These two Green Mountain youngsters (probably a 2-year-old (foreground) brother and yearling sister) were attached at the hip and by far the most interested in me of anybody else in their band.
Sweet babies with a stunning background!
Here’s looking at you, kids!
8 05 2018Comments : 2 Comments »
Categories : Green Mountain, Mustangs, Wyoming
My pretties
7 05 2018
These are members of the bay stallion’s band in Green Mountain Herd Management Area. The black mare in the foreground is the sorrel foal’s mama, and the black mare in the background is the mama of the stunning little pinto baby, who was pretty little and new-ish.
It’s a pretty beautiful place to grow up WILD!
Comments : 3 Comments »
Categories : Green Mountain, Mustangs, Wyoming
Defender(s)
6 05 2018
This stallion had one foal in his band and at least one heavily pregnant mare. He was watchful, and a yearling her older sibling were the most curious about my presence. Otherwise, the horses grazed and ignored me (well, at least they weren’t bothered!).
There are some tremendous views from Green Mountain!
Comments : 2 Comments »
Categories : Green Mountain, Mustangs, Wyoming
Green and blue … and more
5 05 2018
The grass was tremendous, even in April.
The horses weren’t too shabby, either. 🙂 Though the youngsters all still wore their shaggy winter coats.
Comments : 1 Comment »
Categories : Green Mountain, Mustangs, Wyoming
Large, dark and hunky
4 05 2018
Did I mention handsome?
This hunky boy captains a large band in Green Mountain Herd Management Area, southwest of Casper, Wyo.
Big shout of thanks to Chad and Lynn Hanson – Prairie Girl – for dinner and directions to Green Mountain and Stewart Creek HMAs. Lynn has been following the blog for years, and finally we made plans come together to get together in Wyoming. Hopefully, she and Chad will pull off a visit to Disappointment Valley very soon (now you HAVE to come! :)).
Wowza, right?
Comments : 5 Comments »
Categories : Green Mountain, Mustangs, Wyoming
Glad tidings!
4 01 2018
S’aka wants to help ring in the new year. 🙂
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In other news, for those of you in the Denver area, please check out the following comment the blog received yesterday from Longmont librarian Devon Yost-Smith:
If you’re in the area, please show your support for wild horses and burros! Note that the event is free, but you need to register (click here to go to the library’s event site).
Comments : 8 Comments »
Categories : Advocacy, Education, Mustangs, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
They’re totally rock stars
12 08 2017
Earlier this week, I visited the BLM state office in Denver (Lakewood). As we walked into the entry way … I was drawn to the photo of mustangs on the wall (naturally, right?!).
Photos also were on the opposite wall, but the mustangs catch your eye (of course!). (Above: Already out the door is BLM’s Ben Smith, wild horse and burro specialist based in Grand Junction, and holding the door while yours truly geeked out taking photos of a mustang photo is Jim Hyrup, president of Friends of the Mustangs, which is the group that advocates for Little Book Cliffs mustangs near Grand Junction.)
This is the view of the photo as we walked into the building. It’s the view EVERYONE has as they walk into BLM’s state office!
I stopped to look closer … and was about to ask if anyone recognized the horses … when *I* suddenly did.
I might have gotten a little loud. 🙂
Pictured are Hayden, Jif, Chrome, Two Boots and Rio (now named Legado, owned by an NMA/CO board member). The BLM people didn’t know who took the photo, but it had to have been taken in 2010.
Because our wild beautiful ponies are just that famous. 🙂
In other pretty awesome news, we were there to support friends who advocate and volunteer and partner and collaborate with BLM for the good management of our Colorado mustangs on Colorado’s herd management areas and wild horse range: Sand Wash Basin, Little Book Cliffs, Spring Creek Basin (specifically) and Piceance-East Douglas (coming soon, we hope!). BLM folks, including Laria Lovec (on-range management), Steve Leonard (off-range management) and Ben Smith (wild horse and burro specialist based in Grand Junction), were there to recognize folks including Michelle Sander and Aleta Wolf (with Great Escape Mustang Sanctuary and Sand Wash Advocate Team), and Jim Hyrup (president of Friends of the Mustangs).
FOM has been involved with Little Book Cliffs mustangs for more than 30 years and have been using PZP for more than a decade. SWAT and GEMS are about 5 years old, and advocates have been darting in Sand Wash Basin for at least the last three years. We are so happy and proud to support their efforts and call them friends and heroes/heroines for mustangs!
Left to right: Steve Leonard, Laria Lovec, moi, Michelle Sander, Aleta Wolf, Jim Hyrup and Ben Smith.
Many of our valued volunteers couldn’t attend the meeting, but Stella Trueblood and Connie Wagner (SWAT), Marty Felix and Billie Hutchings (FOM), and Pat and Frank Amthor and Kat Wilder (Disappointment Wild Bunch Partners) are standout folks who spend hours working for our mustangs – and have done so for years and years. Marty earns the longevity award for more than FORTY years with Little Book Cliffs’ mustangs! Pat and Frank Amthor have logged TWENTY years supporting Spring Creek Basin’s mustangs!
In the “coming soon” category, Dona Hilkey and Pam and Tom Nickoles have been visiting, photographing and documenting Piceance-East Douglas’ mustangs for at least 12 years. They’ve been working closely with BLM, and folks are close to forming an advocacy group for that herd (and perhaps casting an umbrella over West Douglas as well). When that happens, it will mean every mustang herd in Colorado will have the support of volunteer advocates!
THANK YOU to every one of our dedicated volunteers!
And THANK YOU to BLM for recognizing and appreciating their work for our Colorado mustangs!
Comments : 12 Comments »
Categories : Adoption, Advocacy, Disappointment Wild Bunch Partners, Education, Fertility control, Little Book Cliffs, Mustangs, Partnership, Piceance-East Douglas, PZP, Sand Wash Basin, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Wild horses in the news
Tiny dancers
26 07 2017Friend and mustang lover Bebe June Mantooth created this AMAZING scale model of Spring Creek Basin mustangs, and my folks brought it to me during a visit from Texas (where they and Bebe live). It was the first time I’d seen it (not even pictures), and to say it was a “pleasant surprise” is the understatement of the year!
The photos really don’t do it justice. It’s simply spectacular. Specific mustangs in Spring Creek Basin – including horses in two bands and several bachelor stallions – are memorialized in this model (contained in a box that is painted inside – also by Bebe) that I will treasure forever.
This is the view through the looking glass (window) in one end of the box. Bachelors are in the foreground, and two bands are in the distance (middle ground and back). Can you identify anybody? 🙂
Looking straight into the box of beautiful. You can see the window at right. Not shown in any of the pictures is the lid, which is lined with tiny lights, so when the lid is closed, you can look in on the mustangs’ tiny little magical world. 🙂
Another view that shows some of the topographic detail. Don’t miss the grey mares under the juniper trees.
A closer view of the bands – and look! They’re going to water! Which is awesomely awesome because we’ve just had some more incredible rain, which was a pond-filling gift from heaven!
A better look at the bachelor boys. Surely readers will recognize some of the horses? 🙂
Through the looking glass again. Below the window is the little plaque my mom and dad had made for it. 🙂
HUGE THANKS to artist Bebe for the skill and love that went into creating this one-of-a-kind mustang masterpiece! I can’t even begin to tell you all how meaningful and incredible this is!
Comments : 5 Comments »
Categories : Advocacy, Disappointment Valley, Mustangs, Partnership, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
Celebrate independence
4 07 2017
On the anniversary of America’s independence and declaration of freedom, our wild horses and burros are under attack as never before.
It’s hard to even fathom that the widescale slaughter of tens of thousands of these beautiful wild animals could happen in America, but please make your voices heard – and tell your legislators that YOU don’t agree. Our wild ones are counting on us.
Comments : 3 Comments »
Categories : Advocacy, Mustangs, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
Assessments, Day 2
22 06 2017Yesterday was Day 2 of the Land Health Assessment in Spring Creek Basin.
Yep, it was hot. Yep, the gnats were still bad (but yours truly remembered her head net).
Mike Jensen, Justin Hunt and Nate West were back to assess more of Spring Creek Basin’s land health. We did some great sites, and a couple of them were higher, which allowed for great views!
BLM range management specialist Mike Jensen and range tech Justin Hunt walk a site in Spring Creek Basin with views of McKenna Peak and Temple Butte.
At the end of each site assessment, Justin and Mike took pix in two directions for future comparisons.
We don’t have many trees in Spring Creek Basin, so many of the sites were the wide-open places (as in the photos above). But we had a couple of sites that were in pinon-juniper woodlands. This site (and the one pictured above) had really great grass.
And then we headed uphill for our last site of the day.
Which led to an amazing view. Straight ahead is Brumley Point, and at the farthest left is one side of McKenna Peak.
Those who go up must go down! Especially when the truck is at the bottom. 🙂
Big thanks to BLM’s Mike Jensen, Justin Hunt and Nate West for persevering on these hot days to assess the land health of Spring Creek Basin. Again, as far as I can tell, we’re in pretty good shape.
We think this little guy (gal?) might agree. 🙂
Comments : 6 Comments »
Categories : Advocacy, Brumley Point, Disappointment Valley, Education, McKenna Peak, Mustangs, Partnership, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Temple Butte, Work projects
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 
Hello,
I am a Librarian at the Longmont Public Library. We have invited Pulitzer Prize-winning author and national correspondent for The New York Times, Dave Philipps, to come speak at the Library about his book “Wild Horse Country: The History, Myth, and Future of the Mustang”. He will outline the history and myth of the wild horse, how both helped create the current debacle, what science can tell us about sustainable ways to preserve the wild horse, and some of the last wild places in the west where the herds live.
I was hoping you might be interested or might pass on the word to your
readers.
The event takes place on February 1 (**note date change**) from 7-8pm at the Longmont Public Library.
Registration is required, it is free, and additional info is available on our website.
Thank you.