Pinon | Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

Love and light

19 11 2008

First light

It comes a little after 7 a.m. now, that gentle, golden light that slides over ridges and slips around hills and envelops you like a caress. If the horses are relieved to see it morning after morning, they give no indication. It finds them, warms them; it marks the next day in Spring Creek Basin. I can think of few better places to enjoy the coming of dawn. Above are horses in Grey/Traveler’s band: Iya and Houdini, Traveler in the background (farther away than he looks), Jif, Two Boots and Twister.

What scary monsters are yonder?

Very close to the main entrance to the herd area here and not long after my visit with Grey’s band, still fairly early. Chrome was fascinated by something in the near distance and couldn’t take his eyes off it. Duke came to offer support. What scary monster could it have been that eventually sent the boys all running to catch up with their mates down at the pond?

Ooooh ... scary!

Go ahead, give it a chuckle. Two little baby boys, just up from morning naps, were the “monsters” Chrome was so worried about.

Snack time

Not much longer, and Debbie and Kathleen arrived and we drove around to watch the horses in Steeldust’s band from the road near the catchment.

Another nap

Pinon and Storm laid down for another nap, surrounded by family.

Last ones standing

While we watched and Debbie communicated with them, almost all the other horses laid down, too. It would be a shorter list to name who did NOT lie down. In this photo, you can see Kestrel, Sundance and Hollywood lying down. Butch also is back there lying down. Even Steeldust laid down.

And even Duke

Even vigilant Duke laid down for a rest. Both Chrome and Hook also eventually laid down. It was fantastic to see them so relaxed, even with visitors.

Wild light

Evening light here. I took Debbie and Kathleen up on Round Top to give them an overview of the whole basin. On the way there, we saw Bounce, Alegre and Gaia. We saw the pintos from the summit, as well as Bruiser and Cinch and, close by, Ty. We saw Poco, Bones and Roach from the loop road. We saw a large (20?) herd of mule deer and one beautiful young buck near Lizard Mesa (Sunday was the last day of the fourth and last hunting season). We had seen Steeldust’s band from the summit of Round Top, too, and we were looking for them on our way toward closing the loop – voila. We came up over a slight rise that blocked our view, and there they were, just above the dugout intersection. The picture above represents what we saw. The horses were very relaxed and all very close together. Beautiful horses in beautiful light.

Asleep on their feet

Piedra and Baylee are rarely far from each other these days. Did you spot Hollywood in the previous picture? He’s right up in the middle of the band. At left is bachelor Aspen.

Three grey boys

Hook, left, Chrome and Kreacher. Kathleen and Hook took an instant liking to each other.

Bachelor 4

All calm on the eastern front. Chrome, left, Kreacher, Hook and Duke.

Last light

Gorgeous, yeah? Ember and Luna, Storm and Alpha.

Zzzzzzzzz

Storm-baby was sound asleep almost the whole time we were with the band – probably because the other horses were so relaxed no one raised an alarm.

Time to get up!

Ha! I’m not sure I’ve captured a funnier face than the one Ember is making here! Storm had awakened, and she was checking him out as he scratched and stretched. He was in no mood to get up, but he finally did.

Now what?

After the nap – now what trouble do you suppose they can get into? Tomorrow’s another day …!

The band crossed the road to the side we were on, then went down the hill to graze into the night.

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Categories : Alpha, Bachelor 7, Grey, Houdini, Kreacher, Mahogany, Pinon, Steeldust, Storm

Friday night

17 11 2008

The sun wasn’t far above the horizon when I arrived in the basin Friday evening. Grey/Traveler and his band and Steeldust and his band – including the ever-present bachelor boys – were waiting for me fairly near the entrance. Grey’s were grazing, but most of Steeldust’s were napping. Babies Ember and Storm were lying down, but Pinon had made a new friend.

Pinon and Aspen

I don’t know what it means … Just a pic to make ya go “hmm.” They grow up so fast!

The light was just perfect, and the horses were relaxed and soaking it in before another long, chilly night. (The temperature dropped into at least the mid-20s overnight.)

Last light

Grey/Traveler and his band were just below the road on a hill above the area where Steeldust’s band was hanging out. Not too much interaction between the two bands (at least while I was watching), but there would be plenty of action later among Steeldust’s hangers-on.

Houdini and Iya

Houdini and leggy Iya

Iya

Big, curious girl. She looks like a draft horse foal, doesn’t she?

Sleepy baby

Storm’s doing his impression of a curly haired bison calf here. Kestrel and Sundance in the background.

Sisters?

Hollywood’s girls, Piedra and Baylee. Baylee is Mahogany’s yearling daughter. … Piedra has her ears. Maybe. Need a chuckle? Check out Piedra’s lower lip.

Looking for trouble

Well, maybe not all of them …

Uh oh

Chrome has noticed that Hollywood’s not guarding his girls, not paying attention, chatting with pal Aspen, who also has noticed at this point that Chrome is making his move.

The approach

Chrome’s feeling lucky …

The rejection

Baylee says “no way! can’t you see I’m underage?!”

The rescue

Chrome paws the ground in frustration after Hollywood finally comes to his girl’s rescue.

Better luck next time

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, eh?

Show me the love

Chrome wasn’t the only one in a romantic mood on a Friday night. This photo was taken just a few moments after the lead photo in the next post (“Affirmation”). Alpha flirted a bit half-heartedly, but Steeldust knew it wasn’t his lucky day. One difference between a roguish teenager and a seasoned family man!

And I forgot a photo from earlier in the day:

Pintos

The pinto band with the bay boys – minus Ty. Leading lady is Kiowa, followed by Spook, Chipeta, Reya, Copper, Corazon and Mesa. This was taken from the county road right alongside the herd area. Saturday, from Round Top, I spotted Cinch and Bruiser very briefly before I lost them in the folded hills, with Ty not quite with them but very nearby. Remember his little altercation with Copper from last weekend? Maybe leaving the band to find his bachelor pals was his version of a cold shower. It’s fall, sure, but who says romance is only for spring time?

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Categories : Alpha, Grey, Hollywood, Houdini, Pinon, pintos, Steeldust, Storm

Wild horse chase – Sunday, Nov. 9, 2008

13 11 2008

Think “goose,” think Seven, think more than a month since I’ve seen the boy and his girls. The gauntlet has been thrown, and I’m on the trail of Seven, Molly and Roja. My trail has been cold so far, and this weekend wasn’t any different. I’ll keep looking – it’s half the fun!

Since a report a few weekends ago that Seven had been spotted near Brumley Point, I’ve been concentrating my searches in that area. Last weekend, I hiked in and went around farther south. This weekend, I hiked in and made a loop up to the northwest to Round Top and around westish and southish back to the road. Did see the pintos and their solid pals. Did see Bruiser and Cinch. Did see the Glynns riding between Flat and Round tops.

Waiting

Have I mentioned these spotted creatures of habit? Hill. Pintos. Check. Call it my natural stair-stepper, that hill. Copper, Kiowa, Reya, Spook, Chipeta and Ty were toward the top of the hill – Mesa and Corazon out of sight – and they saw me coming from a mile away (maybe literally). But they were calm, and I set a diagonal course to reach the top of the hill south of them. When I poked up at the top edge of the hill, Spook-girl spotted me right away, but Chipeta – seen here – and Kiowa (at least) were standing so they faced down the hill. Watching for me? Surely. I waited until they noticed Spook’s attention and saw me, then walked on up. I had a fairly single-minded goal of looking for Seven’s band, and I wasn’t necessarily going to take any more photos of this band, but who can resist? Not me.

Stallion action

With Mesa and Corazon presumably in the trees – out of my sight, anyway – Ty decided to make his move. It was not a move well received by either Copper or the girls, however. You can kinda see Chipeta – far left – at the lower end of a kick to the boys. I’m not sure she was aiming for either of them particularly, just both of them.

Mama and babies

Resistance is futile?? Who can resist those faces? That’s Mama Kiowa with baby Spook in the middle and yearling Reya.

Around then, there was a whinny from the trees – Mesa or Corazon? It turned out to be a “where are you guys” call from Corazon. One thing I’ve noticed is that the ponies rarely whinny, and the message seems fairly urgent when they do. Mesa came out later.

Having seen Cinch and Bruiser between Flat Top and Round Top on Saturday, I didn’t expect to see them there again, but I had seen David and Shadow there a few weekends ago, so that area was my northernmost goal. When I first saw the boys, they were looking at something, but all I could see was something red through the trees. It turned out to be the Glynns, watching the boys from the other side. They rode up to where I was, and we chatted a bit, then they rode on south to see the pintos (still out on their hill), and I headed southwestish. Soon after I watched David and Doris ride over a ridge east of Round Top, I spotted Poco and Bones way, way far away against the far grey hills. Roach must have been nearby. Not another horse did I see – except the pintos again as I approached the Jeep.

Seven, pony, where are you?

Into the basin on the main road. Binoculars helped me spot the new girls – still on THEIR hill. I stopped at the water catchment to check the level of water in the drinking troughs; I turned off the flow of water Saturday. Still good.

Didn’t see Grey/Traveler and his band on my way in, but I did see them on my way out – still near the catchment. They’re definitely staying close to that fresh water.

On the loop road, as I approached the Round Top intersection, some of Steeldust’s horses, then Bounce came into view, looking at something. Then I saw Doris and David, so I stopped so I wouldn’t interfere with their observation of the horses. I was within view of that old enclosure right off the road but pretty far from the horses and at least partially blocked from their view by hills. I thought the horses would head west and low, toward the arroyo, and I’d see them appear out in that “valley.” So I took the time to write some notes on my earlier adventures … then looked up to see horses coming right toward me!

Alegre and Gaia

Bounce’s girls stopped ahead of and east of the Jeep.

Bounce

Bounce stopped behind them and looked back for followers. What a handsome boy he is. They trotted on down the hill, out of sight, and ended up out in the open to the east.

Two mamas, two babies

Storm and Alpha, Ember and Luna.

When the band realized I was there and saw the Jeep, they stopped, milled around, then started grazing – or just standing around like cool cats.

Three boys grey

Kreacher, Hook and Chrome.

More boys

A wider view of more boys: Comanche at left and Aspen and Duke in the center (Aspen standing sideways to the camera). Knife Edge in the background.

Pals

Hook and Chrome. Sometimes I wonder how long some of these bachelor boys have known each other. Did they grow up together, like Storm and Pinon?

Hollywood and girls ... and one little boy

Hollywood with Piedra and Baylee – sisters, I think – with Pinon in the background. Pinon is definitely Baylee’s little brother. If Piedra’s dam also is Mahogany, he’s her little brother, too! You can see the road behind him.

Around this time, the Glynns had ridden up on a far ridge, and I realized we had the horses trapped between us. Plus, the horses all turned around to look at them, so then I had only butt shots! I started moving around them toward the Glynns so the horses didn’t feel squeezed and could continue on if they chose. They were very calm, though, and had mostly started grazing again.

Snack time

I’m not sure if Alpha here was looking at my Jeep or at Bounce, Alegre and Gaia as they moved away from the ridge and horses and humans and excitement. Steeldust had walked around Alpha as Storm nursed and stopped right in front of her, as if to keep her from going any farther.

Auntie Luna standing by

Again with the wider view, here to show “Auntie Luna” very close by.

Little boy, little girl

Storm and Ember

Like mother, like son

Striking similiarity, eh? Mahogany and Pinon. Ember and Storm were just to the left, and they tagged along in Pinon’s wake as he passed them with Mama.

I walked the road down to where David and Doris were watching from their hill. The horses stayed in the area for quite a while as we talked and watched them. When they started to move on, so did we, both taking the road back toward the dugout intersection.

Heading out

This may actually be the photo I was thinking of when I wrote this morning’s post about Saturday’s adventures. That IS Flat Top in the background. So many landmarks … so many ways to present them!

Closer look

Zoom-zoom.

Uneventful, the rest of the day. We woke up to snow Monday morning in Mancos, so I hope the basin got some more of that moisture. It melted right away here, so I’m sure it did there as well. We’ll take all the moisture we get after our recent dry spell. Weather is certainly turning toward winter. The ponies are all fuzzy and look great.

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Categories : Alegre, Alpha, Bounce, Hollywood, Kreacher, Mahogany, Pinon, Steeldust, Storm, Ty

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

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

Wild magic

16 09 2008

Some days I go to the basin and enter this sort of magic bubble. (OK, a lot of days that happens.) Part of the magic is that I KNOW it’s magic as I’m experiencing it. Sometimes, I can come right home and go through photos and post them to share the horses with all of you … sometimes, it’s an experience I just want to keep all to myself.

On the surface, there was nothing particularly special about Sunday. It was sunny, with a light breeze; hardly a cloud in the sky. But the light was enveloping rather than harsh, even in the middle of the day. At one point, I sat on a rock, Grey and Two Boots and Jif peaceful right in front of me, and I just marveled at the bliss of it all. I’m still overwhelmed by it.

What a year this has been, and it’s far from over. Blessed am I to be able to feel that wild magic on a regular basis. How can I possibly bring to the horses what they bring to me? Maybe a little protection … maybe sharing their stories helps. If you can spend time with wild horses, whether in Spring Creek Basin or elsewhere, do it. You will never forget their special magic.

New family

What to call this new family? Copper’s band, which he stole from pinto stallion Bruiser, includes Kiowa, Reya, Spook and Chipeta … and his bachelor pals Corazon, Ty and Mesa. Copper does seem to be still in charge. I hiked in from the road without seeing them and found them where they were a couple of weeks ago. Copper is a little ribby but looks otherwise fine. The mares don’t seem too impressed with him …

Spook, Kiowa and Copper

What a mudball! But just on this side. The only ones NOT covered in mud were Spook and the bachelors, Corazon, Ty and Mesa. Yearling filly Reya was so covered in mud she looked grey.

Can't be bothered

Chipeta, in particular, didn’t hustle to obey her new stallion. Copper was trying to snake her back to the band, to the left, but her attitude here clearly shows her indifference. She stood there, even as he walked right up to her with his nose practically on the ground; she snoozed; she looked at me; she wiggled her ears at him. …

If you insist

Finally she decided to go back to the band. I doubt Copper is a whole lot older than she is.

I didn’t see Bruiser and Cinch; I hope they’re still together. Neither did I see David and Shadow.

Right after I drove in the main entrance to the basin, I found filmmaker James Kleinert and a friend saying their good-byes after a weekend camping trip. James told me Grey/Traveler and his band were out in the open near the water catchment. After most of the day looking for them last Sunday, this past Sunday, they were waiting to welcome me!

They were just at the southeast corner of Filly Peak. Most of the band were just west of the road, but baby Iya was on the other side of the road, rubbing and chewing on one of the uranium claim stakes (you go, girl!). I stopped and walked up to almost the base of the butte, where I found the perfect rock to sit on. There I sat and watched and happily composed photos while they (Grey and Two Boots at first, then Jif) wandered quite close, grazing all the while.

Iya at lunch time

Iya finally abandoned the stake for a snack.

Grazing

Water was close by (the road and water catchment are down to the left), and they had good grass there.

Scratching post, err, rock

Iya investigated this big boulder and decided it was most perfectly suited for heiny itches.

Peek-a-boo

Big sister Two Boots also investigated this big boulder and decided it was best suited for a game of hide-n-seek.

Beautiful from any angle

You wouldn’t know unless I told you, but this is one shot in a short series where he looks normal; in most of the others, he was chewing, which gave him a pretty funny expression. He looks up so briefly, it’s hard to catch him at it.

Watchful

I had been sitting with them about 15 to 20 minutes when this truck appeared on the road. Two Boots saw it first and turned around to watch. Grey/Traveler walked down to her, and Houdini, Iya and Twister walked away from the road a short distance toward them (they’re to the right). I was worried they’d bolt away, but the guy drove slowly, and I talked to them, and after the truck passed, they went back to grazing. Jif had come around the boulder toward me while grazing, then looked up at me, then walked down and around Grey and Two Boots where they had turned back toward me, then looked at me again, then went back to grazing. Funny girl. She has filled out and looks pretty good. After another 15 minutes or so, Grey started grazing back down toward Houdini. TwoB and Jif followed him, and when they had gone back past the big boulder, I got up and went back down to the Jeep. Wow.

Luna and Mahogany

Two great broads for wildness.

I found Steeldust’s band around the loop in the east, right off the road, napping in the end-of-day sunlight. Mouse (eternally yearning for Piedra) and his buddies Comanche and Aspen were with the band, but Duke and Hook, Kreacher and Chrome were off on some adventure of their own.

Sleepy time

Comanche and Aspen napping near the band.

More sleepy boys

The little dark butt Butch is rubbing on is Pinon’s. He wandered over to take a nap with his big buddies and his daddy.

Big softie

Don’t let the tough-guy act fool ya. Steely Dan is a sweetheart! I imagine Butch is one of his sons, 2 or 3 years old, and I’ve been waiting to see if he was going to kick him and Sundance out of the band. Maybe with the other bachelor boys hanging around, those two youngsters will enjoy the family a little longer. You can see Kestrel at back left and Ember’s face.

Boys 'n' babies

From left, Steeldust, Mouse in the background, Butch, Sundance, Pinon and Ember (the only girl in the pic!).

Pinon, Storm and Alpha

Here’s Alpha looking after the boys. I keep marveling at how gracious she has been, allowing me such access to her baby. Not only does she graze (with her head down, not always watching me), like she moved off to do right after I took this photo, but she doesn’t seem to worry about keeping Storm right with her. Thank you, my beautiful girl!

Little man

Our baby Storm is growing like the proverbial weed!

Queen of the hill

When everybody woke up, they walked down into an arroyo and up the hill on the other side. Sisters Kestrel and Ember liked this little outcropping.

Storm on the ridge

I didn’t even realize I had this photo until I was going through them on the computer. Although it looks like I’m right next to him, I’m down the hill and across the arroyo. Power of the (long) lens.

They wandered up the side of the hill onto the top, and I bid them farewell and went back to check on Grey’s band. James had said he got some fantastic footage of the horses the previous night with the moon coming up behind them. Wow?!! So I thought I’d hang around a little and see if I could get that lucky.

Curious girl!

Iya is one curious baby! She likes to check everything out, including the water tank by the water catchment. She walked all the way around it, sniffing and licking the edges and checking out the water.

Jif

I don’t think you can see it in this small photo, but she was looking in the direction of the setting sun, and she had a little sparkle in her eye. Does she look serene or what? She may be sporting the world’s longest dreadlock there.

Basin moonrise

Sometimes you just have to let the magic speak for itself.

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Categories : Alpha, Corazon, Grey, Houdini, Jif, Luna, Mahogany, Pinon, 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

Glorious rain – Aug. 31, 2008

31 08 2008

Spring Creek running

We start this weekend’s story in the middle of the story. From the wilderness study area in the southern part of the herd area, I got chased out twice by monstrous black clouds and threatening thunder. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen clouds that downright ugly. Walking around with a personalized lightning-bolt-attractor in the form of a metal monopod … not the smartest thing I’ve been accused of. The storms dropped rain in a very localized area – they came in sort of stationary “waves” and never passed out of the very east “pocket” of the basin, right inside the boundary ridgeline.

Fast forward to my drive into the main part of the basin. So far so good – until I hit the Spring Creek crossing! OK, so it’s not exactly clear, but it has to be indicative of more and possibly better water upstream (the point of this is that I think Spring Creek originates in the east). Any water in the basin is a good thing. All that grass in the east is going to benefit from the rain, too, and that benefits the ponies! So I got out of the Jeep and did a happy dance before I took some pix for documentation purposes.

No cross here

This photo, like the one above, was taken from about the same spot – about mid-stream just downstream of the crossing. This one isn’t as dramatic as the first, but from the two pictures, you can tell that water is running in two “streams.” What you might not be able to tell is how gushy the mud gets when it becomes mud!

In the first photo, the darker soil right above the water is the high-water mark! It was about 2.5-3 feet above the arroyo. The water went about 8-10 feet away from the flat of the crossing, which is at the top of the photo. Before I went to the basin this weekend, I decided to take my mountain bike. I walked through the creek in my sandals, carrying my bike, and rode from there. Awesome!

But … I’m getting ahead of myself.

My weekend visit to the horses started at the county road across from the south meadow, where I spotted Cinch, then Bruiser. Hoping to find the others (band and bachelors) also in the meadow, I parked and hiked in. (A quick re-cap: David Glynn alerted me to the change in status of the pinto band and the “southside boys” bachelor band. I found them all last weekend, and Bruiser – band stallion – was definitely out, but it was hard to tell who had become king of the hill, err, band.) This Saturday, Cinch and Bruiser were on the south side of the arroyo that runs out to the road and just at the base of a little hill the horses pass to get into the meadow. So I hiked in on the north side of the arroyo, which provides more tree cover. My main goal was more observation of the new combined band, not photography, so I stayed out of their view until I reached the discreet little deer trail that leads up to the top of the hill north of the meadow. The rest of the horses were not in the meadow, so I went on up.

When I didn’t see the other horses from up top, I headed back down on one of at least two routes that takes the horses to the meadow – the “high” route that crosses the arroyo earlier (farther east) and skirts the hill on the south side of that arroyo. (Both trails take the horses to the better grazing on the south side of the arroyo.) The trail I took has a heights-defying spot that seems in imminent danger of eroding into oblivion. Any fall from there – maybe 15 feet? – would hurt horse or human.

At the edge of the trees above the meadow, I stopped to ready my camera in case the boys were still there. Ready to go and looked up to see two curious dark faces – Cinch and Bruiser. 🙂 Cinch pranced around a little, but Bruiser was so calm, Cinch calmed down as well, and they posed for some pretty pictures. I took pix as I walked around them, and the thunder chased me back to the road.

Sweet boys

It does help the more wary horses to have a calm compadre nearby. Bruiser walks OK, but I noted last weekend that he limps on his left front if he tries to trot. Cinch is sporting a “roached” look here. It’s longer and wispier than Roach’s was when his was roached, probably caused by his pals chewing on it.

My next likely area to search for horses is a big open area just south of the San Miguel/Dolores County line, also right off the county road. On first pass, I didn’t see any horses. But on the hillside just north of the big open: Seven’s band. They’ve done some traveling since the loss of the filly, from the east to the southwest part of the herd area.

Seven's band

Seven with Molly, center, and Roja. Old Molly is still a thin girl, but she’s sure to gain some weight without the filly nursing.

From where I stopped to see them, I spotted Corazon back in the big open (which does have hills and trees and arroyos). Perfect. Another big cloud was brewing in the east, but I was covered in sunshine, and the rain from the previous cloud hadn’t made it to my part of the herd area. So in I walked.

David and Shadow

Hello! It’s always nice when the ponies find you! I was glad to see that once-bachelor David has been able to hold on to yearling filly Shadow, but I was a little worried about them being so close to the other band. And I worried that he’d tip my presence to the band. Not to fear on either account. They must have skirted past the band because I later saw them farther east, and the “new band” was still where I had originally spotted them.

All in the family

Left to right noses at top: Spook, Kiowa, Reya, Chipeta and … drum roll, please … Copper, the mud-encrusted new king. Then Corazon (pinto), Mesa (bay) and Ty.

New family

With top-of-the-heap status comes great responsibility. Copper’s guarding his new family from the bachelors, out of frame to the left.

Pinto girls

Girls with spots. From left, mama Kiowa, her 2008 filly, Spook, 3-year-old Chipeta and Kiowa’s yearling filly, Reya. Very calm; very cool. And it was time to beat the thunder, so I walked away, leaving them very calm and very cool.

And that brings us back to raging Spring Creek.

I had spotted Steeldust’s band and the Bachelor 7 way around in the east at about the curve where the road heads south, so I headed that way by bike. It was way cool to get out of the Jeep and on the bike in the basin. I got off the bike at the washout. You could definitely see by the soil that it had rained hard back there. The horses didn’t seem to see me ride up, so I stood on the road on the other side of the washout until the bachelors saw me and alerted the band, then walked on down the road. They were up the hill away from the road … checked me out, then went back to grazing. A good problem to have, I guess!

Baby Storm was hammin’ it up, though, so I got some good pictures of the little boy.

Pinon nursing

Storm nursing

By the time I got out to them, it was around 7ish – dinner time!

Baby boys

Pinon, left, is about 3 and a half months old, and Storm is about a month and a week old. Pinon has gotten a lot darker in the past few weeks.

Posin'

No words necessary. 🙂

What kind of flowers?

I thought I figured out what kind of flowers these are when they were blooming earlier this summer, but now I can’t remember and can’t find them in my wildflower book(s). They’re blooming – again – all over. (Notice the flowers in the previous pic with Storm. The flowers in this pic were at the edge of the little wash that leads out to the road washout. My bike was just on the other side of them.)

While I was watching Steeldust’s band grazing on the hillside, I spotted Bones, Poco and Bounce farther to the south. And that was Saturday. Really a fabulous day. The loss of the filly still bothers me, but humans who watch wild horses must adapt as they do. Always more to learn.

Sunday’s story is all about rain! I slept in the Jeep right inside the herd area boundary. Woke up around 1 a.m. after a dream that I woke up in the Jeep the next morning and it had snowed and a guy was skiing up the road into the basin! Reality: At 1 a.m., lightning was flashing sporadically to the west, but the sky was filled with stars (you really haven’t lived till you’ve seen that night sky – phenomenal), so I went back to sleep.

Woke up at 3:15 to rain tapping on the Jeep’s roof. I don’t recommend this, but I spent the rest of the night at the intersection at the county road … and woke up just before daylight to steady rain. If I hadn’t wanted to see my Grey-boy so badly, I’d have called it a day at 7 a.m. and headed for home. Yeah …

Long story short, I inched my way back into the basin but got stopped before the first “V” arroyo. The road was good till that point, but it took me awhile because I kept stopping to scan for horses. I stopped for good above that arroyo. By then, I had already spotted Steeldust’s band and the B7, and I had found Bounce, Alegre and Gaia way back in east park. So I had seen all but the one horse (and band) I wanted to see. It had stopped raining, and the sun had peeked through the clouds a couple of times, but huge dark clouds still loomed over the east ridge of the basin and back to the west. The length of looming almost had me convinced I could bike from there to see if I could find Grey/Traveler’s band around the far side of Lizard Mesa (east of Knife Ridge). Then I happened to spot something white far to the north.

Nine times out of 10, a white spot is a rock. The 10th time, you get lucky, and it’s Alpha, Houdini or Traveler. I grabbed the binoculars, and bingo, baby; there was my boy … and Houdini and Jif and Twister, and Two Boots and Iya, standing together under a tree. Did I say far to the north? I mean WAY far to the north. I mean way far northeastish of last August’s trap site. I mean so way far away I couldn’t see a way to get to them without a (really) long (long) hike.

About three minutes after I took some reference pictures, I checked the west clouds – uh oh. Big black cloud had become a grey sheet of rain. I really can’t stress enough to visitors that if it rains, you do NOT want to be in the basin OR on the road across private land that leads to the basin. You want to be on the good county road. I wouldn’t have so totally ignored my own advice – and believe me that it made me really nervous to be in the basin. But today is my birthday, and my birthday wish was to see my favorite boy. Wish granted. 🙂

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Categories : Alpha, Bachelor 7, Bounce, Cinch, Corazon, David, Grey, Houdini, Molly, Pinon, Poco, Roach, Roja, Seven, Steeldust, Storm, Ty

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

Spring Creek Basin Mustangs