(That’s me on 5-year-old Quarter Horse mare Smokin Gem Cody (or, as she’s affectionately known around the ranch, “Gem Jammies”). Photo taken Jan. 1, 2007, by my mom, Nancy Holmes, on the Changing Winds Ranch in Texas.)
My name is TJ Holmes. I live in the very southwestern corner of Colorado. I moved here in May 2001, then moved to Montana for six months in 2005, then moved back to Colorado in January 2006. I have been visiting the wild horses of Spring Creek Basin since October 2002, when I wrote an article and took photos for a story that appeared in The Durango Herald in November 2002. (I was a copy editor/page designer at the Herald from 2001-2005 and am now editor of the Dolores Star.)
My great-grandfather farmed with draft horses, my mom’s mom and my dad’s dad grew up with and had horses all or most of their lives. My parents grew up with horses and met showing horses while they were in high school in Ohio. Family lore says I have been riding since I was about 6 months old; Mom or Dad would hold me in front of them in the saddle while they rode. I would go to sleep, but when they lifted me down, I would wake up, see that I wasn’t on the horse and start bawling and reaching for the horse.
Until I moved to Colorado, I had had horses (mostly Quarter Horses, but also a couple of crazy/loony Appaloosa mares, one Arabian gelding and one Anglo-Trakehner mare) all my life; circumstances of life and a journalism salary make it impossible for me to have horses here, and I think that may be one reason why I have been so interested in the wild horses.
After I wrote the article, I continued to journey out to the herd area (two hours from where I live) to photograph and observe the horses, but not until the BLM roundup in August 2007 did I meet people who were involved in advocating for these horses and become involved myself. I am now on the board of the Spring Creek Basin chapter of the National Mustang Association. I have visited herd areas in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana and plan to visit others in the future.
The most important thing I learned from those visits is that documentation of horses in a particular herd is an absolutely vital first step toward protecting them. Because we did not have that documentation in hand during our roundup, it was necessary to gather as many horses as possible and separate them (by gender) in order to know which horses could stay and which would go. Now that I have documented all the horses in the basin, I hope to provide advice about which horses should stay and which might be suitable for adoption WITHOUT the need to separate all the horses that are gathered. The stress of being run through the rough terrain of the area by a helicopter is bad enough, but then the horses are separated from their families at the trap site. Mares fight trying to protect their foals, and stallions fight unfamiliar stallions. Nearly all the horses were scraped and banged up from this method of gather.
Allow me my soapbox: There are at least two better ways. One is to use the helicopter to bring in family bands and then keep the bands (which are usually small – the biggest band currently in the area is only nine horses) together in separate pens. After a number of bands are penned, people with documentation of the horses already know which horses are suitable for removal. The remaining horses can be released – as family units – after just a few hours.
(These horses were gathered at the Little Book Cliffs Wild Horse Range (near Grand Junction) in September 2007.)
During the gather I witnessed, the horses were less stressed and – significantly – less injured.
(A blue-eyed pinto stallion stands calmly penned with his mares during the Little Book Cliffs gather. These horses, the first of about 10 to be gathered that day, were in the trap only about three hours as compared with horses at the Spring Creek Basin gather, some of which were penned for three days.)
The other way is by the “bait removal” method. This way takes longer, but there is even less stress because a helicopter is not used. A trap site with pens is set up with bait inside. Horses come into the trap and, again, because documentation is in hand, horses to be removed from an area are known and can be separated by use of remote-control triggers on the trap gates. The other horses come and go, as at a water hole, depending on band heirarchy.
My foremost concern is the horses. I understand that the BLM has a job to do, but I’d like to see “management” tempered by “protection.”
(Grey stares out from the trailer Aug. 28, 2007, in Canon City right before we headed for home. He spent the next three weeks in quarantine.)
(Grey (commonly known as Traveler) was released into the basin on Sept. 19, 2007. He is now once again a band stallion with three mares two foals and one on the way.)
My goal with this blog is to allow people to go into the basin through me and view the wild horses as they would if I could take them on a four-hour snowshoe hike around the interior of the herd area, like I did in December. As stated on the “welcome” post, I have started naming the horses. My apologies if my name for a horse doesn’t jive with your name; until now, I specifically avoided naming most of the horses. However, it has become more convenient to name them, for my own records and because they are individuals, and each is unique. And, for the sake of clarification, I want to reiterate that I call “Traveler” Grey. Recognizing that he is most commonly known as Traveler, I will try to refer to him by that name, but he’ll always be Grey to me! 
That’s my girl! I enjoyed reading about the horses, tho I’ve heard most of the stories and seen the pictures. GREAT job! And a great service!
I live in Ohio and more than a decade ago I thought that it would be a good idea to adopt a wild horse through the BLM adoption program. When I got to the adoption site I was appalled. My first thought was to call the ASPCA. These horses were scared to death and flighty. Can we blame them? First of all, they were seperated from their families and hauled across the country, and then they were forced into tiny enclosures and forced to endure the indignities of being poked and prodded by the people that are supposed to protect them. Needless to say, by the time they reached Ohio there were not a lot of “tameable” horse among them. Which leads me to the question of, “What does the BLM do with the horses that they consider unadoptable?”
I believe “unadoptable” horses go to one of the various sanctuaries the BLM has for wild horses that have not been adopted, whether because of age or other reasons (I read somewhere that there are now more wild horses in holding pens than in the wild). I’m not really sure what leads the BLM to label a horse “unadoptable,” but to me, that’s like calling a child “unteachable.” Every person – and every horse – can learn, and we do them a huge injustice to label them otherwise. The stallion I call Grey (otherwise known as Traveler) that we rescued from Canon City is at least 14. He was in a round-pen “quarantine” for three weeks, during which time I was able to see him up close. Such intelligence in that horse’s eyes! I have no doubt that the right hands could coax him to overcome his fear of people. But horses over 10 are considered unadoptable – stallions, especially so. I’ve been thinking about this lately, too. You hit the nail on the head when you observed how frightened the horses were in that pen. In my experience, the only thing wrong with “bad” horses is the person trying to “train” that horse. My goal isn’t to use this blog to rant against the BLM (there *are* some good folks!), but I think a generic problem is that it is an agency trying to manage wild horses as they would cattle, when a better course would be to manage wild horses as deer or elk – as wild animals, not livestock. I believe some “unadoptable” Pryor horses were, in fact, adopted and are doing quite well with their owners. Matt knows this better, but I think they were called “unadoptable” because they simply weren’t adopted.
T J
I know that you care as much about the wild horses as I do. Have you read the report by the BLM that says that the Pryor Mountain herd should be reduced to 95 to 99 horses? I do not even want to get into the ways they say thi s should be done . They want to limit their water sources and only leave the younger horses on the range. I think you realize that with age comes experience. This applies with horses as well as humans. If you have followed Matt’s blog as I hav ethen you read the comments in the Billings Gazette. I could not believe some of the things posted there. One person actually said “Where are the wolves when we need them” . Another was concerned about the foals blocking traffic by going across the street. There was yet another that had the nerve to say that the horse was not indiginous to this country. Do they not realize that for 1 the horse was here long before humans were and 2 where would this country be without the horse? It was the horse that was the most helpful part of man conquering the west in this country. Just try getting a wagon train across this country without them. Needless to say I am mad enough to spit. I don’t know what it would take to convince these people that that the horse should be respected for all that it has done for this country.
TJ,
Thank you for your comment on my blog. I have no way of responding from my blog. I appreciate your support. You are right, there is not much snow left right now, it is melting fast.
Billie
T,
Sorry, I didn’t see your post until today. Yes, I did read part of the BLM report for the Pryor horses, and I read the Billings Gazette article – and the comments – and was just as shocked as you. After reading all those replies, I realized that the BLM isn’t the only entity we’re fighting; we’re also fighting negative public perception (where did it come from?). In spite of all the “green” news being bantered about these days, I think maybe most people have been “cityfied” or influenced by popular hunting opinion. I really don’t know. A lot of people see horses as no better than invasive weeds, it seems. I don’t have anything against cattle (my folks raise some cattle), but I have to say I really hated to see them in the herd area a couple of weekends ago … but then again, the horses in our herd area are descended from ranchers’ horses, so I have to respect that tradition, too. People tend to forget, with our 40-inch plasma screens and iPhones (I don’t have either), that we’re really not so far removed from the horse and buggy days! Some people just get it how important horses were to our history and are to our present; other people will never get it. I was surprised, like you, by the wolf comment. I bet that same person is happy about the new wolf hunting season in Montana now that wolves are about to be delisted as an endangered species. Two opposite ends of the spectrum (wild horses and wolves), but both are controversial species. Why? Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, I suppose.
Lowering the number of horses on the Pryor Mountain range is not the answer, in my opinion – especially because of the unique bloodlines of the horses but also because of their traditional use of the region beyond the fenced boundaries of the specific wild horse range. Man keeps encroaching onto lands that have always been wild. Will we be happy when there are no wild horses or elk or mountains lions or wolves left?
The AML (appropriate management level) of our Spring Creek Basin herd is only 35-65. The BLM here introduces horses from other Colorado herd areas periodically to maintain viable genetics, but our horses don’t have the unique trace back to Spanish horses that the Pryor horses do. In the Pryors, it’s critical to keep a viable herd size. Once you (the BLM) meddle with that uniqueness, it’s gone, and there’s no getting it back.
I suppose this could have been a blog post; it’s awfully long! But I have been following Matt’s blog religiously about the BLM evaluation there, wondering how it will all play out.
And hi, Billie!
Are you guys getting this snow that has us socked in? Very wet and already mostly melted, but it’s supposed to snow through Saturday. I’m leaving Saturday for Tucson and the Wild Horse and Burro Program meeting there Monday. I’ll have an update on the blog when I get back. Like you, I am looking forward to foaling season!
TJ
TJ
I realize that your horses don’t have the Spanish Barb background that the Pryor Mountain horses have, but that does not make them any less valuable as a part of our heretige and theirs. They are still reminders of our past. Your herd reminds of Indian ponies. Being of Native American ancestry I really appreciate the role of the horse in our past. I have also learned the signivicence of a horse of color.
I must agree with you on the issue of Appaloosas. I realize that they are loving, they are just not very focused. Shall we say they are a little flighty?
I would love to see your horses. When is the best time? I need to make arraingments to see Fools Crow in the Pryors and your horses all in one vacation.
After your observations, what do you think is a viable number for your herd? There are plenty of us out there that would fight for our right to keep the wild horse herds running.
T,
Our horses are absolutely a valuable reminder of our history and heritage, and I hope I didn’t imply otherwise. I don’t know the science behind genetic viability, so I don’t know if it’s a different number for our horses vs. say, the Pryor horses, but the accepted number up there is about 150 (Matt has a new Q&A post that is well worth reading). Based on the huge disparity between our AML and that 150 number, getting our herd to a number that would support non-introductory genetic viability is probably moot. Our herd area is just too small and the range too poor to support that many horses. One hope we have is getting rid of the remaining cattle AUMs and thus increase our AML, but I still don’t think it would increase significantly; the cattle are on the range only three months (in fact, they’re off now! Yay!).
The best time to visit our herd area is summer or fall, both because of foaling season and because of access. I always love to show off “my” ponies!
T J,
You are a woman after my own heart. I read back through your bio and was really interested about the horses you have been around. I worked at a riding stable off and on for a long time just to be around horses. After being there for a while, I began to notice that their background wasn’t as important as their own individual personalities and traits.
All of the horses on this continent, wild or tame came from common ancestors and should be treated as such. As you would say, allow me my soapbox. There is nobody in particular to blame, unless we all want that honor.
I can only hope that you get to see your horses live to be a ripe old age and breed that need to survive into their offspring. I am running out of room like the mustangs so I will sign off.
THANKS
People who don’t know animals are always surprised when they find out animals have unique personalities – just like humans. THAT always surprises me. National Geographic has a wonderful article this month called “Inside Animal Minds.” Animals are like people: There are geniuses amongst ‘em! But we need just average humans who care to help keep our wild horses wild.
TJ
Hiya TJ
As usual, you have found a noble cause and do an excellent job writing about it and bringing it to the people.
It’s easy to see your genuine concern and enthusiasm.
You’re doing an excellent job.
Speaking for the horses, THANK YOU.
Keep up the good work,
Tom
Thanks, Uncle Tom! I’ve definitely found my “whales” to save. Heyla to Kayla!
Love, TJ
TJ
I spent most of my formative years in the city where having a horse was out of the question. Fortunately, this did not dampen my hope that some day I would have a horse of my own.When I turned 16 my father asked me what kind of car I wanted, and I cannot say he was totally surprised when I asked for a horse instead.
Except for a brief time, horses have always been a big part of my life. I now have three generations of horses at my house and they are all unique in personalities. I do not ask much of them other than they let me interact with them and watch them run.
I realize that when they meet me in the evening after I get home from work, they are not so much glad to see me as they know that I am there to feed them, None the less. I love them. They can be real heifers sometimes, but they have taught me so much.
Most of all they have taught me that that trust is very important. You can do anything with them if you trust them and they trust you.
One thing I learned working at a riding stable is that horses know if you are scared or if you can put your trust in the horse to the point that it can take you around the trail without either of you getting hurt.
It is getting to be that time of year when I have to plan my vacation, so please let me know where I can find you and your horses. I can split my vacation between the Pryor Mountain horses and yours.
I have to see Fools Crow again but I would love to see your horses,too. I have to say that Grey. or Traveler hold a special place in my heart
I met some folks at the roundup last August who adopted a pinto colt in 2005 and another in 2007. The husband had no experience with horses, but his wife had grown up with horses, then left them behind for family. One might first think “whoa – mustangs and inexperienced horse people?! Baaad combination!” But listening to them talk about their mustang – particularly the no-experience husband – it became clear that it was just about the best combination possible. He brought the colt into their family with no expectations and let the horse teach him.
I have had horses all my life and have learned many, many lessons from them. What he said about learning from his horse brought tears to my eyes. We’re never too old – or too experienced – to learn more from those who have everything to teach us. I see you know that, too.
To find us, get out your Colorado map, look way down in the southwestern corner and locate Cortez. Follow U.S. Highway 491 northwestish to Dove Creek. Just beyond DC, follow Colorado Highway 141north. The road curves and goes almost directly east through Disappointment Valley. If your map is detailed enough to show Disappointment Creek, the herd area is mostly in San Miguel County north and east of the creek; the south tip of the herd area (which also is a wilderness study area) is in Dolores County.
You can also check the BLM link on the blog roll; I think there’s a map on that Web site.
I have vacations tentatively planned, too, so let me know when you’re thinking of coming.
TJ
wow
you are awesome
abundance n peace
cheyanne
I added your link to my site. I hope it helps even a little
Hi TJ,
I just finished reading your blog and your comments. I ws especially takenby the one you wrote about “adoptable or not adoptable stallions”. That was a lot of insight into what is truth and non truth about the horses, especially after they are gathered in stressful situations.
Thank you for your sharing that.
Karen Day
TJ,
I am a horse lover from long ago. I have never had the chance to own a horse and now figure I’m too old, but recently I have been helping with some rescued wild mustangs here in Arizona. I am going to be in the Durango area for a couple of days of vacation in the late part of august this year. I was wondering if you could provide me some directions or assistance in viewing the wild mustangs of the Spring Creek Herd? I would dearly love to be able to watch these beautiful creatures. I am up for some hiking if that would be required. I am going to be in the Durango area around August 16 and 17, 2009. My time is somewhat flexible. Hope to hear from you with some options and ideas for viewing the wild horses. Thanks, Jo Arnspiger
Jo,
I sent you an email.
TJ
tks for the effort you put in here I appreciate it!
I am so excited to have come upon your website! Great job!
Hi TJ,
I have been following your blog for months now. I am so impressed with your work. I have visited and photographed the wild horses in Colorado (Little bookcliffs), WYO ( Red Desert and Pilot Butte) and also in a few different places in Nevada. I would love to visit your area. I am a fellow horsewoman that has a life calling to advocate for and protect these sentinent creatures. I would love for you to contact me.
hello. i have been reading your blogs every time there is a new one posted. i live down in Ignacio CO. outside of Durango and i have worked with Al and Von Heaton of east pines ranch quiet often. when we are over there we come and see these horses and i love them so much. now i am actually training a four year old mare that was adopted from there. she is quiet a challenge. any way i would love to speak with you a lot more about these wild horses and who i have my eye on. please e-mail me!! thanks Nicole
Hi TJ
Thank you for getting in touch with me
I tried to email you from your reply but it keeps coming back.. I would love to come out when you get back. Please email me again so we can connect. I would love to meet you out there.
Have a great trip to the Pryor Mtns.
how was your vacation?? i cant wait to hear from you!! i have updates on Cheyanne..
hello,
i was just wondering if you had any information on the horses that were rounded up in 2007. or if you had any other blogs before the roundup. i have gotten the other mustang now from my teacher and i have just fallen for him so fast. he is a wonderful gray and is built so well he has the cutest face and i think he is going to be so much easier to work with than cheyanne. i would love to see them in the wild if you have anyhting on the herds before the round up or if there was a catalog of the horses that were sold for adoption.
thanks and i hope all is well,
nicole
hello TJ,
.
.., eventually giving us American Quarter horse along the way.
I just came across your blog after viewing a film on the youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRcyiFWUuPI
I have been a student of equine history, and especially the wild horse of the Americas (both South and North) in light of the Spanish Conquistadors arrival and subsequent hemisphere conquest from the horseback.
I think your idea of studying the herds and ‘personalizing’ the animals is great and absolutely essential in bringing much desired protection to the mustang herds in the Western US. These animals are walking horse heritage all the way to first animals ridden the Kazakh steppes of Eurasia 6000 years ago – via genetic studies of the Iberian descent horses in the Americas . And they do carry the best gene pool possible for the future horse breeding, as they follow only one way of survival – of the fittest.
I also think this is the best idea to protect the herds from the government itself, and I hope your approach will spread and it will help to eventually curtail the omnipotent BLM and their herd missmanagement, including the so called BLM biologist on the payroll of us, the taxpayers.
So having said that I applaud your idea and perhaps next year will visit you, provided that the BLM will decide to allow some horses on the ranges, as coming next spring we are moving your state
Good luck with your work.
ps
I think they should stop using this name – Spanish mustang and use Iberian mustang instead as most of the conquistador horses came from today’s southwestern Spain and southern Portugal, i.e. Iberian Peninsula. Although the horses came from Iberian Peninsula the Spaniards had about 40 years to develop a type of horse we know now as Spanish mustang as the true conquistador horse was born in the new ranches – encomiendas – in Cuba, Hispaniola etc – Caribbean Islands – between 1492 and 1530s. Also during this crucial period and after the initial importation of the 1490s the Spanish Crown imposed bans on importation and shipment of horses from the mother country to the colonies, and Andalusians were yet to be developed in Cordoba ( 1580s AD). From these islands war horses and broodmares were taken to the continent where they spread and multiplied beyond belief
Dario,
Your research sounds quite extensive and amazing. I have to set the record straight, however, and emphasize that studying and documenting the horses was not my idea – it’s an idea I stole from at least a couple other people already doing it with other herds: Matt Dillon with the Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center in Lovell, Wyo., and Billie Hutchings and other Friends of the Mustangs with the Little Book Cliff horses near Grand Junction. Those folks really opened my eyes to the difference documentation of the horses could make in such areas as roundups and preserving bloodlines. (Find links to their blogs/Web sites on my blog roll.)
Look forward to your visit.
TJ