce

They were back by Lizard Mesa.

Alegre and Gaia

They followed Bounce out of the trees to graze on the yummy grass back in that area.

A good roll

What must that baby think?

Rest

She had to rest between rolls, poor thing.

Up we go

Gaia seems to be intrigued by how hard it is for Mama to get up.

Heave!

Oh … one last oomph, and the girl was back on her feet.

The spot

Then Alegre patiently waited (rested) while Gaia rolled in the exact same spot.

And shes up!

When Gaia got to her feet – after she rolled all the way over, then all the way back over, then all the way BACK over – she immediately went to bucking and rearing and kicking.

Airborn

Mama is not supremely impressed … but I was!

And that’s the last I know. I saw Grey/Traveler’s band, Hollywood’s band (and Aspen, Chrome and Hook were back with them) and Seven’s band on my way out – oh, and I had seen Duke, Raven and Corona again in a green meadow by the second intersection on my way in. I made it to the county road in the rain. Not following my own advice, I know, but it was worth it to get a glimpse of the most-close-to-due girl. Surely by next weekend??

Just Alegre, Jif (due date unknown) and Mahogany (mid-May) to go.

Comments : 7 Comments »

Categories : Corona, Grey, Houdini, Iya, Kootenai, Kreacher, Mona, Raven, Roja, Seven, Ze

Happy birthday, Iya!

27 04 2009

Iya

Busy-ness almost made me late wishing Super Girl happy birthday. Iya was one of the biggest foals I’ve ever seen, and I’ve affectionately called her “monster” ever since. Her sire, and Two Boots’, is a grey stallion I called Junior who was removed after the 2007 roundup.

Big baby

As you’ll see in her baby pic, Iya was born sorrel with curled little ears. Now her color is much different! Iya was named by David Glynn, a frequent visitor to the basin who saw her the day she was born, and her name means “a fabulous creature” in Lakota.

Baby Iya and mama Houdini

This was taken just two days after she was born. Look how huge she was!

Iya, Houdini and Two Boots

I’ll sneak in a pic of Two Boots, Iya’s big sister. I happen to have a guesstimated birthday of around April 21 for her because I saw her with Houdini and her band shortly after she was born in 2007 – jet black! Houdini got her name because although Junior’s band was gathered, Houdini managed to escape.

Happy birthdays, monster girl and pretty girl!

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Categories : Houdini, Iya, Two Boots

Spring Creek Basin Mustangs