… and shines with golden light …
End of the day … Kootenai and Mysterium.
All that glitters
14 10 2011Comments : 4 Comments »
Categories : Kootenai, Mysterium, Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
Pati and Sherwood
14 10 2011
Some well-deserved praise after …
and …
How gorgeous are they?
I got to spend some time with them this week (Sherwood is my “godchild,” Pati says, and I couldn’t be more proud!) and am just thrilled at the sight of them. I mentioned before that Sherwood isn’t Pati’s first mustang, but he’s certainly her latest challenge. Smart as the proverbial whip, this boy. Good thing she’s a great teacher!
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Categories : Adoption, National Mustang Association/CO, Rio, Sherwood, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
Jif
14 10 2011First of all, Jif is fine. In fact, Jif is better than fine now.
Her story needed to wait to be told (to this point) because it was different than the others and had a bit of the law attached (quite a bit, actually, though I don’t know all the details).
Jif was branded.
Not a BLM brand, a ranch brand. Possibly registered in Wyoming.
So after the roundup, she became the responsibility of the state of Colorado while the law was followed in trying to find her owner and/or the owner of the brand. During that time, she was a “guest” of the sale barn outside Cortez.
Jif was one of the first horses I documented the day I started documenting the mustangs of Spring Creek Basin. She was with Hollywood. So I never knew her as anything but one of the herd. She was not rounded up in 2007. Grey/Traveler stole her in the spring of 2008 (out from under the noses of Hollywood, Steeldust, the two young stallions in his band (Butch and Sundance) and the Bachelor 7, who were all basically attached to Steeldust’s band at that time). In the fall of 2009, she was stolen by or went with Chrome, who had been dogging Traveler’s band since that summer. She was still part of his band during the roundup.
Wednesday night, she found a forever home, courtesy of K of the Telluride Animal Foundation. It was an ordeal, and that’s all I’m going to say about it. K and A came with a trailer, and they also took home a weanling colt and a bay gelding. Many, many thanks to D, who was involved from the beginning, and huge gratitude to K and A, who put in a very long day to see her home.
Comments : 4 Comments »
Categories : Jif
Kiowa
13 10 2011These are the hardest posts to write, and we’ve had maybe more than our fair share now.
Kiowa was put down at Canon City because of rapidly deteriorating condition from an infection that started with a leg injury. I spoke with Lona at Canon City for quite a while. Don’t know how the original injury occurred. Hacho is doing fine, and she is soon to be on her way back to the area with most of the other horses that are being adopted or bought (according to age).
Kiowa was an excellent mother and alpha mare. She’s one of three mares that had a surviving foal each year between 2007 and 2011, and at least two of her foals (Reya and Maiku) carry on her legacy in Spring Creek Basin.
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Categories : Kiowa
Moved by purpose
9 10 2011Yesterday, I sent a friend a quote I read on another blog:
“Think of all the beauty still left around us and be happy.” – Anne Frank
Today, I picked up a couple of the magazines that have accumulated in the last few months, that I’ve been too busy to look at, and read a headline about having purpose in your photography. I’ve tried to do that with mine, of the mustangs of Spring Creek Basin. I couldn’t quite read the article.
Then I picked up the latest issue of News Photographer. Though I no longer take photos as part of my job, I keep my subscription. The story was by an American photojournalist embedded at a NATO hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan. I read most of it. The photos are intense. One small part of the opening photo, spread across two pages, stays with me, a nurse or doctor, looking over her shoulder at something behind the photographer … her hand under that of the man in the bed; he doesn’t seem like he could possibly be aware.
At the end of the article, after a particularly difficult day, the photographer spots James Nachtwey, war photographer, and stops to speak with him, to tell him about his influence, the reason he’s standing there, at a NATO hospital a world away from his home. The article ends with this quote:
“If you go some place for a purpose, you want to fulfill that purpose. It requires you to keep yourself together, and pay attention and concentrate and get the job done – well.” – James Nachtwey.
That’s exactly – exactly – how I felt at the roundup. A dear few, much respected and loved people helped me keep it together; I would have been lost without you. I would have been lost all along without the purpose of the horses. To all of you helping with that purpose … I thank you again and again and again …
Comments : 6 Comments »
Categories : Advocacy, Disappointment Wild Bunch Partners, National Mustang Association/CO, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
Rio – now named Sherwood
7 10 2011Good friend of the mustangs (and adopter of burros!) Ann took these pix last week of NMA/CO’s Pati and the colt she adopted, yearling Rio. She has named him Sherwood. That name has some history, so I’ll let Pati explain it!
“Sherwood is a year-and-a-half-old colt named in honor of Sherwood McGuigan, who was president of the National Mustang Association/Colorado for 10 years.”[Sherwood was one of the founding members of NMA/CO, and we owe a great deal to her for shepherding NMA/CO into the organization it is today.]
Pati is an amazing woman herself. I first met Pati shortly before the 2007 roundup, and from then forward, I have come to rely heavily on her knowledge of mustangs in general and Spring Creek Basin mustangs in particular. She and her husband, David, are my ultimate support pair, anchoring me always on this journey of the horses. They have been involved with NMA/CO from nearly the beginning. Our beautiful Pati is one of the strongest women I’ve ever met.
Here’s what she says about her training process with Sherwood: “The first day home, I followed him slowly around the round pen for two hours, stepping back each time he turned toward me and/or approached and being careful to never block his forward movement. The next day, I hand-fed him fresh grass and began brushing his nose, then sides of his face with strands of grass or hay. By the third day, I could reach up and scratch his forehead while feeding him and then introduced a strand of baling twine and moved it up and down his face and ultimately over his ears. By holding the two ends, I encouraged him to come forward to pressure and step over his hindquarters. Later, I replaced the twine with a thick cotton rope and continued to move it about his body, being careful to slowly desensitize him to the new feeling.”
Ann described these photos as a series in the dance between Pati and Sherwood. I think she’s right.
Little guy is doing so well! Mr. Sherwood is just the most recent mustang Pati and David have adopted. He couldn’t be in better hands.
Comments : 8 Comments »
Categories : Adoption, Rio, Sherwood, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
A scene, seen
6 10 2011
A just-because post … because it was the end of a great day, because the ponies were awesome, because the day was filled with them, because they are going to be OK, because they are strong and resilient, because they make me better than I knew I could be.
Comments : 5 Comments »
Categories : Chrome, Hayden, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Terra, Winona
Ze and Asher
5 10 2011My gorgeous and huge-hearted friend Tif adopted Chipeta’s colt- and has named him Asher (meaning “blessed”) – and Ze.
They are all doing so amazingly well. Every time I listen to Tif talk about them or read about them in an email or SEE her with them and them with her, it just about explodes my heart, it’s so beautiful. I wish this kind of wonderful, loving home for all our mustangs. Things come to us on life’s journey for a reason, and I believe that so firmly in this case, especially.
I visited them the other day with my camera and, with Tif’s permission, am sharing some of the pix here. Clearly, these two mustang boys are adored and loved!
Here’s what she says about them:
“My ‘boys’ are doing great. The foal has been named ‘Asher’ meaning Blessed. He and my paint mare are attached at the hip. They amaze me. She is his surrogate mom, teaching him how to be a horse. She disciplines him, protects him and checks on him constantly. Asher runs in the upper pasture everyday and comes in at night. He is incredibly strong and beautiful. He still gets milk three times a day, he’s eating foal pellets, but is really liking grass/alfalfa hay. He also has an unlimited supply of water on hand. His cuts from the fence are healing nicely and he’s ready for his month old shots. I hate to do that to him, but he’s in a much better place to handle it. I plan to keep him on the milk until he’s at least two months old, then we’ll see where he’s at. He is a regular foal, not wild at all. I have the best of both worlds, the genetics of a mustang, but the taming of a domestic, if that makes sense.
“Ze is likewise incredible. I go in with him several times a day. He joins up with me, follows me everywhere, takes food from my hand, wants to be so close at times that I have to back him away. I have touched him and sometimes still do, but that’s still on his terms. He has the most soulful eyes; he’s curious, inquisitive and so wanting to be with me when I’m out there. He drinks water like crazy and loves food. Go figure!! I have the wonderful native grass hay that I got from the Temples and he loves it. I’m transitioning him to that from the certified grass hay. He’s still wary at times, which is to be expected, but he touches me, nuzzles me, tries to take my hat off, etc. Still on his own terms, but that’s how it’s going to be for awhile and I’m fine with that.”
Asher was taking a nap when I arrived. He’s in a cozy pasture with foster mom Pepper and big stepdaddy Quest. Look how shiny-beautiful he is!
Asher and Pepper, who has never had a foal of her own, bonded almost immediately after Tif brought him home.
Isn’t he just gorgeous?
She’s feeding him the “foal milk” and mashing up foal pellets, and he likes hay …
… and for comfort, sweet-girl Pepper.
Baby loves his two-legged foster mom, too!
Ze is doing amazingly well. There’s a super-obvious thread that connects him to Tif and vice versa, and it’s awesome to see.
Do you SEE it?? I love their expressions looking at each other.
Eating hay from her hand.
Licking her hand.
She does go in the roundpen with him and sits and works with him.
So quiet and patient … and he’s absorbing every bit of it.
Out, out, darn bar! But I love this image, still, because of their bond – so clear. They’re exchanging breaths.
If you would like to update me/readers about the horse or horses you’ve adopted, please drop me a note at mtbgrrl (at) fone (dot) net. I would love to hear from you.
Comments : 9 Comments »
Categories : Adoption, Asher, Spring Creek Basin mustangs, Ze
Sage, Cuatro, Hannah and Briosa
5 10 2011Update about Sage, Cuatro, Hannah and Briosa. They look like they’re settling in and doing very well!
- Briosa
- Hannah
- Hannah
- Briosa and Hannah
- Cuatro and Sage
- Cuatro (left) and Sage
Don’t they all look great? And even some nice fall color from our corner of Colorado.
Photos by Alice (who is going to adopt Liberty). Neighbor Dana adopted these four beauties.
Comments : 3 Comments »
Categories : Adoption, Briosa, Cuatro, Hannah, Sage, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
Fierro and Cougar
5 10 2011Before I found out about Hook, I was working on updates about some of our adopted mustangs. Some great rain yesterday here in Southwest Colorado has put off my trip to the horses … so I’m going to go ahead and post these.
From Lacie, who adopted Fierro and Cougar: “The picture I am sending is of my 3-year-old daughter feeding Fierro by hand in the pen. I adopted both Cougar and Fierro, and they are doing wonderful. Cougar is still a little shy, but Fierro is very friendly and nosey. The picture was taken on Sept 27.”
How great is that? I think these two have found friends for life.
Lacie, thank you so much for adopting these boys and for giving us this update! Fierro looks marvelous!
Comments : 2 Comments »
Categories : Adoption, Cougar, Fierro, Spring Creek Basin mustangs
