After spending time with Chrome’s band during my last visit, I headed back to the Jeep, and found Hollywood’s and Comanche’s bands just over the hill on the other side of the road, so I mosey out to see what they were up to. As it turned out, I visited during their visit. Oh, if they could talk in language we could understand (true in many ways, eh?)!
What caught my eye was Tenaz and Winona, the 2010 babies in each band, disregarding band boundaries, playing together while their respective bands grazed – respectfully – a short distance from each other. Babies are absolutely neutral ground, and I’ve seen this again and again.
Comanche and Kestrel – Winona’s dam and stepdaddy – were up the hill to my left; Hollywood (Tenaz’s daddy), Piedra (Tenaz’s mama), Baylee (aunt), Sage (big brother) and Iya (soon-to-be producer of Sage and Tenaz’s half-brother or -sister in the spring) were down to the right. The fence you see is part of an “exclosure,” designed to help BLM monitor forage. The horses (nor cattle) can get at the forage inside, so it gives a sample of what ungrazed vegetation looks like. I’m not sure how often (or if at all?) BLM monitors the exclosures (there are a few in the basin). I like this picture – stand by for anthropomorphization: Isn’t it just like a girl to be focused elsewhere (mama and stepdaddy), and isn’t it just like a boy to be focused on the girl? 🙂
I took a seat, and pretty soon, Tenaz came trotting past on his way to mama-security …
… and ‘Nona came by for a look after checking in with her own mama.
Eventually, Comanche came to “collect” his little girl, and she walked back toward mama (grazing up the hill) … Tenaz in tow.
Oh, little boy. Oh, stallion-to-be.
Either of these foals would be a candidate to stay in the basin … Winona definitely represents outside genetics: Her grandma Luna came from Sand Wash Basin in 2001. Tenaz might represent outside genetics; I think his sire, Hollywood, is a son of grulla mare Slate, who was brought with Luna and another mare (she died the winter after the roundup – unknown cause).
We got a major Arctic blast just as I traveled back from Texas – lots of snow and subzero temperatures. A visitor to the basin New Year’s Day reports lots and lots of snow – which represents summer water. I can’t wait to get out there. From her pictures, the scenery of the basin is vastly different than when I took these pictures three weeks ago!
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 
Just got back from an afternoon of shopping for provisions and what did I find? Your (now MY!) beautiful calendar AND another wonderful story. With all the CRAP that’s going on elsewhere, you and the Spring Creek horses continue to be my port in the storm!
Growing up with the freedom to pick your friends. How Divine…
Tenaz has the sweetest face…and those eyes! Yeah-now that look at it, he does look like Hollywood! In the second picture his mane and face seem especially close to his father’s.
Just beautiful! I can’t wait to see the snow photos! It’s so funny, a couple of weeks ago we had so much snow at the Highlands. Now we are melting and you are the ones snowed in! 😉
They look quite plump and happy–the cold weather doesn’t seem to bother them much!
Tenaz DOES favor his daddy, I think, while Sage, his big brother, tends to favor mama Piedra a little more.
Their fuzzy coats just amaze me … and how comfortable they seem no matter if it’s cold and snow-covered or 100 degrees and swishing and bucking at flies!
It was fun watching the babies go back and forth. The adults didn’t cross that “invisible line,” but the babies crossed into each other’s “territory” with no worries. Although at one point, Piedra had apparently decided her boy had been at the neighbors’ too long, and she called him home for dinner! Kestrel, when Winona tried to nurse, gave a half-hearted attempt to warn her off, but motherhood took over, and she let her. Won’t be long now and they’ll be weaning the babies. They already show baby-round bellies, Iya especially.