Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

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

Still waters – Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008

12 11 2008

Grey against the blue

The horses had a visitor Saturday: Dale from the Denver area. I met her at the main entrance Saturday, we drove in searching for horses. We ended up seeing all the northern horses except Seven and the girls (and they may have become southern horses …), so it was a great experience. We even saw the new mares from a distance – still by themselves, still up in the hills above the trap site.

Our first close-up was of Traveler’s band, just south of the water catchment. He knew something was up, that he had a visitor, so he gave her a little of the old show (which I rarely get anymore because he’s so used to me).

Greeting

He trotted down to the mares and youngsters, the better to protect them.

Defending his turf

With Twister and Houdini and a little slice of far background, looking southeastish.

We drove onward to the loop road and took it counter-clockwise. We spotted Bruiser and Cinch between Round Top and Flat Top – closer to FT – napping in the sunshine. It turned out to be a gorgeous day – perfect after the snow earlier in the week. We also spotted the white spot that is Alpha with her compadres up on the roller-coaster ridge. Below them we could see other horses, which I assumed were bachelors until we got closer. The far horses were bachelors, but the horses closest to us were …

Bashful girl

Alegre and Gaia and …

Big Daddy

Bounce.

These were taken through the Jeep’s window; the horses were below the level of the road and just northish of that pond. We drove on until we could see Steeldust’s band through the trees, then parked and got out to walk to them.

Innocents

I took this photo of Storm and Ember – standing right on the road – but then I looked down, and there was Kestrel coming up from a notch in the hill on the other side of the road – right in front of us! And she was followed by Mahogany! We stopped immediately, but they were as surprised as we were and trotted on up to the band, which trotted on down the hill. Roller-coaster ridge earns its name; it’s narrow along most of its length, and you can see right off either side except straight down. We had seen Hollywood lounging in the distance, watching us, hip cocked, and he and his girls were the last to follow. The horses formed into a line on the other side of the ridge heading toward the pond, but we didn’t know at that point if they had already been to water or if they were heading that way anyway.

Roach and Bones

A little farther on, on the southeast side of the ridge that continues after the road drops over the other side, we spotted Poco, Bones and Roach.

Poco

You can see tiny patches of snow behind Poco, remnants from last Tuesday’s storm.

By then, we had seen everybody I expected to see, so we turned around there so we didn’t have to drive over the roughest parts of the loop road and so we could see the horses again on the return trip.

Band at water

This also answered a previous question, when we saw the horses wading into and drinking at the pond. That’s actually Flat Top in the background. Round Top is more southwest from this position. CORRECTION: Bob Ball emailed to say he thought this hill in the background is Round Top, and he’s right. I was thinking of a different pic taken from a different perspective, farther down the road, looking at Flat Top, which is farther from the water hole.

Band at water 2

A zoomed-in look at almost the same image. You can pick out Steeldust, standing in the first image; walking in the second.

We also passed Bounce, Alegre and Gaia a second time, still in about the same place, and Grey/Traveler’s band, who had moved out into the open from the low hills they were on earlier. All the babies were down for naps in the sunshine. The new mares were lower on their hill, but Dale needed to get back. Nice to meet you; hope you visit the ponies again!

The third hunting season ended the day before I got to the basin, and knowing there had been at least two camps at water, I wanted to make sure they had cleaned up after themselves. Californians had been at the trap site, and they did a pretty good job of taking their trash with them. I’m not sure why people think aluminum cans will burn away in the campfire, but I did pick some of those out of the ashes. There were at least two new trails down to Spring Creek – all with hoof prints – but I don’t know if the mares made the trails or if the hunters did and the mares are using them. I headed up the hill to get a look at the girls.

Girl band

They look plenty comfortable where they are.

Grazing

One thing I noticed is that they’re actually eating what grass is there, and by that I mean they seemed to bypass the “shrubs” – the greasewood and four-winged saltbush (names I just learned). I watched the black mare get at the grass (if you can really call it that; it’s very dry and brown and shriveled) at the base of a small greasewood bush, but she didn’t touch the bush. Makes me wonder if they don’t have those plants in Sand Wash Basin? Or never learned to eat them? At that point, I tried to really look at their body conditions, but they still look good. Fuzzy, but I don’t think they’ve lost any weight.

Friendly girls

Here are the apricot dun and black pinto mare, pretty close to each other while the other dun mare grazes ahead of them.

Meanie girl

And here, a few minutes later, black mare gave apricot dun mare a warning sizzle. Sheesh. Black mare definitely has ‘tude!

I was on my way back to the Jeep at that point and figured it was a good time to go ahead and leave them to their own devices.

David Glynn, a frequent visitor to the basin, and his wife, Doris, had pulled in with two horses (Buck and borrowed horse Wally) while I was visiting the girls. I stopped to chat with them, and while we were talking, one truck drove into the basin and one truck drove out. Those were the only vehicles I had seen all day. Traveler’s band had been at the water catchment for a drink then moved out into the open to graze. The folks in the inward-bound truck stopped to watch them, then turned around at the catchment and drove back by for another look. I don’t know what it was about that truck, but Traveler watched it all the way out of the basin.

On guard

He turned his head a couple of times to look at me as I drove by, but mostly he stayed focused on the truck. I took this photo from the road after it curved away from Filly Peak and heads straight to the catchment, and the truck he’s watching was at the far side of that big open area, almost to where it curves out of sight and heads to the entrance.

I went on around to check the camp at Wildcat Spring – which should not have been a camp in my ever-so-humble opinion. I took a bag of trash (mostly cans from the fire pit) away from the camp at the trap site; I took five bags and an old cardboard box away from the Wildcat Spring site. People also had left two elk skins, three legs, the remains of at least three rabbits, two still-full cans of beans, three pairs of socks (?!), more cans in the fire/trash (?) pits and two half-full rolls of toilet paper on a branch near a box topped with a toilet lid (of course I didn’t touch that!), among other things. They had also driven their ATV to and across and alongside the spring AND somehow scooped up mud as a dyke across the water, though not very effectively. Not to mention the previously mentioned (in a previous post) second driveway. Not cool. WAY not cool. Very disappointing.

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Categories : Alegre, Bones, Bounce, Grey, New girls, Poco, Roach, Steeldust, Storm

GAO report is out

11 11 2008

GAO report summary (“BLM is concerned about the possible reaction to the destruction of healthy animals.” Go figure?) : http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-77

Here’s the full report: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0977.pdf

BLM “welcomes” report (of course it does, given what the report says): http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2008/november/NR_10_11_2008.html

AP article: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h0KjM5RmgCK9mR1hWIheT8pYBzFAD94CDVM81

It will be interesting to see what comments come of this report when people read it … and after the Wild National Horse and Burro Advisory Board meeting next Monday, Nov. 17, in Reno, Nev. My first reaction is this: It’s reactionary – not visionary. Even while the BLM says it has no money to care for horses in long-term holding, it’s still removing horses from the range and doesn’t appear to be considering returning them to ranges they are legally entitled to (and have been completely removed from during the past 30 years because of livestock interests, oil and gas interests, etc.) – just killing them.

How much does a contractor get to round up wild horses? Why all these catastrophic removals of hundreds of horses at a time? I’ve heard contractors get $3,000 per horse. Is that right?! Hello?! Two things wrong there (if that’s correct): No WONDER so many horses are rounded up at once (more profitable to the contractor!), and why is the BLM paying so much to REMOVE horses from the WILD when it can’t find the money to sustain them away from the wild??

Something I read recently had a huge impact on me. With 30,000 individual animals in the wild (and how do we really know that? one problem is and has been BLM’s inaccurate counting), most species at that number would be on the endangered species list. The BLM wants to drop that number even further, to 27,000. How is that the magic number?

From the summary: “Most of the field offices GAO surveyed considered similar factors in determining AML, such as rangeland conditions; however, BLM has not provided specific formal guidance to the field offices on how to set AML. Without clear guidance, BLM cannot ensure that the factors considered in future AML revisions will be consistent across HMAs. At a national level, in 2007, BLM was closer to meeting AML (about 27,200 animals) than in any other year since AMLs were first reported in 1984. The extent to which BLM has actually met AML depends on the accuracy of BLM’s population counts. Nineteen of the 26 field officials GAO surveyed used a counting method which, researchers say, consistently undercounts animals and does not provide a statistical range of population estimates.”

I don’t have the answers. If I did, I’d be on the phone, not on a blog. But a “decision” to kill horses and a government report supporting a government decision (hello!?!?) is cowardly. A number of suggestions have been put forward, and I’m pretty sure “euthanasia” isn’t anywhere on that list. Why aren’t those suggestions being considered?

From the end of the summary: “The long-term sustainability of BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program depends on the resolution of two significant challenges: (1) If not controlled, off-the-range holding costs will continue to overwhelm the program. The percentage of the program’s direct costs for holding animals off the range increased from $7 million in 2000 (46 percent) to $21 million in 2007 (67 percent). In 2008, these costs could account for 74 percent of the program’s budget. (2) BLM has limited options for dealing with unadoptable animals. The act provides that unadopted excess animals shall be humanely destroyed or, under certain circumstances, sold without limitation. However, BLM only manages these animals through sales with limitations. BLM is concerned about the possible reaction to the destruction of healthy animals.”

Again, totally, totally reactionary. Nothing about actually “protecting” wild horses – part of the mission – horses in the wild. And “limited options”??? Here are some: http://www.wildhorsepreservation.com/solutions.htm

From the AWHPC Web site (http://www.wildhorsepreservation.com):

The AWHPC Coalition is calling for a Congressional inquiry into the government’s wild horse management policies, and coordinating a grassroots campaign in support of:

the review of scientific findings that contradict BLM’s claims of wild horse overpopulation and negative impact on the range;
a moratorium on round-ups until actual numbers of wild horses and burros on public lands have been independently assessed; and
implementation of in-the-wild management, which would save millions of tax-dollars.

Go to the Web site and click on the links (shown as underlined above) to learn more.

The advisory board is accepting comments through Nov. 12 – that’s Wednesday. Please send comments to the board c/o Ramona DeLorme: ramona_delorme@blm.gov.

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Categories : Uncategorized

Tumblin’ tumbleweeds – Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008

4 11 2008

No dust

Wall of dust

The wind picked up Saturday night, and Sunday, it was crazy windy. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it that windy. The wind would pick up the dust from the roads and run with it until it looked like the plume from a moving vehicle – sans vehicle. But by the end of the day, light rain. Tuesday, we have rain; the mountains have snow. Most people are hoping for big things from this election day; I’m hoping for moisture in the basin.

In the morning, Steeldust’s band hadn’t moved far. They were on the eastern end of the east-west hill, close to Knife Edge. But they were away from the road, which put them away from the hunter traffic.

Grey/Traveler and his band had moved out from the base of Knife Edge to an area just west of the intersection to Round Top. He had the youngsters again, and Houdini and Iya were a short distance away.

Lined up

Nose to tail – Twister, Two Boots, Jif and the Grey boy.

Iya and Houdini

Great big girl Iya with mama Houdini

Leader

Jif follows Grey/Traveler past Houdini and Iya in the background.

Looking west

For you folks looking for landmarks, this one (and the next one) is for you. This photo was taken looking basically west, and the light-colored hill in the background is Filly Peak, which you drive past fairly close to the herd area entrance. This also kind of shows the compression factor of this long lens I use. There’s a whole lotta country between here and there. If the image showed more land to the right, you might be able to see the green water tank at the water catchment. This was taken from right off the loop road, just northish of the intersection to Round Top.

Another view

This is sort of west-northwest, I’d say. On the near horizon, you can just see the cliffs above Spring Creek where the trap site was last August. Ponies are Jif, Twister and Iya.

Little and Big Little

A zoomed-in look at Twister, left, and Iya. They’re on about the same level ground there. What do you see? They’re pretty close in size, eh? Twister’s a yearling; Iya was born April 27. Orphan Twister is small for his age; Iya’s a monster! OK, the cutest monster ever, but when I call her a big girl, I’m not kidding!

No other ponies were visible from the loop road as I drove around. I stopped and hiked the horse trail to Wildcat Spring, the first time I’d checked the spring in at least a month. I hate it when people lie to me. When people with a camper-trailer pulled into the spring “driveway” last Sunday, I asked if they knew about the spring. A guy said, “It’s dry.” Did he outright lie, or did he just not explore past his nose and the creek bed, which actually IS dry? Guess who was still camped there a week later, with a second trailer. Imagine my surprise at also seeing a second “driveway” they’ve driven in after a week of camping there. Grrr.

Let me continue with my righteous indignation:

Just say no

Seriously?! These cans and bottles (plastic and glass) filled two and a half of the trash bags I carried out of the basin this weekend. This (mercifully now un-decorated) tree is on the north road.

Back to the good news: The new girls made their second appearance in two days, up in the far north, steps away from the now-dry pond and the north entrance (lots of steps, really, but relatively close). I do like these girls. They seem very comfortable and relaxed, and perfectly happy to be their own company. (I did pass along information about certain very handsome wild stallions, conveniently nearby. They’re independent, these gals.)

White spots

A weird angle, yes, but you can see the black mare’s belly spot and her white chin.

Apricot girl

Cute and curious.

Plain old regular dun

Look at that sweet face. This little girl seems perfectly happy with either of her companions. The black mare seems intent on staying between them. It will be fun to watch them branch out, maybe meet some new friends. When? Who? We’ll have fun finding out!

Still early, so I went back around the loop. Tip No. 1: Never stop looking, looking, looking for horses. Even when you’ve already looked there.

Poco

Mr. Bay Boy and his pals, Roach and Bones, were hanging out at the base of a hill southeast of the (dry) twin ponds.

Roach

Roach here, with Bones behind him, looking toward Poco.

Cocky

Roach and Bones, sharing the same cocked-hip stance. They look kinda goofy, don’t they? 🙂 Hey, they’re just hangin’ out, not doin’ nuttin’.

It’s kinda cool to share some hanging-out time with some of my favorite pals.

C'mon, rain

Back up in the area between Filly Peak and the water catchment – Grey’s band. (Steeldust’s fam and hangers-on had moved up to the top of their hill.) Unfortunately, the sky looks more threatening than it proved to be. But it’s another long-view vantage, looking … where? Northish. I took the photo from the Jeep on the road right alongside Filly Peak.

Then it was out of the main part of the basin to the dirt-way home, hoping for a glimpse of some ponies from the county road. I thought I was a creature of habit, but those spotted ponies are giving me a run for my habitual trend. There they were, right at the base of their hill. But I could see just everyone but Chipeta and Corazon. But on the other side of a line of trees, a white body with a dark flank splotch … but all I could see was the top part of the white body with the dark flank splotch. Corazon or Chipeta? Or possibly Bruiser? Once more on the trail. A report from last weekend put Bruiser and Cinch with David and Shadow after the spotted boys left Steeldust’s band, so I hoped it might be Bruiser, with David and Shadow nearby. I did see them last weekend but from a distance – the top of Round Top.

It turned out to be Corazon and Chipeta; no sign of other horses. I decided to just walk right out and say howdy, expecting them to follow another of their habits and head to the hill and their trail to the top of the hill … But they didn’t.

Cool cat Chipeta

Can you see how fuzzy she is? It hasn’t been too cold yet in the basin, but days are short, short, short. They’re prepared.

Reya and Spook

Sisters. Spook seems braver and more outgoing than her yearling sister.

Happy days

Do ya love this photo? What’s not to love? Three butts and no heads! But it represents a victory of sorts. It represents Kiowa’s comfort. She didn’t head for the trail; she didn’t walk away. In fact, they had walked toward me before they stopped to ignore me and return to grazing.

I wore a grin all the way back to the Jeep. I learn more about them every time I visit, and I learn a new appreciation. Winter’s coming. I always wonder what stories I miss while I’m gone. Learning their language is damn fun.

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Categories : Bones, Grey, Houdini, New girls, pintos, Poco, Roach

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

Teaser

3 11 2008

New girls

The lost girls are found! (They knew where they were all along, of course.)

It was a wonderful weekend, full of horses and exploration, and I have a lot of photos to go through and stories to tell. This will have to serve as a teaser until then.

I will also say that the area is full of hunters, if not deer – the third rifle season started Saturday – and I carried out three bags of their trash. There are camps where there should not be camps (near water sources), and there are tire tracks where there should not be tire tracks – into the wilderness study area, up and down beds of arroyos, off the road to ponds, etc. It makes me nervous.

Seven and the girls remain unseen (by me), and David and Shadow, Bruiser and Cinch were elusive this weekend, but I saw all the others.

Best news of all? It was starting to rain as I left. 🙂

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Categories : New girls

Far afield

28 10 2008

Stop.

If you’re expecting news of the new girls, stop reading now. Though I searched high and low and found all the horses but Bounce’s band and Seven’s band – and, well, the girls – I didn’t find the girls. At all. Not hide nor hair. I’ll tell you who they’re for sure NOT with (as of Sunday): not Steeldust’s band, not Traveler’s band, not Cinch and Bruiser, not the pintos, not Poco, Bones and Roach, not David and Shadow.

Maybe they’re wandering far afield, testing their new boundaries, walking new paths, learning the landscape of their new home. Maybe they’re looking for something familiar – a hill, a smell, something that reminds them of home that used to be. Maybe they’ll stay together; maybe they’ll split up and go their separate ways. Maybe I’ll find them next weekend.

It was a gorgeous weekend, but it’s so, so dry. We need rain. The horses seem to be wandering quite a bit. My human eyes don’t see much vegetation that looks scrumptious, but the horses look pretty good – even fat in some cases.

First up Saturday was the big band: Steeldust and the Bachelor 7. Right around the corner: Cinch and Bruiser. Hollywood is still hoarding his small harem but basically part of the band.

Object of interest

She’s hard to see in this photo, but the doe the horses are looking at is maybe the first deer I’ve seen in the area since early spring. She caught the attention of all the horses, who stood looking … until Storm suddenly bolted down the hill, which sent all the horses galloping.

Gallop

They ran right down to the pond – the same one the new girls drank from Friday – drank, then wandered out into the open to the south and east.

Drink break

Cinch and Bruiser followed them to the pond and had a little chat with some of the Bachelor 7, not visible here.

I drove on into the basin and around the loop and up toward the north, and kept the binoculars practically glued to my eyeballs. From Round Top, I saw David and Shadow, who have been elusive lately. They were at a little puddle – the one Grey and the youngsters and Bruiser were playing in last Sunday, I think – but a little separate. David waited for Shadow, who had wandered east. His patience won; she finally wandered back at a mosey, maybe an amble, and followed him across the trail and down to the little “valley” below (westish of) Flat Top and Round Top and out of sight.

From a hill in the north, I could see that Grey/Traveler was up by the water catchment – along with Steeldust’s band. I didn’t see any other horses that day.

Grey and his band were up by Filly Peak in the shade by the time I drove around to see them. Steeldust and the big band were nearby but east of the road and still in the light. Hanging out close to the bachelors were the pinto boys.

Bruiser and Cinch

I took this picture of the boys from the Jeep. You can still see some mud on Bruiser, but he has shaken off most of what had him looking like a dark boy last weekend.

Family within the family

Hollywood with his girls, Baylee and Piedra, who was taking a cat nap in the late sunshine.

What about me?

Last fall, I don’t remember seeing any of the foals nursing this late, but this year’s babies are still nursing. Ember, nursing in the photo above, is the oldest of this year’s foals. Pinon is the curious youngster at left.

Seemed like a good idea

And there’s little Storm, youngest baby in the basin.

All the babies – and big babies, too! – are getting fuzzy. The days are practically perfect, but sunset comes early, sunrise comes late, and it gets chilly under that endless night sky over Spring Creek Basin.

Late sunrises are good for a non-early-riser like me. Sunday, Steeldust and his entourage were down in the broad “valley” east of the water catchment. They stayed out there – generally speaking – most of the day. I drove around the loop and spotted Bones’ white face from the roller-coaster ridge road. I hiked down to make sure they were all there.

Spring Creek

They were lounging by Spring Creek, which actually has flowing water! Not much, and shallow, but it has to be better than drinking from puddles.

On guard

These guys are pretty easy going, but I was lucky again to find them across an arroyo (Spring Creek).

Poco and Roach

It’s nice when they’re so worried they get a little shut-eye while I hang out with them. 😉

I headed on out, passing Steeldust again on my way, and drove down the county road to hike in and look for the pintos – and see if the new girls were with them. They weren’t, but the pintos, still with Copper and the boys, were back in the vicinity of their “favorite” hill. The weirdest thing was that they moved between my first sighting of them and when I actually found them, so it took a little looking. So close, so hard to find. Probably more to that than I even know.

When I did find them, they were on a hill across a gap from where I was. As careful as I am with all the horses, I’m especially careful with this group because Kiowa has been so protective of Spook, this year’s baby. I’ve been trying to get her to know I can share their environment without being a danger to them. The weirdest thing about this encounter with them was that I “snuck” up on them in the open. I stood on my hill, occasionally taking a step or two forward, waiting for one of the eight to notice me. I finally got to the edge of my hill where it started to slope down to the arroyo between “my” hill and “their” hill and sat down, and hung out, and enjoyed watching them graze across the hill.

The horses were pretty well spread out, and I tried to look at them with fresh eyes: If I didn’t know them, what would be my first impression of the eight horses on the far hill? On the left side of the hill: Mesa and Copper. To the right of them: Chipeta and Corazon. Sort of in the middle: sisters Reya and Spook. On the right side of the hill: Kiowa and Ty. Because of their size, yearling Reya and baby Spook would be easy to identify. At one point, Spook marched over to Kiowa and started nursing. Pretty obvious relationship there.

Two bay boys

Both the above are stallions; one I have identified as more in the band stallion position than any of the others. Which one do you think is most likely that stallion? The stallion on the left is bigger, his coat is sleek and shiny; he’s in good condition. The stallion on the left is smaller, he looks scrawnier; he may be a bit muddy, but he’s definitely scruffier. Fifty-fifty chance … guess? OK, it’s kind of a trick question. The stallion that looks like the king is at the bottom of the heap. What can I say? Mesa at left; Copper at right.

Corazon and Chipeta

Here’s Corazon, left, and Chipeta, not far up the hill from Mesa and Copper. Copper wasn’t worried.

Back to the what-if-I-didn’t-know-them question. My first thought probably wouldn’t be a mare and a foal and a yearling with a bunch of stallions – or even another mare. Maybe I’d think most of the others also were mares. But which one was the stallion?

Of all things, I think it was my camera shutter that gave me away, and it was Mesa’s little fox ears that heard it. He’s the one that finally saw me. That led to Copper, Corazon and Chipeta becoming aware of me. They started walking toward Kiowa and the others, and finally, a little “stallion” behavior:

Snaky

Once they were all together, they settled down again. At this point, neither Kiowa, Ty nor the babies had looked up or seemed to notice me.

On a mission

This pic of the sisters was taken before the above photo, and Spook walked right over to mama to nurse. She was so funny afterward – almost “drunk” on her mother’s milk, she immediately fell asleep on her feet!

I watched for a few minutes longer, then got up to leave.

Later, ponies!

And this is what I saw when I turned for a last look. Only Mesa is missing from this family portrait.

The glam big band was still out in the open when I returned to the main part of the basin for another trip around the loop. Guess who I found out for a Sunday drive? Photographer Claude Steelman, his wife, Katie, and friends Steve and Lisa Mackey. They were excited to see Steeldust and company, and they reported seeing “your boy” (Grey/Traveler), drinking at the pond below the roller-coaster ridge, and Poco, Bones and Roach! I was happy they saw all those ponies. But they hadn’t seen anybody else, either.

Traveler and the fam were napping between the pond and Round Top when I got around to that area. Northish from the twin ponds, I spotted Bones again, with Roach or Poco under a nearby tree. I looked especially hard back in the east pocket for Bounce and/or Seven, but those ponies had other ideas this weekend.

On the way out, Steeldust and groupies again.

Wild and beautiful

There’s my last glimpse of the wild beauties before I headed out of the basin around 5 p.m. To the far left, you can see Bruiser and Cinch.

Better luck next time! But how can you go wrong seeing so many horses? I did see Bounce, Alegre and Gaia last Sunday, but it’s been a few weeks now – since the tour – since I’ve seen Seven, Molly and Roja. I’d like to see Molly to check her condition.

If you didn’t stop reading, thank you on behalf of the horses. 🙂 I can’t even say I’m disappointed, not seeing the new girls – I had anything but a disappointing weekend! They are elusive, but maybe it makes finding them all the more wonderful … and full of wonder. And there’s always next weekend!

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Categories : Bones, Bruiser, Cinch, Corazon, Grey, Hollywood, Mesa, pintos, Poco, Roach, Steeldust, Storm

First look!

25 10 2008

Hello!

At long last, our three new mares, introduced to increase our herd’s genetic variability, are in their new home in Spring Creek Basin.

The last three introduced mares came in 2000 or 2001, I think, but only Luna remains (Slate died over the winter; what happened to the other mare is unknown). Because our herd is too small to maintain genetic viability on its own, the BLM introduces mares from other, similar type herds every few years. These three mares, like the last three, are from Sand Wash Basin in northern Colorado. A roundup there started last Friday (Oct. 17). This introduction had been planned at least since last fall.

Bob Ball, our BLM herd manager, went to Craig this week to select the mares, which have all been aged at 2 years old. He called me today on the way, and Jamie Sellar-Baker, associate manager of the Dolores Public Lands Office, was out patrolling and greeting hunters in the area, and had the near-perfect timing to stop in just before Bob and the mares arrived.

First steps

This apricot dun mare was the first out of the trailer, followed closely by the black pinto mare.

Apricot dun and pinto

These two came out of the trailer very close to each other, so I didn’t get clear first shots of the pinto. She’s not an obvious pinto; she has just three small white “slashes” on her left side. One is on her barrel, just behind her elbow, and the other two are smaller and toward her flank. From some angles, the smaller slashes are hard or impossible to see.

Dun girl

This mare’s coloring is similar to Hollywood’s, maybe not quite as “orangey.” Look at that big trot! Too bad about the “unnatural background,” but you can see the big green water tank and the two drinking tanks that provide water from the catchment.

Company

Bob pulled in and released the mares from the trailer right by the water catchment. Grey/Traveler was right down the hill! I was terribly excited, but as it turned out, I don’t think he ever saw the new mares. They’re pretty hard to see in this photo, but pinto bachelors Cinch and Bruiser are in the background, directly above the apricot dun (above the first group of trees, above a little ridge, below the second swath of trees). Jamie also had earlier spotted Alpha, in Steeldust’s band, in the far northwestern hills (not in this photo). Eagle eyes!

First drink

The mares started grazing pretty quickly after they got out of the trailer, but they also kept moving, and they completely bypassed the water tanks. They ended up by the small water hole by the entrance and the trap site. In the background here, you can see the canyon that rises above Spring Creek.

At the pond

Here you can see the black mare’s biggest white marking – which is not very big at all – and you can also see the shaved spot on the apricot dun’s hip. They all have that with an “FA” brand. (I’m not sure what exactly that denotes, but they all did get the PZP-22 immunocontraceptive.)

Nice, long drink

They didn’t go right into the water, which worked well for me because I couldn’t see them very well when they first approached the pond. They walked along high ground from the water catchment almost until they got to the pond, and I took a wide-arc approach until I got to a ridge just west of their ridge. I took these photos from the end of the ridge so I wouldn’t bother them. When they left the pond, I headed back to the catchment.

First impressions: I like these girls! The apricot dun, although she was first out of the trailer, seems to be low on the totem pole, based on the black mare’s attitude toward her. At least twice, the black mare pinned her ears and warned the little mare away. The other dun mare led the way down off the ridge and right to the water, with the black mare following right behind her.

They all have blazes, but the apricot dun and black mare have very wide blazes, and the other dun mare’s is narrower. The black mare’s hooks over her left eye, and the apricot dun has a spot at the bottom of her blaze, above her right nostril. Both dun mares have dorsal stripes, and zebra stripes are obvious on the apricot dun (though not black like Hollywood’s), not so obvious on the other. The black mare has a left front stocking, the dun has a left hind pastern (and possibly some low white marking on her left front), and the apricot dun seems to have a left hind fetlock that may be distinctly visible just from the inside (see the pic of her getting out of the trailer). When they walked toward the pond, I didn’t notice any distinct markings. The dun mare and black mare both have white chins (at least partially)!

Traveler and his band were just finished drinking from the smaller water tank when I approached on my way back to my parked Jeep. Ahh … I had really hoped he’d come right up the hill, see the new girls and go “welcome” them! Alas, it was not to be. They were very calm; I don’t think they ever saw the mares.

Lookie loos

From left, Houdini, Iya, Jif and Two Boots.

Good night

Jif, Twister and Traveler.

So there’s your first look at our new girls. Unfortunately, I had to return to civilization, but tomorrow will see me back in the wild. I can’t wait to see who – if anyone yet – they’ve hooked up with. Maybe one or some of the bachelors will get lucky!

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Categories : Bruiser, Cinch, Grey, New girls, Steeldust

Guess who!

20 10 2008

Roach and Poco

Although I hadn’t seen this little band for several weeks, it was worth the wait. Poco, Bones and Roach all look great. After the past year of getting to know my ponies, I’m close to a guarantee: The harder I look for particular horses, the more likely it will be that when I find them they’ll be right out in the open.

Last weekend, I hiked to the top of Round Top – always enjoyable to get a unique, almost “from-the-air” perspective of the basin – and still didn’t spot Roach’s distinctive red coat (he’s one of only two sorrels in the basin). This weekend, I hiked out between Flat Top and Round Top (and saw horses, but you’ll have to read on to find out who) and down to the south side of Round Top. Then I hiked south from the “twin ponds” and walked a narrow spiny ridge. Nada. Then north of the ponds. Nichts. Fun hiking, but where on Earth were those crazy equines? (You know the saying “God only knows”? Every time I ask myself where the horses are, I remind myself that THEY know where they are!)

A little after those hikes, in the Jeep, on the road, sun inching closer to the horizon hills, badda-bing: Through the binoculars, I saw a dark spot that turned out to be Poco’s back. Very close: Bones. They were in that little valley between Knife Edge and Lizard Mesa. I drove on and scanned; drove on, stopped to scan … Hello! Steeldust’s band just a short distance off the road in a grove of pinons. I interrupted the hunt for Poco’s band to take some pix of Steeldust’s group.

But before I get to them, here are a couple more of the “found” girl and boys:

Rear view

Here’s a pic of Bones’ healed fractured pelvis that probably shows it better than any other pic I’ve taken. But don’t just look at that – look at her little belly! She’s not what I’d call a fat girl, but she looks WAY better than she did at this time last year, and I’m encouraged to see her going into this winter with some fat on her, err, bones.

Poco and Bones

Poco was all shy and spent most of his time napping at the far edge of the little “island” they were on. I shot from various points on the other side of the not-so-deep, fairly broad arroyo that curved around their little island/oxbow. Bones was closest to Roach when I approached, then she wandered over to Poco to feast on that greasewood bush.

Bye-bye

One last look from Bones before I left these wanderers to their grazing and naps.

So where was I? Before I get back to Steeldust’s band, let me go back to Round Top. It’s hunting season, of course, and it’s Colorado, and we have a high percentage of out-of-state plates in the areas with drivers and passengers sporting blaze orange. So far, like last year, I’ve seen plenty of traffic along the Dolores-Norwood Road and the Disappointment Road but not too much in the basin. Based on tire-track evidence, a few vehicles have been through since I was there last. I did pass a pickup Sunday with a man and woman, but I think they might have been looking for horses more than deer or elk.

I drove the loop counter-clockwise again, and from the road, I spotted a shiny spot and a horse shape that eventually moved right between Flat Top and Round Top. During the tour with Kathe and Bob a couple of weeks ago, we saw Seven’s band there. So I thought it might be him again, with Molly or Roja as the “horse shape,” and the other one in the trees. And another surprise: Cinch and Bruiser farther west.

I parked at Round Top’s base and took the trail around the west side. There were some faint signs of horse traffic and a few coyote prints – and one sadly deflated and worse-for-wear “Happy Birthday” balloon (which made its way into my ever-present trash bag back in the Jeep) – but it didn’t look like it has seen much use lately.

When I got farther around the hill on the trail, I could see that there were a couple of horses toward Flat Top, but they were blocked by trees and I couldn’t make an ID. Then, what to my wondering eyes should appear but Grey/Traveler! He was following Jif and the yearlings toward the horses in the trees. Whoa. So the tree horses were Houdini and Iya, but it was still a slight mystery why they were separated by such a distance … Until I saw through the binocs that Jif’s entire right side was dark glistening, and wait, had Grey suddenly gone pinto?? Now I know you moms out there are thinking it should have been mama Houdini taking advantage of the mud spa, but in this case, she was spending some alone time with baby Iya while Daddy took the youngsters to play in the, ahem, mud bath. 🙂

Iya and Houdini

Looks like Iya had done a little splashing in the mud. They were waiting for the other horses to reach them.

Daddy and the gang

Clearing the coast before returning to Mama. Disclaimer: Houdini is Two Boots’ and Iya’s dam, but Grey/Traveler is not the actual sire of any of these horses.

Once they reunited, they walked closer to Flat Top, where they drank from a pretty yucky, white-salty, muddy little puddle.

Have thirst, will drink

Grey got there first, and he left last. I guess the boy was thirsty. This pic doesn’t show them well, but notice the black splotch on his shoulder. He had another one on his chest.

Yucky!

Houdini shows what she thinks of the water puddle.

Somebody’s been playing with the finger (hoof?) paints! Notice the little streak on his face.

Tender touch

Iya and Houdini

The next time I saw the band, I was on the spiny ridge and the horses were on the road heading toward the water catchment for some rainwater-pure, fresh H2O.

Two other horses were beyond Traveler’s band, but from the distance and light glare, although one looked like pinto bachelor Cinch and the other one was very dark, and I wondered if Cinch had stolen yearling filly Shadow from David and ditched Bruiser for family life. It was a good lesson in what our BLM guy, Bob Ball, has to deal with in terms of identifying horses. The other horse was, in fact, Bruiser. See for yourself:

Bruiser and Cinch

Cinch is at right, and Bruiser is the dark mudball on the left, demonstrating the wild horse version of “look! what’s that over there?!” Too bad for the ponies, I have eyes only for them.

Compare that photo of Bruiser with this one (taken last fall) from the “Find a horse” page:

Bruiser

Yes! I promise that’s the same horse! Apparently he found the same tar-baby pit Grey/Traveler and the youngsters were playing in.

After the boys went back to grazing, I went around the south side of Round Top a short distance to check on the still-dry water hole. No more horses.

So now we’re back to the point where I “found” Steeldust’s band, “hiding” in the trees right by the road.

Peek-a-boo

This photo was taken right from the driver’s seat. Look at my long-legged little Storm-boy at right, with the light turning his spiky mane to gold. Can you believe he’s just a few days shy of three months in our Spring Creek Basin on this beautiful planet? And over on the left, his head just sticking out of the trees is Mouse, standing just in front of Hollywood’s girls, Piedra and Baylee. They and Hollywood seem to have reached a comfortable balance of friendship lately, and Holls doesn’t seem too worried about keeping them apart.

Bachelor boys

The wayward boys are all “home.” Duke, Hook, Kreacher and Chrome had split away from the band for a few weeks. Last weekend, Duke was back with the band, and now all the boys are back. From bottom to top: Duke, Kreacher, Chrome, Hook and Aspen. Am I alone in being glad that the boys are back? Ha! I spent all summer wondering when they were going to strike out on their own – again – and now I like seeing them with the family. A side note to this photo: The boys were working their way up to the band (I was out of the Jeep by this point), but curious Kreacher was either determined to get another last bite or was so focused on me that he didn’t notice when all the other boys disappeared over the top of the hill. He finally did when I walked back toward the Jeep, then trotted away after his pals. Wait for me!

I drove on a short way, through another arroyo, then got out again and walked out to Poco, Bones and Roach’s “island” and took pix of them. Boy was I glad to see them! Not worried about them, particularly, but I miss them when too many weeks go by without seeing any of the horses.

When I got back to the Jeep, I looked over toward the water hole that sits back to the east off the unmarked doubletrack, wondering if Bounce and his girls were still back in the east “pocket,” where they were last Sunday. When I was beside Lizard Mesa, I stopped and looked again – bingo! Bounce, Alegre and Gaia had just walked up on the edge of the pond! They started walking farther east on the doubletrack, so I sat in the Jeep and watched them through the binoculars. I hadn’t been close to them since the tour, but it was getting late, and I didn’t want to pursue them. But while I was watching them, guess who was walking out of the trees and making their way toward the water hole? While I was googling over Poco, Bones and Roach, Alpha marched her company around toward the pond. See the progression? Nap time, chow time, pub time! I have to say, the pond “pub” has a wonderful ambiance.

Steeldust’s band has become pretty used to me over the months, do I decided to park and walk down to the pond (which is in the wilderness study area, I think?) and wait for the horses to come drink. If the horses walking toward the water had been Bounce’s band, say, I might not have risked being at the water when they came to drink. Bounce is pretty tolerant, and young Alegre takes cues from him pretty well, but I wouldn’t want to risk them not drinking because I was there. Steeldust’s band, on the other hand, would drink even if I was there, I figured, and I was right.

Thirst abatement

I sat on the end of the pond opposite the way the horses approached and was glad the light was from behind me. I sat in full view, and they knew I was there. They waded right in, and drank and drank. I was glad of the opportunity to see them wade into the water because it gave me an idea how deep the pond is – almost up to their elbows! This pond dried up over the summer and refilled a couple of months ago after at least two intense cloudbursts in that eastern area. From left: Piedra, Baylee, Hollywood, Aspen and Chrome. Another couple of bachelors were to the right (including Duke), but the two young stallions, Luna, Alpha, Mahogany, Ember, Kestrel and Steeldust were around to the left and closer to me.

Wind drinker?

Steeldust drinking alone while his band spread along the banks of the pond to the right.

Play time

In the “progression” I wrote about earlier, I forgot one very important element: play time! Storm doesn’t seem to be drinking water much yet, but the older foals are drinking water as well as their mothers’ milk.

Three musketeers

Don’t these boys make ya smile? From left: Aspen, Mouse and Comanche.

By then it was about 6:15 p.m., and the sun was below the far-west ridge, a reminder of the quickly changing seasons. It was a gorgeous day – a light-jacket morning but a short-sleeve afternoon. Just after the sun had gilded the clouds in the western sky, I was driving past Filly Peak and Grey’s band. Most of the band was on the mesa side of the road, but Houdini was below the road, so I waited for her to cross the road – because Iya was there! – then headed out and home.

“If you’re lucky enough” to spend the day in Spring Creek Basin … you’re (I’m) lucky enough. Eh? For sure.

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Categories : Bones, Bounce, Bruiser, Cinch, Grey, Houdini, Roach, Steeldust

Hide ‘n’ seek

13 10 2008

Brr! Who turned down the thermostat? We have been enjoying a beautiful Indian summer, and the aspen this autumn have been fabulous. But an arctic wind blew in this weekend, and I think it brought a little bit of winter. We didn’t get as much rain as we were hoping for yesterday, but today was gorgeous – if chilly. In the basin, we hit a high temperature of just 48 degrees today.

The ponies are playing hide ‘n’ seek lately, in the search for grazing, I think. I looked pretty hard for Poco, Bones and Roach, but I didn’t see them. Neither did I see Seven’s band or David and Shadow. Did see everybody else! But it took some looking.

My first outing was lucky. I parked at my favorite hike-in spot along the county road and just walked in hoping to see something. Voila! The pintos were on the “bench” of their favorite hill. Mr. Mesa is limping a bit on his left front leg, but he was keeping up with the band just fine. Corazon was right in among the mares, but Copper still seems to be kinda sorta in charge …? One big happy family!

Kiowa

There may or may not be a clear leader among the boys, but Kiowa – of course! – is first lady.

I went up the hill, found a tree and waited for them to graze their way up on top.

Corazon and girls

There’s Corazon at left with Chipeta and Kiowa in back. This was right after they realized I was sitting by the tree.

Chipeta

Brave Chipeta checks me out while Spook and Kiowa graze in the background.

Reya and Chipeta

Yearling Reya seems so big now. She looks just like mama Kiowa.

Spook

Baby Spook is growing fast!

Boys and girls

This is the closest I’ve seen Mesa, left, to the other horses; the other boys usually keep him at a distance. Copper is closest to the girls, then Kiowa and Reya and Spook.

All together now

This is how I left the ponies; Ty finally decided to be in the picture. From left: Ty, Chipeta in front of Corazon, Reya in front of Mesa, and Spook, Copper and Kiowa at right.

Later, from the summit of Round Top, I saw these guys right in the same exact spot. I felt pretty good about that, that I left them undisturbed.

I have only a couple more pictures because I didn’t see any other horses from other than a distance. Grey/Traveler and his band were south of Filly Peak on the east side of the hill east of the corrals. The recent rain was obvious in some standing water here and there, but the road was easily drivable like last week. It was VERY windy, and that wind had an edge to it. It was a gorgeous day but chilly.

On the way to Round Top, I saw Duke reunited with Aspen and Comanche, and by their body language, I thought Steeldust’s band was near, but they must have been tucked up against the hill where I couldn’t see them.

I decided to hike up on Round Top with the hope of spotting Poco, Bones and Roach, who have been MIA for several weeks now. But they remain so. I did find Bruiser and Cinch, slightly northeast of Round Top. When I drove around the loop, I got out a couple of times and did short hikes to see over hills … nada. Dunno where those ponies are. I’d really like to find Bones to see if she has good weight going into the winter or if she has gotten real thin again like last fall.

Bounce, Alegre and Gaia were back in the east pocket beyond the water hole (oh, the pond south of Round Top is still dry, just like the pond by Flat Top). They’ve traveled a bit since we saw them up in the north Tuesday.

Chrome, Kreacher and Hook were on a hill above the north road. I saw them from about halfway between the two intersections heading toward the dugout, but I decided to go back toward where I had seen Duke, Aspen and Comanche earlier to see if Steeldust’s band was actually down there. Sure enough, a couple of minutes later, they all started walking around the base of the finger hills.

Steeldust and Co.

Hollywood is still defending Piedra and Baylee. Mouse tried to sniff noses with Baylee, but Hollywood stepped in and put an end to that!

On the way out, Grey/Traveler and his band were in the “valley” south of the water catchment.

Late light

A beautiful, nearly full moon was rising above the eastern hills as I left.

I wanted to add a thank you to Sara Coulter of Ridgway. She’s with the San Juan Corridors Coalition, and after a suggestion from artist Karen Keene Day, who spends summers in Ouray with husband Floyd (one of their daughters and grandsons live in Ridgway), Pati and David Temple with the National Mustang Association and I were invited to speak at one of their “Living with Wildlife” lectures last week. (See Karen’s link under the blog roll for examples of her beautiful artwork.)

The place was packed with people coming to hear about the Spring Creek Basin herd – their herd! As Karen notes, sometimes people have no idea there are wild horses so close to home. Pati talked about the National Mustang Association, particularly about our Colorado chapter, and what they’ve done for mustangs in the West and, particularly, our Spring Creek Basin horses. I’m amazed every time I hear Pati talk about all the group has done! The water catchment I’ve talked about recently on the blog, where at least Traveler’s band is drinking, is one of their projects. This group has been a valuable friend to the horses for more than a decade now.

After Pati got people excited about the horses (all the NMA membership forms and other informational/BLM brochures she and David took were gone afterward!), I got to step up and talk people’s ears off about my favorite subject! If I got long-winded, I’m sorry, and if I “talked to the horses” on the screen more than the people in the audience, I apologize for that, too. I get so excited telling people about each horse (I get to tell funny stories on them; I hope the ponies forgive me!), and I want them to love the horses as much as I do!

After the program, it was so cool to have so many people come up and share stories about THEIR mustangs (!), ask where Spring Creek Basin is located, how to get there and if they can just drive right in and see horses! I think the horses made 60+ new friends (and admirers) that night.

The Living with Wildlife lecture series has had speakers on such other topics as mountain lions, bears and beavers, and I think the next one is about bighorn sheep. We were very thrilled to be asked to talk about our wild horses!

For more information about the San Juan Corridors Coalition, visit the Web site at http://www.sanjuancorridors.org/.

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Categories : Bounce, Bruiser, Cinch, Corazon, Grey, Mesa, pintos, Steeldust

Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

Wild horse chase – Sunday, Nov. 9, 2008

Still waters – Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008

GAO report is out

Tumblin’ tumbleweeds – Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008

Wonderful wild – Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008

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