Stolen horse found!

A holiday success story! The palomino mare I recently posted about has been found and reunited with her owners! Thanks to members of both the Four Corners and Mesa Verde Back Country Horsemen for the news!

“Amy Wollert sent me a message last evening saying that whoever took her horse got scared and dumped the mare off on a county road near Eads, CO. All’s well. I’m positive that the amount of emails circulating by everyone (including you) put the fear into the thief. So, hooray for everyone who helped! What a great new year’s present for the Wollerts—and the horse”

Merry Christmas

I wish all of you a very merry Christmas. May your lives be blessed in all ways by the horses you know … and those you know from afar … in 2010.

‘Don’t Take My Home’

Don’t miss this beautiful and moving video set to incredible music – photos by Pam Nickoles, music by Mary Ann Kennedy. A heartfelt plea for our mustangs.

http://nickolesphotography.wordpress.com/2009/12/25/dont-take-my-home/

Bad news from Nevada

http://blog.taragana.com/science/2009/12/24/sheryl-crow-other-wild-horse-advocates-ask-obama-reid-to-stop-mustang-roundup-in-nevada-1928/

“They said the population in the five Calico herd management areas is three times what the range can handle.”

Too bad the article doesn’t say anything about all the cattle grazing that range.

Stolen horse

This isn’t a mustang, but it is in Colorado, and the hope is that the more coverage, the better the chance these folks will get their mare back.

Forwarded to me by one of our Wild Bunch group:

Please be on the alert for this palomino mare, recently stolen from Wiley, CO. To make sure this was not an internet hoax, I spoke directly with Amy about it—the horse is a good roping horse, known on the circuit in that area, so Amy believes that the thief is someone who knows the horse or has seen her compete. Ropers travel great distances, so please spread this information and see if we can’t help bring the mare home for Christmas.

Please contact Amy or Brandon, information listed below:

9 year old palomino mare stolen from my house in Wiley, Colorado.  She is a dark yellow. Branded lazy D or W on left front shoulder, freeze brand.  Blaze face, 2 hind pastern markings and wire cut on left rear cannon.  If you have seen her or have any info please contact me at 719-660-9389 or Brandon at 719-688-2357
PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ALL YOUR CONTACTS!!!!!!!
Thanks
Amy Wollert
amywollert@rocketmail.com

Sand Wash Basin blog

I’m so excited to alert readers to a new blog that follows the wild horses of Sand Wash Basin, in northwestern Colorado.

Nancy Roberts lives in the area and visits often (check out her pictures of the horses in the snow). What a great new resource! She also adopted a colt after the 2008 roundup, so hopefully we’ll get to follow his progress as well!

Welcome to blogging, Nancy!

sandwashwildhorses.blogspot.com

Snow stomp

The desert is snow-bound. The ponies are as adapted as you might imagine, very fuzzy and rolling with the seasons. However, despite the water in frozen form all around them, at least some still prefer the liquid form and worked hard to get it from a little hoofprint puddle melted on the edge of the Flat Top pond.

The cattle are in now, of course, and though most don’t seem to have ventured far from their entry point – all across the northwest hills – a handful have made it to the finger hills. It’s easy enough to differentiate them from horses, but my eyes – first seeing dark specks in the distance – want to see horses.

From the top of the switchbacks above Slickrock, I was surprised to see nearly the whole upper portion of Disappointment brown and seemingly devoid of snow. Where the snow line seemed to start was back against the eastern ridge – above the basin – to my mind, at least, the valley’s heart. The snow was less than I expected but still significant – the snow was more than the mud. It made for easier walking but not easy.

The first band I saw was Grey/Traveler’s band – oh what a welcome sight! When I first saw them, they were just dark specks, even through the binoculars. White-faced Iya was the first one recognizable … then Terra and Houdini … then the silver boy, standing a distance away, facing away … no Two Boots and no Cuatro. My hunch – and yours, too, I bet – was later confirmed, but first I walked down the ridge to see whether Grey was looking at them around the end where I couldn’t see. Nope. I did scan the hills for Duke, but all I saw were bovine bodies.

Note the bits of hair missing. Probably from the scuffle that led to Two Boots and Cuatro going “missing.”

He gets this oh-so-blissful look on his face when he eats snow.

Houdini is weaning Terra from nursing. Terra is not happy about it.

Iya knows just what she’s going through.

Steeldust and his band weren’t very far away – close enough that I considered walking on to visit with them – but I could see that they were all accounted for (Aspen and Hook have gone off on their own again), and I wanted to find our little autumn baby. And from a higher vantage, I did. Lucky for me, going over to visit them didn’t require a farther-interior walk.

Two Boots and Cuatro are quite well … who’s that in the corner?

You’ve already guessed:

Chrome and Two Boots went to the puddle they’ve obviously started, and Jif went around the pond.

Two Boots bravely tried to drink right along with Chrome, which he tolerated for a little bit before he got irritated and started warning her – and Cuatro – away. It was disheartening to see them trying to drink that little bit of muddy water with all the snow around them.

He never actually kicked either of them, but he threatened several times.

The basin’s newest band. Sad to see my Grey-boy lose another mare, but I couldn’t feel too bad about it, watching Cuatro and Hayden race each other on the way to the pond. Naturally, Hayden won.

I didn’t have my camera out when they started running. Jif was leading the way to the pond on the north-south road, and I was on the road to Flat Top. Poor Little was lagging behind, and it seemed like he was as tired of walking through the snow as I was. Jif paused once but didn’t wait long. Cuatro trotted up to Hayden, which seemed to infuse him with energy, and they started galloping in circles. Then they hit the straight-away, and Little H really revved the engines, sprinting for the “finish line,” which was mama, of course. He won by a mile, flagged his tufty tail and looked back over his shoulder to make sure mama and his new big brother witnessed his victory! I sure wish I’d been able to get pictures of that, but it was a blast to watch. I didn’t have the opportunity to see them playing again … they spent a good 45 minutes at the pond trying to get water.

Cuatro makes a face after eating a mouthful of snow.

Hayden thought he’d give it a try, too.

Here he’s checking out some mud on the ice. Only Hayden ignored the water – I have seen him nibbling on plants, but he’s still mostly relying on mama’s milk. The little water left at the center of the pondbed is frozen solid.

By the time the little misters interacted again, they were nearly behind Jif, and within seconds, Chrome walked over to block them even further. Sheesh. Look how grey Cuatro’s face is already.

Then it was less than an hour to sunset, and I left the ponies, still trying to paw for sips of water. Rippled high clouds in the west lit up like the gates of heaven after the sun dropped below the horizon. To say it was stunning is an understandable understatement.

I was lucky enough to spot Seven, Roja and Ze just at the edge of daylight. Even from a distance, there’s no mistaking Roja’s rotund figure. She reminds me of a pony I grew up with … The deer were out, too, and I followed elk tracks through the snow. I imagined, by the size of his tracks, that he was a big, beautiful boy. A fitting end to a day in the wild.

Wild horses of TRNP in ND

I found this blog a little while ago about the wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota and decided to add it to the blog roll as another resource for people who want to follow another herd of wild horses (and one managed by the Park Service as opposed to BLM). A roundup was recently conducted there (I think that’s how I became aware of the blog). The current post is about three young stallions that need homes. They were adopted but need more time than their adopter can provide – although it sounds like he might be a trainer and has put a great deal of time already into gentling them.

By way of introducing that blog on my blogroll, I thought the need for adopters for those horses was as good excuse as any. Find it here: http://wildhorsesoftrnp.blogspot.com/

And hopefully there are some folks local to his location who might be interested in one of these colts (3 and 4 years old).

As far as our Spring Creek Basin horses, I’m glad they’re all mostly in great shape and winter-coated because we got blasted this week with snow and wind and icy temps. Because of that – and the roads in less-than-ideal condition for a trip that, on a good day, takes me two hours – I decided not to venture out to see them this week. More snow is forecast to blow in Friday through Monday. I miss them now; by next week, I might not be able to stand not seeing them. Keep them in your thoughts, though I think they’re probably quite well and happy with all this “fresh water” for the taking, whenever they want it … though it might be a little hard moving around and browsing! Also, think of all the great water our ponds – especially the newly dug ones – will be full of next spring!

Love anyway

Any Martina McBride fans out there? Her song “Anyway” came up on the mp3 player when I was about 20 miles or so (nearly there) from the basin on Thanksgiving Day, and it got me thinking. Despite the supreme frustrations we wild horse lovers endure in the battle to keep our mustangs wild and free, and despite the heartaches and breaks they inevitably bring us along the way – from the magical way they melt into our hearts from first sighting – we must love them anyway. I don’t know about you all, but I’m helpless to do it any other way.

This visit wasn’t without some personal heartbreak – Molly. But it was with so much more: the horses and me and the deer and the wind and the light and the hills and song dogs howling and hope for the future in the shape of little faces and fuzzy coats, winter-ready.

Hunters gone, I had a long-awaited visit with the pinto ponies. Stout Milagro is so fuzzy, he looked like a pony next to daddy Copper.

Oddly, he and Liberty are the same dark muley bay. Maybe a genetic connection on their respective trees.

Here we have Shadow as bonnie mountain goat and David playing it a wee bit safer. I spotted them from the county road, but the pintos were hiding a bit.

The horses – including matriarch Kiowa – were relaxed and grazing, and they paid hardly as much attention to me as to the visitor walking the trail below them …

I’m happy to report that although the vast contingent of hunters finally left the valley, the deer did not. In fact, they are much more visible now, including at least two magnificent ”granddaddies” to this young buck.

Mama Kiowa and baby Milagro; Corazon at left and Spook at right.

Mesa is still the outside man, but Ty and Corazon are right in the thick of things, to no great concern of Copper’s.

Corazon; Kiowa in the background.

Reya is the same age as Shadow; they’ll be 3 next spring.

Sisters Reya and Spook (May 1, 2008).

And baby brother Milagro (July 1, 2009). Can you see how fuzzy he is?

In the “front country” of the basin, Steeldust’s band was enjoying the last light of day … and I enjoyed the light creating halos around them …

He does seem to be sticking close to Lady Alpha these days.

Luna and Hannah

Mahogany grazing; Sable seeking attention from almost-3-year-old Kestrel (yearmate of Shadow and Reya).

A little past, a little different angle o’ light. Comanche in the background. (Aspen and Hook are still with the band.)

I took some pictures in passing, but my attention was really farther ahead: Chrome, Jif and little-man Hayden.

This image may be actual size? That’s Hayden’s teeny hoofprint in the soil of his home … Can’t express, really, what this image means to me.

It seems to me (stand by for anthropomorphization) that now-family-man Chrome is a little befuddled by the recent attention showered upon him – former bachelor that he is – well, in his vicinity. I am thankful for his care of his little shadow …

This one just makes me smile.

Little is fuzzed-up and bearded for winter … so soon … He seems to show the faintest hint of grey high on his cheeks, but right around his eyes is red. What color will the mister be? He’s so much like his daddy, Grey/Traveler.

Now the secret is out: BLM’s next “issue” is the incredible proliferation of over-populating wild ants! No end in sight! How WILL they manage this new “problem”??

Evening with a view …

So thankful …

I took this photo of the moon during my visit with Hayden and Co., song dogs setting up a chorus in the background. Not sure it could have been more perfect.

At that point, I didn’t yet know about Molly.

In the morning, before sunrise, it was 15 degrees in the basin. The morning star was glittering like a droplet of  ice on the eastern horizon while the sky grew steadily lighter. In the dim light, I had a sighting that made my heart leap: Duke. It was hard to see him because it was not yet exactly light and because of the distance, but he looked a little off – still. More on him to come.

Mornings in the basin will make you believe in something other than yourself … and if you already believe … it will reaffirm your faith in something humans will never take away. It is still. It is clear. It is hopeful. It is magic. You can almost hear the collective breath holding, waiting for that first light on the far ridges across Disappointment Valley, waiting for a long column of light to illuminate, first, Filly Peak, then widen and lay down its path across Round Top and Flat Top.

Steeldust and his hangers-on were single-file from the pond to the base of the hill. Far away.

I was looking for horses to put between me and the camera and the hills, surrounded by that sublime light. Did I mention how cold it was?

Hollywood and his girls and his youngster found me, grazing quietly in the pre-dawn light down a line of hills below the road. I hadn’t spent much time with them lately, so I put my down coat on top of my jacket and 14 other layers, wrapped my ear-band around my head, readied my gloves, put extra batteries close to my heart … and waited and watched the creep of light.

Have you ever watched – really watched – sunrise? It can’t be described. Especially, maybe, in the great – intimate – expanse of the basin; there are just too many places to watch the rising sun touch hills and ridges and swells with that sweet golden light. And before I knew it, sunlight had replaced shadow surrounding Holls and the girls and Sage. I zipped up and started walking. Baylee, watching me waddle toward them, thought – apparently – I was the abominable snowwoman – or Michelin Woman? – come to life.

The “Bundle Woman” cometh.

Piedra apparently eventually recognized me, but Baylee’s expression didn’t change much in the other photos I took. Steeldust’s band didn’t know what to think last fall, either, the first time I wore my down coat, until I started singing to them … the only audience that can withstand my “singing.”

Sage still treats auntie Baylee like a playmate … and he still seeks reassurance from mama.

Hollywood

Sage’s winter coat is brown again. He looks like a little Mouse.

Relaxed

I hadn’t seen Grey/Traveler’s band the day before – and I hadn’t seen Bounce’s since the weekend before last - so I decided to head on to look for them and see if the golden light would hold.

Saw the silver boy and his band … and as I approached the Round Top intersection, I saw horses nearly straight ahead. It took a second to identify them against the light … and it took a second after that to pick out Liberty, grazing close to Gaia. I didn’t have to look for Molly; I knew she wouldn’t be there. Even expecting to see what I saw, I couldn’t stop the tears from coming. There’d be no heartbreak if there wasn’t first love.

Gaia and Liberty

Bounce

Whisper and Alegre

Maybe a little surrogate-mothering going on …

Liberty is our third orphan since I started the documentation of the Spring Creek Basin herd. My introduction to Twister was when he was already orphaned, possibly during the roundup. Shadow’s dam, Ceal, died sometime over the winter of 2007-08. Liberty is 6 months old, and she’s a tough little thing. I think she’ll be OK.

I walked from them back over to Grey/Traveler’s band.

He is my healing magic.

Cuatro was hanging out, napping on his feet, a short distance from the band. Then he decided to put on a show:

Such a big trot for a little boy!

Flying!

He must have learned this move from his muley pals.

He hit the brakes, and Terra came up out of the arroyo. Two Boots never looked up from her grazing. She’s a veteran mama at the ripe young age of 2. Watching Cuatro, it suddenly became apparent to me that his sire has to be Twister; he looks just like him.

Grey and Houdini

Terra and Cuatro

Iya (April 27, 2008) and Terra (May 1, 2009); La Sal Mountains in the background. They were born the same color; look how dark Iya is now!

Fuzzy, furry silver boy!

Thus emotionally armed, I went back to find Duke.

He looks all right … but he is thinner than when he had Raven and Corona – and, briefly, Kootenai.

He’s still limping, but he’s completely mobile, and he’s putting weight on his injured leg (right hind). See all that sky behind him? This is Spring Creek Basin’s version of “top of the world.” The difference between here and the Pryors is that here, if you step off that edge … well, let’s just say it really is an edge, and I really would recommend NOT stepping off!

Love his handsome face.

He’s a crazy horse to be walking up and down mountains (to and from water) on his healing leg, but he’s a tough boy!

Love, always.

Thankful days don’t wait for calendar dates. No matter what’s going on, I – and you, I bet – have things in your life for which to be thankful anyway. I think the ponies don’t know how much they give of themselves to all of us who admire them so; it’s the least we can do to ensure their continued protection – any way we can.

RIP, Molly

One of the first pictures I took of Molly – that’s Kreacher in the background – and still one of my favorites of her.

It’s an assumption … but it’s based on this:

Liberty is with Bounce’s family now …

Molly was a wise old girl who lived her considerable long life in Spring Creek Basin. She was rounded up in 2007 but had the fortune of being released back to the wild. She was aged by the contractor then at “older than 20,” and although the contractor wasn’t terribly accurate with his aging skills, I’d believe it of her.

She didn’t have much use for humans – for good reason, I’d say – but she was a kind and gentle mother, and she gave her last foal, Liberty, an excellent chance of survival.

Rest peacefully, Molly-girl, in your heaven.