Bachelors

Cowboy and ?
Big boy bachelors

Brave's Band

Stallion on the left. Pretty spooky!
Chief hiding behind white horse.Brave is a huge, magnificent bay band stallion. I have yet to hang out with these guys. Sorry, all these pictures with no snow were taken in November. I had some extra shots I thought were worth posting...My hope is come 2012 we know the family bands and individuals so we can cull them humanely or swap with other HMA's to improve genetics. I am pretty sure the HSUS (The Humane Society of the United States) is doing a good job with this. I just can't find any info. The 2 other herds in Colorado have public helpers in on it as well.. Friends of the Mustangs for The Little Book Cliffs and Spring Creek has a horse riders group help count and work on the range. Sand Wash is the largest of the HMA's in Colorado. These horses need friends to make sure they can still run wild and free!

Roany

This bachelor stallion seems to be somewhat of an underdog and he does not look as fit as some. I wonder if he is older. I love his sweet face. Hope he winters OK. So far, so good! I call him Roany.  UPDATE 9/11 This stallion has vanished. I have not seen him since the winter of 2009

Lightning's band

Sand Wash Basin American Mustangs through and through. Lightning's Band.

The little family makes sure that the only foal is safe from harm. I call him Flash. He is a little pinto colt.

Flash.... his mom, Pablina, is the white mare. The bay mare does not have a foal.

The family unit minus Blue Sky and Pablina.

The awesome band stallion, Lightning. This is just amazing to see. He looks so healthy and conditioned...I am in awe!

Lightning and his daughter?  I call her Blue Sky. I am so glad she got spared being rounded up in 2008. She likes to be wild, I know. They seem to thrive in these extreme conditions with no humans interfering.

The one and only, Blue Sky. She has a nice pinto splash, a great big blaze and white eye lashes. A real American Beauty.

She blends in so well! The Sand Wash has so many grey/white ponies. Love it! I call her grey boots. (Later her name was changed to Pablina).

Beauty in motion.

Lightning takes care of his family. He is wary of me .... the way they move through the snow is incredible.

I think she is a 2 year old, one blue eye one brown, stunning little filly. One of the few young females I have seen. The mustangs must have gotten all mixed up when they were rounded up. No thought was given to bands. The mares were put in one area and the stallions in another. Every single weanling (2008 foal) was removed. We can do better. Seems like the system needs to be changed.

These two got separated from the herd, major drama. They like to stick together, that is for sure! The chestnut is a stallion.

Family portrait minus two horses.

Finding plenty to eat, looking very healthy for the middle of winter.

I call this chestnut beauty, Haze. He is like Blue Sky, one brown eye, one blue. He is a wild thang! This is a satellite stallion.

Little Flash, the lone 2009 foal, he is special.

Here is Lightning showing off his unusual facial markings.

These pictures are from back in November. I met this handsome stallion and his lovely harem near Two Bar Spring. His pinto markings are so much like Benson's, but they look nothing alike! He has 2 of the whitest mares I've ever seen. One of the foals looks a lot like Lightning, but is sorrel. I call him  Flash. This is a very stunning looking family of horses. I have a video posted of this group earlier on this blog. Also try Micahflash channel on You Tube for this and a few more videos of Sand Wash Mustangs.

Misc pictures and words

One of the chestnut foals, you can see the other one coming up from behiEm on the downhill. So fit and able!
Benson and Snow Man.
Cheyenne and a good look at the red foal with big stripe. Classic Sand Wash tail!
Corona's band, minus a few.
Vogue's 2009 foal, Gem.
I'm just doing this for fun. The BLM is in charge of these horses. Also the HSUS has loads of pictures from 2008 before the round up of 2008. They are studying the effects a fertility drug (PZP) has on the mares and herd dynamics. They will be out there this summer, trying to dart mares to give them a booster. I don't think I will be going to The Wash much in the summer, can't stand the desert heat, plus it is getting so busy, lots of dirt bikes....just some thoughts. For now I will continue to post pictures. Maybe some one has a Sand Wash pony and would like to see his or hers relatives. Maybe it could help sort them into family bands when they are rounded up. I would like to see the scheduled round up for 2012 go smoothly or better yet, not at all!

Battered White Out and Big Benson

I spot the 2 bachelors in Sand Wash proper. White Out has blood on his sides and quite a few wounds. What went on? I wonder.

Hardy souls

One of the red foals, this guy or  gal has a star, the other foal has a stripe. (9/11 this is  Lona's 2009 filly, Maybell)There's the chestnut mare, Lona. Big blaze, big Sand Wash girl. She almost looks pregnat, but I'm also quite sure she was administered the fertility drug, PZP. This herd is being documented by the HSUS in the summer. (9/11 Lona is not part of the PZP study. She is a very prolific mare)
The beautiful lead mare, Lona.
Em, she is a black beauty
Corona, Yarrow and her foal
Lona with One Spirit, the bay foal of Em, coming up from behind.These are all horses in Corona's band. I'm amazed these horses do so well with what they have. They look great!

Cheyenne and Tripod

The little lame perlino foal,  Tripod.
Tripod's mom, Cheyenne
She is a tough little desert pony.
Safe by his mom's side
Cheyenne has a very long, tangled mane...gorgeous.
White as the snow.I love these pale ponies. I hope Tripod somehow gets better. His right rear hock is weird looking and making him lame. But he is nursing, pawing for food and hanging with his family.