Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

Snow = snooze time

16 01 2025

Snowy weather almost always brings out the snoozies in the wild ponies. When I took this pic of Madison and Temple napping, there was another napping-on-the-ground horse to the right and THREE others, all lying down, to the left. Two of those three were standing when I first approached, but they ended up lying down with the others, leaving only the lieutenant stallion standing-napping a fairly close distance away.

I’d walked out to them, then to another band a bit farther away, and I took this pic as I was headed back to the road. In the mud, it wasn’t as easy a hike as on dry ground. Why not join them? It was a good time and excuse to stretch out and take a nap among friends. 🙂

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Categories : Filly Peak, Snow, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs

The blues

15 01 2025

There’s not quite as much snow under-hoof as there appears to be in this image with Skywalker, still wet from recently falling snow. … But at this point, ANY little bit is needed and welcome.

Comments : 8 Comments »

Categories : Snow, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs

Snow line

14 01 2025

Never have I thought it would be cool to see the basin from the perspective of above, via a drone, as much as yesterday. The craziest snow squall I may ever have seen went from southeast to northwest across the middle-ish and western parts of Spring Creek Basin and across the areas immediately southwest, west and northwest of the basin (and I can’t say how far north/northwest it continued). No snow from about Disappointment Road west, and none from just above the corrals (along the road on the basin side in the southwestish area of the basin) on up-valley.

It would have been amazing to see the actual line of snow-no-snow from the air, looking straight down.

The above pic with the pronghorns, in the western part of the basin looking northeastish, illustrates it fairly well. Usually if anywhere gets snow, it’s that eastern side of higher-elevation ridges, not NOT that side AND the lower/interior/western part of the basin.

Morning chores prevented me from getting out until the snow had stopped and the sun was shining through the clearing clouds, but this snow DID make the ground damp – wonderfully so.

Not in the forecast (what is happening with the poor forecasts lately?!), but this snow was very welcome!

Comments : 9 Comments »

Categories : Pronghorn, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area

Winter bay boy

13 01 2025

There’s Tenaz, showing off his glorious bay coat in all its winter fuzziness again. 🙂 Windy and cold, but the mustangs don’t seem to mind a bit.

Comments : 8 Comments »

Categories : McKenna Peak, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs

All Flash, not much snow

12 01 2025

When a wild pony poses, you generally have about 2.7 seconds to either take the shot or get into position to take the shot … or you don’t get the shot because wild ponies don’t generally hang about posing for paparazzi.

Flash did me a super solid and posed for probably at least 12.8 seconds before he moseyed on after his mares.

Plenty ‘o time. 🙂

That’s snow in the background, swirling and whirling with the wind between us and McKenna Peak and Temple Butte. It snowed in the morning, too, but other than the far eastern ridges of Spring Creek Basin, it left nothing behind. … And by the time I took this pic in the evening, most of what had stuck to those ridges was gone again.

Keep trying, Mother Nature. We need that moisture badly (and that makes me think of the terrible wildfires in California, where I read they’ve had just 0.16 inch of moisture since May … ouch. THAT is just astoundingly dry). Keep trying, Mother Nature. …

Comments : 8 Comments »

Categories : Knife Edge, McKenna Peak, Snow, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Temple Butte

Moon over Sancho

11 01 2025

This isn’t the most flattering angle of Sancho, but I was walking down a narrow, not-too-deep arroyo, and he came to see what the heck I was doing down there, and with the moon already way high in the bright-blue-clear sky, I decided to see if he’d stay where he was while I did some low-to-the-ground gyrations to get the moon above him. 🙂

The full wolf moon will rise full on Monday evening.

Comments : 4 Comments »

Categories : Moon, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs

Pinto fringe

10 01 2025

The pintos do the BEST job of showing off their winter fuzzies. Thanks, Chipeta. 🙂

Comments : 11 Comments »

Categories : Uncategorized

Mustang yoga

9 01 2025

Forget the goats. Join the mustangs for a little stretching session. 🙂

That’s McKenna Peak in the background, still under foggy snow. We got a skiff of snow that morning (Tuesday morning), but it didn’t last long. Nor did it make the ground any kind of damp when it was gone. Our need for snow is getting a bit desperate.

Comments : 9 Comments »

Categories : McKenna Peak, Snow, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs

Arched

8 01 2025

Because … who can get *too much* Flash!? 🙂

Comments : 9 Comments »

Categories : Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs

Standing tall

7 01 2025

Flash pauses on high ground while his mares continue on to water at a pond back in late December.

There were a few spots of snow on the ground, still, then. We have a bit of snow in our forecast for tomorrow morning. Clouds were low most of yesterday (a lot like those pictured), and mountains already were getting some to maybe a decent snowfall. Cross your fingers; Flash and his mares and the rest of the herd need some winter moisture!

Comments : 7 Comments »

Categories : Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs