Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

Some very special kids in Telluride and a mom spent Mother’s Day in Spring Creek Basin visiting the horses. She was wonderful to send me some pix after their visit and tell me about the great time she and the kids had. Every once in a while, the opportunity arises to get kids involved with THEIR mustangs, and this was just such an opportunity: I asked if the kids would like to name a foal.

Raven had her big bay colt the day or so after they visited, and they’re working now on a name for the boy. They have at least a couple in mind … we’re waiting on the final. 🙂

We’re getting rain here in Southwest/western Colorado, so I’m stuck at home once again and want to get pix of the boy out, the fourth of our new foals from last week. We need the moisture BADLY … though the timing could have accommodated my “weekend” a little better!

Raven and her boy – isn’t he a big stunner?

Mama and her baby boy

Look how the dazzling girl shines!

Daddy Kreacher

“Auntie” Kootenai (who came with Raven and Mona from Sand Wash Basin; Mona’s daughter, Shane, also is Kreacher’s).

What do you think of that belly? I am, in fact, expecting a special delivery from Kootenanny this year … time will tell!

Big sister Corona in what seems to have become her signature look.

Pretty, pretty mama!

Baby, mama and Kootenai in a “thicket” of greasewood.

He’s a pretty big boy!

Givin’ the boy a schnuzzle …

Sleepy boy …

… and down for the count. 🙂

Oh, little man, how handsome you are!

No exception – so loved!

There’s always one … 🙂

“Photo-horse” – but their ears are all up!

Just to our east, this pronghorn buck (right) and three does.

Up on the finger hills with a marvelous view at the end-o-day. The heavily eroded flat-topped “peak” is Brumley Point, in the basin. The far ridges – and yes, that’s still a bit of snow – are not.

Love that delicious light. They felt no need to pose prettily but carried on with their wild lives. Brumley Point again (don’t you think it was really McKenna that deserved the “point” and Brumley the, well, peak, butte, mesa or hill designation? it reminds me of a high-and-tight cut; don’t ask me why). The low, tree-topped, snaky ridge in the near(er) foreground is what I call the roller-coaster ridge. The horses were already swishing their tails like it was summer. Interesting the little things we associate with certain seasons. I was in a T-shirt still at the end of the day, but it’s not yet summer …

Mr. Kreacher

Another PZP-22 success story. No foal last year (like Kootenai), but she looks on track for a spring foal now, eh? And while some of our other girls look a bit scruffy yet, a bit “wintered,” Raven is nearly fat and ready to shine under her spa coating. (The FA brand designates her as part of the October 2008 roundup and PZP-22-receiver from Sand Wash Basin, northwestern Colorado. Kootenai and Mona have the same brand. Our 2007 PZP-22 released mares have a DC brand. Because the horses are so well documented by yours truly, they do not need to be branded to be designated PZP recipients – and we’ll fight hard to ensure that is, in fact, the case.)

One more brief batch from that lovely day:

Kootenai and Corona

Corona and mama Raven

Kreacher. I don’t know why, but he seems a thinker more than most …

If I’d been thinking past the euphoria of the day (which obviously affects me still!), I’d have stayed with them, in anticipation of this:

Taken from the road leading away from the basin. The rimrock is part of the basin’s western border. The snowy sliver of a hill beyond is actually above Horse Park, I think, beyond the basin.

Taken closer to the highway, outside the basin, northeastern Disappointment Valley. If I was any kind of Photoshop’r at all, I’d clone in a lovely, detailed moon … but I’m just not. 🙂

What a glowing, glorious end to a glowing, glorious, gorgeous, ginormous day!

Corona is back with her mama Raven, auntie Kootenai and stepdaddy Kreacher.

They were watching a giant group of deer climbing Filly Peak, and between the deer on Filly Peak …

… and the deer with them (see two of them?) …

and another band of horses …

…

… and the cattle … I didn’t have quite the quiet visit I had hoped. But I was glad to see Corona back with her family! 🙂

Linda asked how far I had to walk to get to the horses last week. That was 15-20 minutes. Today, I was out for five hours, and most of it was hiking. I thought it would be fun to show you where I came from … and where I went. It’s hard to give you a good idea of the distance because I had just my long lens and it cut out half the foreground distance!

From close to my farthest distance (coming back from checking Kreacher’s with the cattle). The rightmost arrow is a rough approximation of where I came up the hill. (Edit: The leftmost arrow is about where Chrome’s band was last week when I visited with them.) The Disappointment Road isn’t far below. Chrome’s are actually out there – see ’em? 🙂 We apparently passed each other, and I didn’t see them until I got to this vantage.

A little later … the other horses on the hill. They’re definitely missing a member. Do you know who they are?

Then, from there (the arrows above) … looking back to where I am in the above two pix:

The leftmost arrow is where I first saw Kreacher’s – with Corona! – earlier in the day. I walked on down the hill (to the right as I take the above photo) and just sat in the snow for a while, surveying the basin, enjoying how much warmer 2 degrees (and no wind) felt from last week. I saw Grey/Traveler’s family for the first time this year. I saw Bounce’s family WAY up to the northeast. The rightmost arrow is close to the farthest away I went. At the very right – right of the rightmost arrow – is the western base of Filly Peak. Between here and there are a lot of arroyos – narrow but deep and very steep-walled – in other words, difficult to get from here to there – and back. I went to see Corona with her family … seeing ??? was a bonus!

More to come, as always.

Kreacher – he and his girls have such a good relationship.

Kootenai …

… and Corona – their own personal model walk.

Corona and her “auntie” Kootenai

Raven

Raven’s own glamour shot against the mountains!

All the bands have their own personalities. Raven and Kootenai are young – 4 this year – and I think Kreacher also is fairly young, maybe around 8ish? That makes them seem like a tight little group of friends. Kreach leads, he follows, whatever works – he always defers to alpha Raven! – and he can be fiercely protective of *his* girls! But mostly, he’s very laid back and easy-going, and that attitude pervades this little band.