Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

40th anniversary

15 12 2011

In honor of a woman, Velma Johnston – aka Wild Horse Annie – and the wild horses and burros she ought to protect …

Today is the 40th anniversary of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.

The Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 is an Act of Congress (Pub.L. 92-195) signed into law President Richard M. Nixon on Dec. 15, 1971. The Act made it a crime for anyone to harass or kill feral horses or feral burros on federal land, required the departments of the Interior and Agriculture to protect the animals, required studies of the animals’ habits and habitats, and permitted public land to be set aside for their use. In addition, the act required that mustangs be protected as “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West,” and that management plans must “maintain a thriving natural ecological balance among wild horse populations, wildlife, livestock, and vegetation and to protect the range from the deterioration associated with overpopulation.” Although feral horse ranges were principally for the protection of the horses, the land was required to be maintained for multiple use. The BLM was also permitted to close public land to livestock grazing to protect feral horse and burro habitat. – Wikipedia

Although in many places – and for Spring Creek Basin until the last year – it seems like not a lot has changed, I am thankful that we have good people in the Tres Rios Field Office who recognize the horses as important to the ecological fabric of the land and are willing to make them the priority on that range. NMA/CO and Disappointment Wild Bunch Partners are working through partnership and education to accomplish our goals for this herd.

To the outside world, it may seem like not much has changed here, with the helicopter-driven roundup this year. But an annual fertility control program has been implemented, and we’re on track to move to bait trapping. Our goal – and that of our BLM partners – is sustainable management with as little disruption to the wild horses of Spring Creek Basin as possible.

Everything we do is built on everything that came before – nationally and specifically. Their light is shining.

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Categories : Advocacy, Kootenai, Mysterium, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Sundance, Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act

Alegre’s world

12 12 2011

Wordless.

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

Silver and snow

12 12 2011

And a million other colors, too.

Baby Aurora nuzzles mama Alegre … whose dredlocks grow ever longer. The ends brush over the sage and saltbush when she grazes.

Talk about a splash of color! Against the glare of sunlight and snow, from a distance, she looked as black as ‘Rora.

With sister and mama.

It’s not an easy thing, photographing a wee black girl against a big white world.

Easier to shoot white on white!

Especially sprinkled with a dash of copper color!

Pale girls stand out against far blue hills.

She looks serene but for the settling toss of her mane! Caught a pause while she was rolling.

Isn’t she shiny and gorgeous? Looks so much like daddy Bounce.

Beloved boy is taking excellent care of her …

… of them all.

Silver, shining.

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Categories : Alegre, Aurora, Corona, Gaia, Grey, Houdini, La Sal Mountains, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs

Storm Shadow

11 12 2011

On a bright and shining day. 🙂

Shadow and Storm. They were waiting for Aspen’s band, who were apparently waiting for Sundance’s band to drink down in the arroyo. Shadow would get impatient and wander away. Storm would turn his head to look at her, then go back to watching the other horses. Patience of a … wild horse, that one. 😉 No sign of David, though Duke and Kreacher were not too far to the west, and Bounce, Tenaz and Seven were together far to the northeast. (They were fairly close together last week, all together, a bit east of this location.)

She’ll be 5 in the spring. He’ll be 4 the end of July.

Shadow against the La Sals (which are in Utah, this east, Colorado side of Moab).

He stood on that ridge for a long time, watching and waiting, His ridge falls away to a little bench above the actual arroyo, and I’m on the other side of it. We’re about in the heart of the basin right here.

I love how furry and handsome and shiny they are!

Comments : 4 Comments »

Categories : La Sal Mountains, Shadow, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Storm

Hollywood & Juniper

11 12 2011

Nope, not daddy and daughter, not even stepdaddy. Just a big playmate who tolerates a little girl’s energy. 🙂

Fuzzy, furry filly! Feeling frisky in the frozen-ness! (Ha!)

He’s pretending to graze while he checks me out.

Daddy Comanche has her back.

Oh, the language of horses … Juniper hangs right with him, apparently disregarding completely the message of the ears. For Piedra, though, she has a healthy respect. And despite Holls’ terrible ferociousness (mm hmm) … he’s such a sweetheart with her. 🙂

Don’t you love his warmth against the cold?

Comments : 6 Comments »

Categories : Hollywood, Juniper, La Sal Mountains, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs

Comanche

11 12 2011

Comanche – love this big guy! The light patch on his shoulder is his breath. It was only slightly below freezing, but there was enough moisture in the air that our breath was visible. (Did you notice it in the pic of Shadow in a previous post?)

Tall, dark-eyed and dappled – wow! 😉

How handsome is he?

It was while I was photographing him and his extended family – right close with Hollywood and Piedra still – that I realized I had left all my extra memory cards at home. I had just come from a visit with Grey/Traveler’s band – one direction, McKenna Peak and the unnamed promontory, the other direction, the La Sals. I used up about two-thirds of the card’s capacity just on them. But no problem, thought I. I’ll poach the card from my other camera. Except that’s the camera I used when I took pix recently of Ze and Asher and Skipper – and obviously hadn’t replaced the card yet. And I had spotted Sundance’s, Aspen’s and Storm’s bands when I found Comanche & Co. in a little swale between hills. Oh, how I hate rationing photos.

Let this be a lesson: Always carry extra memory (!). And “be prepared.” What can I say? I was in a hurry to get out to the ponies! At least I remembered to grab extra batteries, keeping warm in my pocket (and I did need them). 🙂

With his girls: Juniper and Kestrel. I don’t think of Juni as so big until I see her with mama. She’s a bit on higher ground, but still. Isn’t she a big, beautiful girl? Definitely takes after daddy, this one!

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Categories : Comanche, Juniper, Kestrel, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs

Calendar – winner(s)!

10 12 2011

Sincerely and with all gratitude, thank you to all who voted for photos of Spring Creek Basin mustangs to grace next year’s calendar! A portion of the proceeds from the calendars will go to the Colorado chapter of the National Mustang Association for projects done in the basin for the horses, such as fence repair, tamarisk cutting and weed spraying, and PZP darting.

The winner of this year’s calendar is Morgan Griffith! Congratulations, Morgan. 🙂 I will send you an email to get your mailing address.

This was a difficult year, in many ways. We lost Spring and Twister, Cinch, Hook and Kiowa … and others to the roundup, necessary to keep the herd and their range healthy and vital. In any case, each was a loss difficult to bear. On the other hand, we gained many friends of the horses who help us move on and work for the sustainable management of the Spring Creek Basin herd.

Here we go for the monthly images. With an eye to the overall calendar and in deference to some horses we lost, however, I’m going to overrule some of the votes.

January

Popular vote (by 3) was for Winona, but Lanny made a very good point: No other calendar will include this grand old warrior – “The Boss,” his adopter calls him – so this month, this year, is dedicated to Steeldust.

February

Popular vote – but not by much! – was for handsome Hollywood.

March

Bruiser earned the popular vote for this month. Cinch – by far – earned votes for the cover. Bruiser is gone from the basin, but Hook is gone from the world.

April

They got a slow start in the voting, but Luna and Varoujan (now called Banjo) earned the popular vote for April, and I must agree!

May

Hard decision. The image of Deniz and Houdini beat this of Alpha by one vote, but going again with the fact that lovely Alpha is no longer in the basin … I think it only right that she grace the calendar for the month of May.

June

By far, the popular vote for June went to the pintos, led here by Kiowa.

July

With one exception (and it was a tie), Twister received more votes than any other horse in any other month. I cry still for this beautiful heart, lost too soon … I am deeply gratified that you all honor him so.

August

Popular vote decided August’s image of Comanche and Chrome, too. Long-time readers know I don’t often show photos like this. Yes, it’s part of the horses’ lives, a relatively small part. But there’s something about this image, these stallions – Comanche and Chrome – on the eve of the event that changed the fabric of those lives …

September

September – the month of the roundup. This photo – taken the week before. A little elder boy, a little girl of the future. A lot of enduring hope.

October

Alegre in the magic light received as many votes as Twister in July. Did this image receive “help”? Surely divine.

November

Popular vote again determined November’s image of Chrome and “friends” – Hollywood’s and Comanche’s bands. Appropriately, this was taken Thanksgiving morning. There is much for which to be thankful this year … in spite of everything, because of everything.

December

A very tight vote, but for the end of the year, the camaraderie of friends, one still with us and sure to inspire a new generation. Though we couldn’t have gone wrong with Comanche and Winona!

And the cover, by very popular vote:

Cover

Cinch. Because.

And there you have it – the 2012 calendar featuring our Spring Creek Basin mustangs!

Update: I’m not much good at this selling thing, so after a reminder to me, here’s a reminder to readers: To order a calendar, please email your postal address to me at mtbgrrl (at) fone (dot) net. They’re $15 – to cover my costs and a $5 donation to NMA/CO. I will try to get them sent out ASAP, depending on how many orders I have (I give these as Christmas gifts, too).

Thank you all! 🙂

Comments : 14 Comments »

Categories : Advocacy, National Mustang Association/CO, Spring Creek Basin mustangs

Calendar – last day

9 12 2011

Reminder: Today is the deadline to vote for calendar pix!

Some images are winners by miles; some months are tight.

I may have to exercise some executive decision-making …

If you’ve procrastinated, you have until 8 p.m. mountain time. Then I’ll draw a name to win a calendar, and I’ll announce the winner and winning photos tomorrow (Dec. 10).

Thank you all so very much for your votes and support of our Spring Creek Basin mustangs!

Shadow, yesterday.

Comments : 4 Comments »

Categories : Advocacy, National Mustang Association/CO, Shadow, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs

Pony fun

9 12 2011

The basin got quite a bit of snow from our last run – probably 3-4 inches (after few days of blazing winter sunshine) of that beautiful, flaky, slippery, cool, dry, million-color-reflecting white stuff. I swear it’s the most beautiful snow in existence. Ponds are frozen, but the horses know where to find puddles that thaw despite their shady locations in deep arroyos and the run of cold temps we’ve also had. And, of course, there’s moisture all around in frozen crystalline form.

But snow is not only for admiring and eating: