Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

4 seconds of fame

20 01 2009

Did you see the Border Patrol group during the inaugural parade? Did you catch the mustangs? The quick shot of the first two horses – black Okanogan and grey Bullet? – was great. Boy, were they shiny and handsome! I think two buckskins were next in line, and two buckskins brought up the rear; I couldn’t tell which was Justice.

I found this blog – http://beautifulmustang.blogspot.com/ – with some photos. She also thinks the lead horses were Okanogan and Bullet. There’s a buckskin in the background of one of the photos …? No mane on the left side – Zeus? Hard to tell.

The thing that hit me in the few seconds they were featured on the channel I watched (C-SPAN; I couldn’t stand the political jabbering on the other channels) was how calm the horses were! It looked like they were taking it all in stride. Pretty darn cool.

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Categories : Uncategorized

Surprise over the ridge

19 01 2009

Hello, my name is TJ, and I am addicted to the wild horses of Spring Creek Basin.

The lessons have been both big and small, but I learn something new about them almost every time I visit, and though two different people last week suggested I need to get a life (away from the horses, I think they meant), almost nowhere else do I find such enjoyment as in the simplicity of days in the wild of the basin. And so I can’t seem to stay away. They mean well, I think, but what other addiction is so healthy and enjoyable and full of benefit?

Perfect nap weather

Steeldust and his big band and Hollywood and the bachelors were out between the loop road and Knife Edge. I was able to drive in and park at the water catchment. (Kreacher and the girls were down in the “valley” southwest of the catchment.) Mouse was close to the band, as he has been in recent months; Duke, Hook and Chrome were fairly close; and Hollywood and Comanche were scrapping a little farther away. Yep, you already guessed the change-up if you know which horses weren’t visible – because they were together. But given that they were all together the last time I saw them, I didn’t think too much about it and stayed on track to visit Steeldust’s band. Oh, notice Butch’s position – he’s lying down at far left. He looks like he’s so sleepy he’s about to roll over on Ember. In the next few moments, he did. They were so close, she had to lift her head over his when he laid his big head on the ground at her knees.

Harrassment

Where have you seen this pose before? Baby brother Storm was trying this with big sister Ember a few weeks ago (at least). In fact, the butt in the background is hers. Pinon was quite a bit more tolerant, but Storm also seemed a bit half-hearted. In fact, here, I love that he seems so focused on me but is still pawing at Pinon – what a multi-tasker!

Three boys

Pinon, Storm and Butch. You can see Ember’s face in the background – flat-out asleep – and that’s Luna behind Butch.

Sentinel Duke

Meanwhile, Duke was on a ridge above the band, taking it all in.

Hook and Chrome

McKenna and the unnamed peaks in the background.

Lover boy

Meanwhile, Steeldust squeezed in a little lovin’ on Alpha-girl. She accepted it – for a few moments – then struck at him and led Storm away. Easy come, easy go, buddy.

Three more boys

Hook and Chrome hooked up with Duke, then they went across the ridge to a little point, where they could look down on the band.

I could see Hollywood on a ridge below, but Comanche had dropped out of sight, and I still hadn’t seen Aspen, Piedra and Baylee. I still hadn’t put it together. I climbed a little higher to make sure no one was on the other side of the highest ridge and found a dry spot for a little lunch break. Then I went down to Hollywood. Found Comanche … and, on the other side of the ridge below Hollywood … Aspen and the girls.

Uh-oh

My first glimpse of change: Hollywood on the ridge (I’m shooting from a ridge parallel to his) and Aspen below with the missing mares. How did I not see that coming? Prior knowledge can be blinding.

All together

Same five horses that have been together since before the holidays … a little change in dynamic. That’s Comanche and Hollywood together in the foreground, and Aspen, left, Piedra, back center, and Baylee in the background.

New lead guy

I gotta say I’m not liking this change. I’m pretty fond of Hollywood, and he’s a better stallion than Aspen, not to mention that Aspen was low on the totem pole among the bachelors. Not as low as Kreacher but maybe above Hook. What is it with these lesser stallions getting the girls?

Snow snack

After most of the past year keeping Mouse at bay, Hollywood loses his mares (and he got not one but two!) to Aspen?! Now, if Holls has a fault as a band stallion, it may be that he’s not always as attentive as he should be, especially with several footloose bachelors on the prowl. Nobody seems to be hurt, so I’m thinking it might have been as simple as Hollywood not paying attention and Aspen sneaking in and snaking the girls away.

The proof

I watched them for quite a while. Because these five horses have been separate from the big band and together for at least the past several weeks, I figured it was possible that I just happened along at a point in time when the girls just happened to be closer to Aspen than to Hollywood. But Aspen definitely was acting like the band stallion, so for now at least, Aspen is king.

Five in a line

There they are – my look back as I was leaving (the snaking actually came right after this). Hollywood, left, Comanche on the other side of a low ridge, Baylee, Piedra and Aspen. Piedra, by the way, should have Hollywood’s foal this spring (sometime in April); I think it will be her first.

I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Bounce, Alegre and Gaia and/or Poco, Bones and Roach because back in that area by Knife Edge is one of their stomping grounds (P, B & R are usually a little farther east), but I didn’t see hide nor hair of those ponies. After I left Aspen’s band, I headed toward the intersection on the loop road that goes to Round Top. Earlier, while walking the road, before cutting off toward Steeldust’s band, I saw horses that I’m pretty sure were Seven, Molly and Roja up on the saddle area between Round Top and Flat Top. No sign of them on the way back, either. I crossed the road and headed toward Flat Top to close my loop back to the Jeep, also hoping I might see Traveler; they were on the west side of Flat Top the last time I saw them. A long shot, sure, but worth a look.

Kreacher and the girls were still down in the little valley but a little closer to the road when I got back. I was plenty tired at that point (another five-plus hours of adventure walking), so I didn’t go out to them. They watched me go by, then went back to grazing. I was glad to see them branching out from their north hills territory.

The only cattle I saw were northwest of the dugout intersection by the hills above Spring Creek and northeast of the finger hills.

It was a gorgeous day, and I hiked without a coat. There was only a very light breeze. You can’t get much closer to perfect. Quite a bit of snow, and with snow and clear blue-bird skies comes mud. The coolest thing is that you can actually hear the snow melt (see what I mean about simple pleasures?). The ponies take it in stride and use it to their advantage. It’s much easier for them to just gobble mouthfuls of snow when they’re thirsty than have to travel to known water sources. They seemed to enjoy it, and in the next post, I’ll have a nifty shot of Traveler to illustrate just how much!

The crazy thing is that I almost left that evening because the walking was so tiring. But I hadn’t seen my boy Grey (Traveler), and I just am so addicted that I couldn’t leave without seeing him. It took all day Sunday, but I found him and his family. 🙂 Stay tuned.

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Categories : Alpha, Bachelor 7, Hollywood, Kreacher, Mesa, New girls, Pinon, Steeldust, Storm

A day away …

19 01 2009

The inauguration of our 44th president is tomorrow. Lots of pomp and circumstance surrounding the event (is it just me or is the inauguration of any new president, sort of by definition, a historic event?), but what I’m most excited about is the hope of catching the mustangs with the U.S. Border Patrol during the parade!

If you’re a regular reader, of course, you know that Justice, one of our own Spring Creek Basin horses, is one of those mustangs. According to the BLM Web site that has information about the horses and their agents, Justice is one of four buckskins in the group that will be marching. I’m not even sure that I’ll be able to pick him out! Brutus, Buck and Justice all have manes that fall on the left sides of their necks, and Zeus’ mane falls on the right side. Brutus and Buck have short little forelocks (in the pix), and Justice and Zeus have long forelocks. Zeus may be a lighter buckskin than Justice. Here’s the link again to check out the pix and agent bios:

http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/wild_horse_and_burro/news/inaugural_parade_horses.html

Also, my story about Justice going to Washington came out last Friday in The Durango Herald. Here’s the link:

http://www.durangoherald.com/sections/Features/Outdoors/2009/01/16/Justice_goes_to_Washington/

My email is not working right at the moment (since about last Thursday). I can sort of get email (sometimes), but I can’t log on to send it (most of the time). So my apologies to those of you I told I’d send the link!

I spent the weekend – glorious, glorious, glorious! – in the basin and saw all the horses but Bounce’s band and Poco, Bones and Roach. That means Poco, Bones and Roach are the only horses I haven’t seen yet this year (I saw Bounce’s band from a distance last Sunday). Everybody else looks great. Kiowa seems to be showing some ribs, but she shouldn’t foal this year (she got the PZP), so hopefully she’ll have the coming year to bounce back. Spook is still nursing.

There is at least one change in band dynamics to report, but you’ll have to wait for the full report to find out which band! I thought there was going to be a second case of change, but I watched them long enough to see order re-established, and all seems to be well. I watched the first band for quite a while, too, but it just confirmed the change.

I could get used to Januarys like this one, but the basin needs snow now so it doesn’t dry up in the summer and just blow away, so I’m hopeful for more winter yet to come. I hiked past the dry water hole on the back side (southwest) of Round Top, and not only is it still dry, there’s not even any snow in/on the bed. It has all melted except the far edge that faces north and a little in the north flats. But it’s still early, and I hope water will collect again for at least the first part of the spring.

It’s cool to be out in the basin during all seasons. It was warm enough to hike without a coat but still cold enough (and with enough snow) to know it’s winter!

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Categories : Justice

More Justice

13 01 2009

Check out this link, forwarded to me earlier today by Bob Ball (thanks!). It shows pictures of all the horses going to Washington, D.C., with the Border Patrol for the inaugural parade and has biographies of the agents. The site also lists which herd management area each horse came from and where they’re stationed now with the Border Patrol: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/wild_horse_and_burro/news/inaugural_parade_horses.html

And here are a couple more photos of Justice:

Justice as renegade

This photo was taken in early June 2008 by BLM herd area manager Bob Ball. Justice is outside the west boundary fence, and the picture is taken looking east. You can see the green storage tank at the water catchment in the background.

: Justice with his trainer

This photo, taken by Fran Ackley, Wild Horse and Burro Program leader for the BLM in Colorado, shows Justice with the inmate who trained him. He started training Justice to carry a flag when they thought he might be a candidate for the Border Patrol. The inmate’s face has been darkened to protect his privacy.

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Categories : Justice

Welcome home

12 01 2009

Mesa invitation

Sunday was my first trip to the basin since I returned from my holiday vacation, and it was a good one. I saw all but three bands (Traveler’s, Seven’s and Poco, Bones and Roach), though most of the horses were pretty far away and viewed through binoculars. I hiked in and found the pinto band at the end of the day and took this photo of Mesa. It seems like he’s inviting me to follow him into his home – and what a beautiful home it is.

I wasn’t at all sure what to expect on the roads, but the road from the county road to the herd area boundary and a short way into the herd area was mostly dry. It was partly sunny when I got there, but then it turned cloudy. Later in the afternoon: full sunshine. I stopped just uphill from the first curve inside the herd area to take a look. Before I got my binoculars, I saw cattle way out in the area northeastish of the finger hills, then some shapes back to the north … one of them a familiar and non-cowy color. I thought, based on where I last saw the new mares and their new beau (down on the east side of Round Top), if I didn’t know better, I’d think that was the apricot dun mare. Damned if it wasn’t Kreacher and the girls!

Tres amigas

I was psyched to see them. Again, based on where I saw them last (yes, it was four weeks ago), I really didn’t expect to see them today.

The new girls have new names this new year. Thanks to Lynn and Kathy in New Mexico for “Raven” for the black pinto mare. As they so astutely pointed out, the mare’s color is exactly the lustrous black of the ubiquitous ravens that call the basin home. And thanks to Karen of South Carolina and Ouray for “Mona” for the “regular” dun. She noticed that I’m always commenting on how cute she is, “que mona” – how cute! It was right as soon as I read it. And for the apricot dun, in honor of her Sand Wash Basin “cousin” who patrols the U.S.-Canada border with the U.S. Border Patrol and is one of two Colorado mustangs going to the inaugural parade Jan. 20 in Washington, D.C., I named her “Kootenai” (“kooten-ee”).

Raven, Mona and Kootenai

And Kreacher following.

Kreacher

My guess is that the girls didn’t like the direction their new relationship was going, so they turned tail and headed back to their familiar (north) hills. What’s a boy to do? Of course he followed. Still not acting at all “stallion-like,” just very calm and laid back. So I started thinking back to when he had Molly and Roja, and I think he was about the same way. The very first time I saw them, I thought he was a mare, as a matter of fact; he wasn’t at all aggressive or protective or otherwise displaying the usual “protection” behaviors. But apparently he has the cajones to keep a few mares – at least for now. Maybe it’s a matter of sheer coincidence, but consider that – in addition to Kreacher now – only Steeldust has as many as three mares. None of the other horses are anywhere close (that I saw) to them, location-wise, so it stands to reason that he’ll keep the girls for a while (maybe until the bachelors start wandering again).

Alert

The girls were up on a hill that gave me a good vantage point to scan the basin. From there, I saw Bounce, Alegre and Gaia, Steeldust’s band and Hollywood’s band with at least one bachelor nearby and three bachelors together just slightly farther away. But rather than try to hike out through the snow and mud to get to them, I decided to drive out and on down the county road to see how far I could get. I thought if I could get at least to the corrals, I’d hike in from there.

But the road was good all the way down to Black Snag Road. Some snow, but earlier traffic was obvious. I turned around there and went back up to my favorite hike-in spot, a little southeast of the county line. I hadn’t seen any horses from there, but the clouds had gone away, the sky was blue, it was a great day for a hike, I hadn’t seen the pintos for a while, and I didn’t want the day to end. I walked in and up on top of the hill where I often found the pintos last year. There was a lot more snow in the southern part of the herd area.

The pinto ponies and their suitors weren’t on their hill, though. I stopped on the trail when I got high enough to see back toward Round Top and scanned with the binoculars. Then I saw them, up on the hill on the north side of the little valley I hike through to get to their hill – actually closer to the road! Ha. Well, it was a great day for a hike.

Mesa

This boy is kind of the behavioral opposite of Kreacher – and he doesn’t even have his own mares! Copper should feel (!) lucky to have him act as protector while Copper sticks close to his mares from Corazon and Ty, all the boys still acting as one big family.

King of the hill

The last time I saw the pintos, right from the county road, Copper was not acting like the lead stallion; Corazon was. But things seem to be back to “normal” with Copper sticking close – even though Kiowa kept pinning her ears and snapping her teeth at him.

By the time I walked up to their hill, they had moved out into the open and were headed slightly downhill toward Round Top. It coincidentally put them right in the middle of a spectacular background – the La Sal Mountains in Utah.

Kiowa and her girls

Kiowa seems mostly passive from a distance, a benign mother and alpha mare. But don’t let appearances fool you. I think she rules with an iron, er, hoof, when she needs to! From left, Reya (yearling filly), Kiowa, Spook (2008 filly) and Chipeta.

Still nursing

But she’s still a mama above all else. She wasn’t happy about it, but she eventually stood still for Spook to nurse. Copper at right.

Family

Just Mesa is missing from the band above – he had already moved farther to the right, trying to lead the band away. From left, Ty, Corazon, Kiowa, Spook and Reya, Chipeta and Copper. That’s Round Top in the background. It looks different from this perspective, doesn’t it? This was the last shot I took of them as I started back toward the Jeep.

Almost forgot to say that I saw David and Shadow and Cinch south of Flat Top from the hill. I didn’t see Bruiser, but I hope he was nearby; he and Cinch have been together almost since the bachelors kicked him out of the pinto band.

A few more random photos:

Winter day

Kreacher and Kootenai with McKenna Peak in the background.

Close-up

Kreacher and the mares went around the little hill they were on and down to graze. I went around the other side of the hill and caught this shot of Kreacher as he followed Kootenai down into the little valley. I took some pix that really didn’t show him at his best (he really doesn’t have the best conformation), but I just couldn’t bring myself to show them. 🙂 He looks pretty decent here.

On guard

Mr. Mesa takes his protection duties seriously. Always be aware of your surroundings: I was photographing the other horses against the mountains when a look or posture of one of them made me look away from the camera. Tough guy Mesa had come out to say “hi,” all puffed up, and I hadn’t even noticed! He’s really not as close as he appears; I had my lens zoomed out to take the pix of the other horses, and when I saw Mesa, I just pointed and shot. This is one of just two shots like this before he trotted back to the band.

Deer central

The deer are back. Wow. I hadn’t seen this many deer since, well, this time last year. I took this shot right from the Jeep on the county road – the deer are inside the herd area. There were at least a dozen other deer just in this group, and this was one of probably a dozen groups I saw today.

It’s good to be back!

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Categories : Kreacher, Mesa, New girls, pintos

Justice goes to Washington

8 01 2009

It’s official! Justice, a now-6-year-old buckskin mustang from Spring Creek Basin, Disappointment Valley, West Slope Colorado, USA, leaves Friday with his U.S. Border Patrol unit from Washington State headed to Washington, D.C., for the parade that celebrates the inauguration of our new president, Barack Obama.

I’m stunned. I’m thrilled. I’m ecstatic!

Fran Ackley, Wild Horse and Burro Program leader for BLM in Colorado, based in Canon City, told me this morning that Justice – originally one of two alternates – will definitely be in the parade.

Justice, named there at the prison when they thought he might make a good candidate for the Border Patrol, was a star student – “pretty mellow” is how Fran described him. The inmate who trained him thought he had so much potential, in fact, that he rode Justice with a Colorado flag to get him used to that flapping, waving thing above him should he actually go to the Border Patrol. Do you think he might have had some inkling that one day the horse he trained would end up smack dab in the middle of the festivities of a country celebrating its new president? Inmate X, my hat is off to you.

Think of all the intersecting lines of fate … The inmate – a non-violent offender – goes to Canon City and gets into the program training wild horses. A wild buckskin stallion, which Fran laughingly called a “renegade” that had to escape the herd area to “get the girls,” gets aged incorrectly and because of that and his escapist tendencies, the decision is made to remove him – but BECAUSE of his perceived age, he’s not sent to the local adoption, he’s sent to Canon City. There, Colorado Correctional Industries officials see his potential and put him into their saddle training program with the inmates, where he meets Inmate X, who sees his potential (interesting, huh? I hope you realize your own potential, guy!). The Border Patrol comes calling – just 10 months after Justice was removed from the wild! – and picks him (among a few others) from the dozen horses the facility has in training at the time. Now, Justice is headed to Washington, and Inmate X has served his time and been released from prison, where, in my heart of hearts, I wish him all the best.

Wow, huh?

I have seen some pictures of Justice via e-mail not sent directly to me, so if I get permission from the original senders, I will post them here on the blog. At least one might be sensitive because it shows the inmate on Justice, carrying a Colorado flag (but what a great photo!).

What better testament to the temperament and resiliency of mustangs!? I’ve talked to and heard from a lot of people who have adopted a mustang, and the common refrain is “I wouldn’t sell my mustang for a million bucks.” As much as we hate to see them removed from the wild, many of those that have been removed and have found homes have found forever-homes, I think.

They all have stories. Some are just a little more star-studded than others. 🙂

Justice prevails!!

P.S./This just in: According to information from Ann Bond, the horse Kootenai (“kooten-ee”) shown in the December 2007 issue of Western Horseman about “Project Noble Mustang” (Page 78 ) might be the horse from Sand Wash Basin – the one that’s also going to Washington, D.C.! On her list is a horse named Kootenai, from Sand Wash. Double dose of “wow” for our Colorado mustangs!

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Categories : Uncategorized

Most exciting news of 2009 – so far

6 01 2009

Thanks to Ann Bond of the San Juan National Forest (adopter of burros, lover of mustangs) for this most exciting news (to yours truly, anyway) of the new year: A Spring Creek Basin mustang will be part of the U.S. Border Patrol contingent in Washington, D.C. for the inauguration of soon-to-be President Barack Obama.

WOWOWOWOWOW!?!?!

A Sand Wash Basin mustang also will be part of the 10-mustang group, which are part of the unit based in Spokane, Wash., I think. I’m going to try to do a story for my paper, so I’ll have more information soon, but here’s a little bit of what I know (which, admittedly, isn’t much) about Justice, of Spring Creek Basin.

Buckskin Justice was spotted outside the herd area on private property at least as early as May 2007 with some domestic horses. He was gathered on that property by the contractor and aged at 10. Because of his estimated age and the fact that he had gotten out of the fenced herd area (and might do it again), the decision was made to remove him, and he was sent to Canon City.

As it turned out, the contractor had missed the mark by five years, and at Canon City, it was determined that he was actually 5 years old. The U.S. Border Patrol has started using mustangs in its program along both the Mexican and Canadian borders (did you see the great article last year in Western Horseman?). Horses have to meet certain criteria to be accepted by the Border Patrol, which I imagine have to do with conformation and attitude (I’ll find out). Our stocky little guy met those standards, and a star was in the making. Bob Ball, our BLM herd area manager, sent me a copy of a newspaper “photo page” last year that came from the Canon City newspaper.

Before the holidays, word got out that the Spokane unit was sending eight to 12 mustangs to D.C. We were all atwitter (well, I was, anyway), wondering if Justice would be one of those horses. Today, word from Ann: A horse from Spring Creek Basin and a horse from Sand Wash Basin are going to Washington.

Disclaimer: I didn’t know anything about Justice before the gather, so I can’t give much information about his background. But even though I didn’t know anything about him, it makes me incredibly emotional that one of “our” horses has been so recognized. What a story!

Here are a couple of the photos I have of him from Aug. 20, 2007, immediately after he was gathered.

Justice and Shorty

Justice is the buckskin, and the sorrel in the trailer with him is Shorty, the Judas horse used by the contractor. Even partially obscured by the trailer, you can see his great conformation.

Justice

Pretty good looking horse, isn’t he?

To end this post, I have to say how hopeful I am for the potential of the new administration to have a positive impact on the management of our country’s natural resources, including, of course, our wild horses. How appropriate to have mustangs – symbols of our history, of our freedom, of our resiliency – be present at the beginning of a new presidential term.

Watch for Justice! I have no idea what the television schedule is for the inauguration parade, but I’ll post more information as I get it. And Bob, Ann, Claude – anyone – please send me information, if you have it, about Justice, and I’ll post it here!

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Categories : Uncategorized

Urgent alert

31 12 2008

Howdy from sunny, warm Texas!

I hope you all took time this holiday to spend with your horses – if you have them – and your family and friends. My holiday has been filled with all things horse and family, and I am incredibly grateful for the fact that even though I don’t have my own horses in Colorado, my folks have them here in Texas – and they’re happy to have me visit every once in a while!

From Texas, I’ve been watching the weather reports for Colorado, where it looks very cold and snowy. I can’t help but think of Traveler and the others, but I’m certain they are all well and happy.

I got an email today from the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign asking people to comment to the Obama Transition Team about topics for consideration for our new president. Please consider adding your comments for a solid future for our wild horses. (I just added my comment, but I got an error the first time, so consider copying and pasting your words to a separate document to save them in case that happens and you don’t want to have to remember what you previously typed!)

Text of the email: The Obama Transition Team is currently taking suggestions and votes on America’s “top ideas.” With only two days left, a call for a Congressional investigation of BLM’s administration of the Wild Horse and Burro Program has been submitted, but it needs to get at least 1,000 votes if it is to move up to the “next round”! The deadline is December 31st for this critical opportunity to demand accountability on behalf of our wild horses and burros.

It is imperative this idea make it to the next round. If this idea moves on, a new round will begin and the Top 10 Ideas will be presented to the President on his inauguration day.

Please don’t let this unique opportunity slip by!

Write your friends, your family and tell everyone you know; this is their chance to make a difference for America’s wild horses! Let them know they need to VOTE NOW using this link: http://www.change.org:80/ideas/view/investigate_the_blms_admin_of_wild_horse_and_burro_program

In order to vote, you have to create an account or sign in to the Transition Team’s website.

On behalf of America’s wild horses and burros, thank you for your support,

The AWHPC Team
American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign
www.wildhorsepreservation.org

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Categories : Uncategorized

Bachelor no more

13 12 2008

What that really means is the new girls have found a beau! David Glynn, who was out both Saturday and Sunday last weekend, emailed this week to say he saw the girls Sunday with “companions.” Wow! They got pushed down out of the hills by the cattle, and that’s how they came to mingle. I could tell you the name of this less famous “Bachelor” (he’ll never make it on the more famous show), but I’m going to mimic my own suspense and keep you waiting (or you could cheat and scroll all the way to the bottom).

A big snow storm (it’s supposed to last until about Thursday) is headed our way, but I wanted to get out to the ponies one last time before I head south for the winter holidays. Two weeks ago when I went out, the road was muddy enough that I parked at the corrals and hiked in – but while the ground was “soft,” it wasn’t really muddy. This time, the road was perfectly dry to drive in on, but the rest of the ground was slick, slippery, gooey … absolute mud. And snow was still in patches all over the place. The wild thing was that if you looked south, the landscape looked all white and wintry, but if you looked north, it looked the same golden brown as usual – the pattern of snowmelt.

Steeldust and his band were out southeast of the pond close to the entrance, so I parked just down the road to the old trap site and hiked out. I realized pretty soon that the quality of the basin road would deteriorate between the high ground just in from the entrance and the shady side of Filly Peak, so I decided to leave the Jeep and do another walkabout. Naturally, the bachelor-formerly-known-as … ha, thought you had me, eh? Anyway, the boy had the girls waaaaay out on the northeastish side of Round Top, and I had to wait that long to see them, so you’ll just have to wait.

In the meantime, I had a really great visit with the babies (particularly) in Steeldust’s band. Remember on my walkabout two weeks ago, muddy Ember was chasing everybody around? Turnabout’s only fair in play, and this time, it was Storm who was little Mr. Ornery.

Storm, Kestrel, Ember and Sundance

One of the funniest things about this picture is the fact that Kestrel and Sundance barely moved from these positions the whole time I was there, despite all the young energy swirling around them.

So worried

Ember was so concerned about me walking toward them that she actually laid down a few seconds after I took the the first pic.

World view

A wider view to show the background … Note the stealthy approach of a wee baby brother …

Play with me, please?

Zoomed back in – do you see that Storm has a leg over Ember’s neck?

Mmmm, ears taste good!

By this time, Ember may have been regretting her assault on Storm a couple of weeks ago … He chewed and chewed and chewed – her ears (both), her forelock, her face, her neck …

Enough!

Until she couldn’t stand it anymore! So much for taking a nap.

Hiding

But of course Storm wasn’t out of potential playmates. Just to the right, Luna was napping on her feet while Steeldust grazed (Mouse was even farther right) and Pinon tried to go unnoticed.

Wanna play?

Not having much luck with big sis, Storm tried his luck with big brother Pinon.

Tastes like colt

Notice Sundance there on the right.

Who, us?

Notice now that Pinon managed to get away from Storm and hid behind bigger brother Sundance, who became a protector without moving a step.

Leave me alone

But moments later, Storm was at him again.

Protect me!

Mama, Storm won’t leave me alone!

Intermission

Might as well take advantage.

Me, too

So Storm decided it was a good time to find HIS mama. But about a second after I took this shot, Butch walked up and parked himself right in front of them. Then Pinon became fair game again …

Sisters

Sweet girls, but notice the drama in the background.

Ember and Luna

Have I mentioned that the babies still all seem to be nursing?

Aww

Little sisters ARE good for something … like when you have an itchy face.

Mouse

Mouse seems to have given up on Piedra and slid into Hollywood’s position as Steeldust’s lieutenant. He has stayed with the band even while the other bachelors have split up recently. (And now you know it’s not Mouse who has the girls!)

Snow queen

Lovely Alpha is the color of snow.

Steeldusts band

Only Alpha and Mouse are missing from this “family portrait” of Steeldust’s band. (The wordpress program doesn’t like apostrophes in photo captions.)

Baby faces

Another zoomed in view of the youngsters – you can just see Pinon’s ears in the background.

Three of the bachelors were close, so I went to see them, thinking that Hollywood and his girls and the missing bachelors and possibly the new girls were just out of sight over the hill.

Still bachelors

Duke, Hook (back) and Chrome maintain their bachelor status. Points to you if you know the remaining three bachelors!

But Hollywood and the others weren’t over the hill or beyond the next ridge. In fact, from the top of a hill above Spring Creek, I could see a lot of country but no other horses. Because I had seen a lot of horses recently in the Flat Top-Round Top area, I decided to walk on out there to see what I could see.

I hit the road just before the first Spring Creek crossing and walked it all the way to the base of Round Top. It was really muddy, snowy, slightly less muddy and snowier in spots, and I think my trusty hiking shoes are toast (Santa, are you reading?).

I finally spotted a group of five horses between the road and Flat Top, but I thought I was looking for a group of nine horses, and Grey/Traveler and his band were in that area last week, and though the horses were darkish, I thought that could have been because of the weak light, mud and/or a horse out of sight below a ridge. I thought it would be too easy to find Hollywood – and the new mares – that quickly. So of course it was Hollywood, Piedra and Baylee … and two bachelors. Guess who?

They were far enough off the road, and I was far enough from a good view of the area around Round Top, and the mud was such a deterrent, that I decided not to go down and take pictures of them. Onward.

Bounce and Gaia came into view next – they were near the roller-coaster ridge pond. Dark Alegre was close by. For the same reasons as above – and one other – I decided not to go down to them, either.

That “other” reason is that I had spotted – through the binocs – the dun girls up in the trees on the east side of Round Top! Just call me a horse-findin’ fool.

By this point, I knew who had the girls because of the bachelor missing from Hollywood’s group (and you all peeked, I know you did!), but oddly enough, I never actually saw him until I got almost to them.

Pretty girls

These girls are smart. They already know me, so they weren’t worried at all when I came into view from the trail around the north side of Round Top. That makes me feel really good!

Fuzzy!

The apricot dun mare – look at her gorgeous winter coat! It was so still when I arrived in the basin that morning that I noticed it as soon as I stepped out of the Jeep. It’s always so windy out there, when it’s NOT, it’s a noticeable absence. You can HEAR the silence. But at almost 1:30 on the nose, the wind suddenly picked up out of the south-southwest. It was just above freezing when I arrived, and the Jeep showed 42 degrees when I got back, but I was plenty warm while walking. I spent enough time being still with the mares and their boy that I started to get cold, and I was envious of their thick coats!

Lovelies

Are you dying to know?! I know you all cheated and scrolled down, but drum roll, please ….

Who, me?

Kreach-a-licious!

Knock me over with a feather. Kreacher was low man on the Bachelor 7 totem pole, but he’s the only one I know of that actually had a band previously (Molly and Roja, with Seven now), so maybe that helped him. He is not what I call an outstanding stallion, and his personality is so laid back as to be prone on the ground, but I have become fond of him this past year. He did NOT act like a stallion when I showed up, but I’m unsure whether to attribute that to him knowing me and being comfortable with me, too, or being timid. The mares still interacted with each other (black mare still kind of poopy toward the apricot dun but not quite as much as before), but although they didn’t seem to mind Kreacher’s presence, they pretty much ignored him. (I’m sure they got a lot of the “get to know you” out of their systems in the past week together.) Another un-stallion-like behavior of his is that he stayed behind them almost the whole time; he never came up front to “protect” them. Again, because he knows me or something else? The only time he was closest to me was after they had passed me on their way up to the “saddle” and I crossed behind them back toward the trail and he just happened to be in back, and thus, closest.

Peace and hope to you and yours

I wish all of you a very merry Christmas and all the best in the coming year. I hope it’s as full of joy and wild beauty for you as the past year has been for me.

Grey/Traveler and his band showed up on the northwest side of Flat Top as I made my way back to the Jeep. Steeldust and his band and hangers-on had moved to the other side of Spring Creek, so I was glad I had my earlier visit with them. It was a very long walkabout (about 5.5 hours) and well worth every minute!

Amazing

The day was solidly cloudy … until the very last moments of sunset. As I was driving up the curvy-curvy road out of the Dolores River canyon, the above view stopped me in my tracks – literally. If you’ve been on that road, you know the view begs for a pullout (or five), but there aren’t really many good places to stop and get off the road. So don’t tell the authorities, but I pretty much just stopped in my lane and pointed the camera out the window.

Basin glow

Besides the (fading) glow, do you recognize what makes this view so significant? That’s the home of my ponies out there underneath that glowing sky. At the almost-very-far-right is that prominent, unnamed peak you can see from almost anywhere in the basin. Pretty beautiful, eh?

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Categories : Alpha, Bachelor 7, Grey, Hollywood, Kreacher, Luna, Mahogany, New girls, Pinon, Steeldust, Storm

The cattle are in

8 12 2008

Holiday teaser

Who wouldn’t think “Christmas card” when they saw this scene? Bones, Poco and Roach.

If we don’t get snow to stick on the ground before I need to get my Christmas greetings in the mail, you’ll see something similar to the above photo as my Christmas wish to all of you before the holidays! (Of course, as I type this post, it’s snowing like crazy – and it’s sticking.)

The biggest change to the basin this weekend is that our bovine winter visitors are back in town (so to speak). The cows are in from Dec. 1 until the end of February.

Moo

This photo was taken near the first crossing of Spring Creek and is looking to the north-northwest. I saw other groups up in the north hills (where I did NOT see the new mares this past weekend), and there was a group east of the finger hills.

Several groups were in the area of Flat Top and Round Top again. Bounce and his lovely ladies were on the north side of the roller-coaster ridge. Grey/Traveler and his band were between the loop road and Flat Top. Seven and his girls were up at the base of Flat Top. Hollywood and his girls and a few of the bachelors were closer to Round Top, but I couldn’t see any of the main family band. I saw for sure later that they had separated – Steeldust and his band were up at the yucky puddle between the Tops, but I didn’t see them the first time I saw the other horses. Through the binocs, I thought I saw Shadow or David between the Tops … but I can’t confirm. Saw a lone dark horse to the east past Round Top that I finally identified as Poco, but Bones and Roach didn’t come into view until I hiked out to them. I lost a green Camelbak bottle last winter while I was hiking out there in the snow (remember when Seven had Houdini, Two Boots and Twister?), and the threesome was in that general area where I thought I lost it, so I decided to hike out to see them. (I never need much of an excuse to go visit those ponies!)

Have you ever wondered if Bones could lie down – even roll – with her healed, fractured pelvis? I have, and I was wondering that again just recently. Would you believe she cooperated and showed me she absolutely can?

Rolling Bones

Too bad I couldn’t divine the future from the way the “Bones” settled … 🙂 One reason I like Bones so much is her pluck. She looked so skinny last year, I named her thinking she wouldn’t make it through the winter. Not only did she survive, she has flourished!

The eagle and the raven

I call the ravens Heckle and Jekyll indiscriminately. They heckle me; I try to get them to help me find horses. None of us is very cooperative (!). While I was photographing P, B & R, a golden eagle soared low down an arroyo close by, then rose into the air in ever-ascending spirals. I guess I feel better that I’m not the only subject of Heckle’s heckling. There was one raven at first, then two. They were pretty far above me, and this photo is significantly cropped, but can you see how the eagle is looking at the raven? When you’re a human object of Heckle’s affection, there’s not much you can do. When you’re an eagle, you just fly away. By the time s/he flew away, four or five other ravens had joined the “game.”

What a view

The horses aren’t always in position for me to get shots of them with the mountains in the background, but most of them were cooperating Saturday for me to get a bunch of different potential Christmas card scenes. That’s Comanche, who was turning to lead Hollywood and his girls down the trail. It was at this point that I realized Steeldust’s band really wasn’t in the immediate neighborhood.

Walking the line

Comanche leads Aspen, Baylee, Piedra and Hollywood down a trail to an arroyo. When they got to the arroyo, they dropped out of sight for a little while … I’m not sure if they got water there? You can see in this photo how much Piedra resembles Comanche in color.

Grey boys

Chrome, Kreacher and Hook (and Duke) were about a minute behind Hollywood’s group on the same trail. If you’re wondering about bachelor Mouse, who has been after Piedra most of the year, he was the only bachelor still with the family band. That’s Knife Edge in the background.

El Duque

Big bay boy Duke stopped to say hi as his boys followed after Hollywood and Co. He has come a long way. He used to be pretty intolerant of people (me); now he almost seems to like me and will stop for prolonged (moments) visits.

Shades of grey

Grey/Traveler and his band were across an arroyo that emptied into the arroyo the boys (and Baylee and Piedra) went into – and I could see them ahead of us – so I trailed along with the ponies, down close to the arroyo, until I got to the silver boy and his family (remember when HE was one of the bachelors?).

Lunch

Big, growing girls need plenty of chow! I keep thinking about telling the tour folks back in October that I hadn’t seen any of last year’s foals still nursing last fall. I’ve still seen several of the babies nursing this fall … and not just youngest baby Storm. I like the picture above particularly because it also shows Two Boots, Houdini’s yearling filly.

Another spectacular view

And you know I’m not just talking about the landscape scenery!

Bosom buddies

Twister is another horse with a good dose of pluck. He was an orphan in the care of two stallions (Corazon and Cinch) when I first saw him last fall. Then he found mama Houdini and Two Boots and joined the family. That’s back when Seven was the head of the family. I wish he could stay young forever so he’d always have the comfort of his adopted family, but in another year or two, Grey will likely kick him out on his own. Maybe Two Boots will go with him. They’re pretty good pals.

Watching over baby

Jif and Iya. Most of the band napped while I sat on the ground; Houdini grazed most of the time, but then she came back and stood a little in front of Iya, just to the right out of the picture.

Mama

A different angle. Wise old girl Houdini has had her share of babies. Twister, in the background with Two Boots, is just one of her brood.

Itchy

I like how the plane of his face matches the line of Iya’s neck and body.

I had been keeping an eye on Seven, Molly and Roja up at the base of Flat Top while I hung out with Grey/Traveler, and that’s when I had seen Steeldust and his band up at the puddle. Eventually, they moved down, past Seven’s, toward Traveler’s and toward the bachelor boys and Hollywood’s. I walked up toward them on another trail and got into position so I could photograph them against the mountains, but they were on a mission to reunite with their boys, I guess, and they never stopped walking, grazing as they went. Consequently, I didn’t get many pix with their heads up!

Muddy boy Butch

Still muddy! Ooey gooey!

Sundance, clean

Sunny-boy was as muddy as Butch last weekend. He must have had a few good rolls since then.

Muddy Mouse

Mouse was the only bachelor still with the band. It looks like he waded into the water hole – look how deep it must be! He has mud all the way up to his belly, but it doesn’t look like he rolled in it. The “puddle” is pretty small. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned its dimensions, but I’d say it’s about 3 to 4 feet in diameter – tiny!

Pretty buckskin girls

Remember how muddy Kestrel was last weekend? She cleans up nice, eh?

Alpha and Storm

Lovelies.

Guardian

Kinda wild that I didn’t see Seven for almost two months, and now I’ve seen them the past three weekends – and all in the same area! And yes, I had been looking there all that time and never saw them. I do like seeing them.

Top of the hill

Seven and Roja on a short ridge at the base of Flat Top. Roja is ornery! When Steeldust’s horses came past them on the old road, I could see Roja trot out to meet them – kind of like a stallion will do. Seven stayed back on a little rise, and Steeldust’s horses seemed to be on a mission like I mentioned above, so they just ignored her; they never stopped moving until they got just a little past me and within view of the bachelors and Hollywood. Roja is a tough girl and fun to watch!

End of day

Here they’re on the shady eastern side of Flat Top, late afternoon. This pic doesn’t translate very well on the Web, but in the full version, I like the almost painterly quality of the light. Old Molly got the PZP last August before she was released, so she shouldn’t have a foal next year (her 2008 filly died sometime in August). She and Roja were with Kreacher last fall when I first saw them (remember that?); neither Roja nor Kreacher were gathered, and Roja didn’t have a foal. I expect Roja to have her first baby in the spring, and because Seven stole her and Molly from Kreacher in early March, I’m sure Seven’s the daddy.

After my visit with these guys, I headed back to the Jeep and on out to beat the dark home (not successful). I looked but didn’t see Bounce, Alegre and Gaia on my way out, and I scanned the north hills the whole time I was out for the new girls, but I never spotted them. I don’t know if they know about cows, but I wonder if the “tourists” will encourage them to come down from their hilly stronghold and meet some new friends.

What a gorgeous day! Chilly but gorgeous sunshine and great weather for hiking around and visiting with the ponies. The days are short, and I keep thinking about the past year, all that I’ve learned and experienced. I certainly don’t lack for peace, hope and joy this holiday season! It’s supposed to snow again next weekend, but I’m going to try to get out there because I’m taking a two-week holiday to visit my folks and home ponies, which will mean at least a three-week hiatus from the basin. That’s the most time (by far) I’ve spent away from the horses since February, but given the potential weather in December in Colorado, it’s probably the best time to plan to be away.

I’m tossing around the idea of asking you, blog readers, for suggestions to name the new girls. What do you think? Can’t keep calling them “the new girls” forever, and I want people to really know these horses as OURS. So if you have suggestions, leave a comment, and be sure to specify a name or names for each particular mare: the dun, the black pinto or the apricot dun.

Thanks for coming along on this journey of discovery and joy. As much as I’ve enjoyed sharing part of the horses’ lives, I’ve enjoyed sharing what I’ve learned with you. It’s not over by any means!

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Categories : Alpha, Bachelor 7, Bones, Grey, Hollywood, Houdini, Jif, Kreacher, Luna, Poco, Roach, Roja, Seven, Steeldust, Storm