Demi, The Domestic

Demi keeps going to the place she started....is she trying to tell us something??

Using Benson's tail as a fly swatter.

Demi, the sorrel pinto, first showed up at Sand Wash Basin late last fall. She was near the entrance and clearly had been "dropped off". I can confirm she was domestic by the way she came up to me to be petted! She took up with Benson and then ended up with Greasewood's band for the winter. Anyway she has made it back to Benson and where she started off. She is struggling to keep up with Benson, who probably moves at least (probably more) 10 miles a day....it is wearing her out. She is not made to withstand the brutal conditions of SWB. I have observed wild horse watchers seeing her and getting very close. Locally, Sand Wash has a reputation of being "disguarded ranch horses", which of course we know is a myth, except for this mare. I think it is bad for this herd's reputation to have Demi out there, plus it is inhumane keeping her out there when we know what is going on out on the range. Also the HSUS is spending millions trying to control the population. Well, this would be a way to remove a breeding mare. Demi likes people and would make someone a good horse.

 We need to start helping these modern day mestangos. It is 2011 and we should be progressing in the way we manage the last of our herds. We should be setting up a bait station, preparing to get horses adopted out, start communicating! For the horses' sake! Between the HSUS and the public we have the knowledge to forge ahead with humane management. I have to believe we are on our way...

My only hope is that all this "data" will lead to a new way of managing wild horses. They deserve to be treated with some repect! N

Dan's Band

Spyder, the sabino (?) satallite stallion for the band led by the duns. I am slowing learning about this elusive band.

This is the only yearling in the group. A pretty little chestnut filly. I have not determined who is her dam. We need to get an ID on her and in the books!

I first saw this 2 yr old colt (Roosevelt) the sping of 2009. Back then he was with just one of the duns and his mom, Splash. Splash is one of two loud pinto mares in this harem. Roosevelt  has a distinctive pinto marking on his neck.

The pinto "sisters" the one on the left is Luna and the one on the right is Splash. You could easily mistake Luna for Crazy Horse, who is in Jib's band. I call these pre painted Indian War Pones. They are beautiful.

I know one or both of these mares are in the PZP study. I have seen the workers trying to dart them. This is Splash.

They just did a quick walk by. They are a little more shy then some. But like many of the mustangs out at Sand Wash are becoming more tolerant of people.

Here is where it gets confusing. I don't know if this a 2 yr old or another stallion that lives in harmony with the other dun.

I am pretty sure this is the band stallion.

There they are, minus the satellite stallion, Spyder, who is almost always seen tagging them.

Comments

Thank you for all the nice comments. I read each and everyone...I am unable to reply for some reason. (technical difficulties). These wild horses are lucky to have so many admirers. I am hoping this helps them in some way. Let's hang in there for the mustangs. Nancy

Mysteries

Here is an elusive little family. This is the first time I have seen this foal that is with the dun, Storm, and his mare, Blue Sky. Sky came from Lightnings band. She ran off with Storm last June. He keeps her well hidden. We need a name on the yearling. I don't know if it is a filly or colt.

Destiny is now with this black stallion who I believe to be Harlan. Destiny is Viggo's and Kira's yearling filly who ended up seperated from her family coming out of winter.

I am pretty confused about this band...I wonder if one is Tuscarora's 2 yr old filly, Dolly? Tuscarora was near by. I think the yearling is the one we called Slate? We need to do some research to ID this little band. I think the black stallion is Slick, who I need to get in an album.

This is a band I am slowly learning about. They have two crazy looking pinto mares, who look like they could be sisters. We named them Splash  and Luna. Splash has the 2 yr old sorrel colt, Roosevelt. He is easy to tell apart as he has a pinto marking on the side of his neck. The band stallion is one of the duns, I always forget which one. Both duns need ID's along with a yearling chestnut filly we have not recorded. I do not know who her mom is. I will add the duns along with the filly to our albums. I am going to do a whole post about this encounter. Please be patient!

Wow, this band was spooky with their new foal. I think the sorrel stallion is Solaris, who had a large band last year. The grey mare is Frosty, the roan yearling is her colt, Flare. The other horses are the bays Sedona and Mesa. Hope to see more of this band.

It was good to see Silverado, the white/grey, with his band. Nothing has changed here except for the mare's (Celeste's) new foal. I did not get a gender. The yearling filly is Bird. The black is a stallion we call Skerik. I don't know how he fits in. Satellite stallion? Aragon was dogging this band.

This is the white stallions, Warrior, band, minus Warrior. The mare and her 2 yr old colt (Shiva and Shane) are pintos. The new filly we call Diva. Bojangles is a satellite stallion for these guys. Cortez had this mare and her colt last year.

Cortez, the dun with the hour glass blaze, with his two mares, The white mare is Asha, she is nose to nose with her son, Aspen. The bay mare (Athena) was with Solaris last year. She does not seem to have foals.

I was lucky to find Vegas with PJ and Olga (from Picasso's band). This mare had joined them with her newborn.  I have better photos of this mare and will do some more research. I just want to make sure we don't count horses twice.  

I finally saw Tuscarora (another grey/white stallion) and his two mares, the yearling palo, Goldie, and the two new foals. This one belongs to Gaia, we named her Arctic. Talia's is younger and is also a filly . So nothing has changed too much here (phew) except his 2 yr old filly, Dolly is missing. These mustangs were not into being photographed on this day ....Talia (the grey mare) was very shy with the new filly.

West Side Bachelor Stallions

Bachelor stallions!

Some of the beautiful pintos that call Sand Wash Basin home.

Nick and Flash were really buddied up on this day. Here they pose with the big bay, Thunder.

Hoot! the HSUS told me he is Eagle's 2009 colt, but then where does Sparrow fit in? Personally I think Sparrow was orphaned.

It's really good to see Kokomo hanging out with other stallions. He was alone a lot last summer and was on again, off again lame. He seemed to be in charge here and best friends with Hoot.

This is Flash. He just got kicked out of Rounder's band this spring when his new sister, Luziano was born. He is the son of Lightning and Pablina. I first met him in the fall of 2009. He was just a scruffy little guy, my has he bloomed! Good to see him with the Boyz.

Ranger

Tango, this is Picasso's and Mingo's 2009 colt. He left his band last summer.

Thunder

This was a seperate encounter...This is Hurricane. You can tell him from the other duns because he has no white, Last summer he was with Haze. At first I thought the sorrel with him was his old buddy, but it is Ziggy, the 2 yr old colt out of Bug's band that just left. It was just the two of them on this day. I can't confirm, but I think he is a three year old that did not get rounded up in 2008.

Ziggy, he looks a lot like my adopted boy with the big wrap around blaze. This guy is a character. I  had fun watching him play with his palo brother, Skip, last summer. they were rowdy yearlings. Then their mom's each had a palomino colt, Butch and Sundance. Just the greatest group of wild horses!

Leaving the water hole...going somewhere. What a fun encounter this was! Love these colorful stallions!

Mr Independent, Ranger. He was the only one that split off from the group. I think of him as the Hildago of The Basin. He is a real ham this one.

It was so good to see Kokomo, I had not seen up up close this year. he was one of the original horses I followed through the winter of 2010. He was a saellite stallion for Sterling back then who had Crow and her then yearling colt, Star. I am pretty sure he is out of Picasso.

Splashing, drinking and playing at the water hole.

Our palomino, Nick. I recently obtained some information that Nick might be a three year old.....three year olds are rare out here. Every single weanling that was rounded up by helicoper in oct of 2008 was removed. Did Nick evade capture?

Tashunka and Ohitika's Bands

Often times the two roan band stallions, Ohitika and Tashunka, are seen hanging out near each other. They have done a bunch of swapping around and Wakan Ska, Tashunk's grulla mare is missing. I'll try to explain...

Ohitika's band front to back...Chippewa (sorrel, his original mare), Chippewa's new filly, Wi Wakan (formely with Tashunka), Mina (Tashunka's 2 yr old filly out of Moda), and the stallion. What color roan is he??

Front to back....Moda, Nahmana (Moda's yearling filly, Kangee (black mare), Chikala (Wi Wakan's yearling filly) and Tecomseh (orphan)

Tashunka

Ohitika

The fillies watching the wise old mare, Moda, have a roll.

While I was watching Tashunka ran to meet up with Willie Nelson and Snip, two near by bachelor stallions. Here he is running back to his band. I love it when the stallions do this. Usually when they are gone the youngsters get curious and approach me to investigate.

Mina, the bay, is Tashunka's and Moda's 2 yr old filly who has clearly moved over to Ohitka's band along with the grey mare. There was another 2 yr old in Tashunka's band last year...Takoda. He is now running with the bachelors. he is a stunning blue roan. I have not seen him lately, but confirmed he had made it through the brutal winter.

This is Tecomseh. I first met her about a month ago when she was a newborn. Her grulla mom, Wakan Ska, was with her. I am sorry to report Ska is missing....she was not with her band, nor Ohitika's on this day. This is the youngest foal I have witnessed being orphaned. We will have to wait and see what happens. For now she is clinging to Chikala, her yearling half sister.

You can tell Chikala by her horizonal star and unique coloring. She is the yearling daughter to the grey, Wi Wakan, who is now with Ohitika. She is a yearling. She was born a good three months ahead of Nahmana last spring. She was an early foal.

Last year Ohitika only had one mare, this sorrel we call Chippewa. She had a 2 yr old filly (Skye) by her side, but the filly is gone replaced by this new one. Isn't she a little beauty? This is the first foal I have seen out at Sand Wash with this coloring.

Ohitika is having a scuffle (nothing became of it except a lot of noise) with Cimmaron, who is near by with his one mare (Spice) and her 2011 colt (Pepe). Doesn't Cimmaron look good this year? Last summer he spent quite a bit of time with Bear, Ellie and Flirt as a satellite stallion.

The black mare, Kangee, joined this band late last summer. She has no youngsters of her own, but makes a nice "auntie" horse for the little orphaned roan filly.

Moda (Little Bear) with her yearling filly, Nahmana.

Tashunka's fillies  L to R Nahmana, Chikala and Tecomseh