Cobolt's Band

Here is a band I do not see very often and when I do see them they are very shy and usually sneak away. It is Cobolt's band. Cobolt is the black with a small star. He is all mustang with his roman nose, good bone and wiley disposition.

A rare shot of the stallion with his lead mare, Mohogany. She is very pregnant here. She is part of the HSUS's PZP study. In my opinion, leave her alone. I am not totally against PZP, but believe we should be more selective .

The little yearling filly with the distinctive long, thin stripe is Mahogany's daughter, Ohyee. She is shown with her new "sister", Skye, who is Chippewa's 2 yr old filly from Ohitika's band. I have no idea when or how Cobolt acquired her, but she looks well taken care of.

I took this photo a couple of weeks later. Mahogany has had her foal. We have called her CJ. Always fun to observe this elusive little band of wild horses that call Sand Wash Basin home.

Barcus Gets A Band

It is good to see the black, Barcus, has finally won over a mare. It is Honey from Solaris's band, her yearling filly, Blondie and 2011 colt, Montie.

In between Solaris and Barcus, Honey was part of "the unsettled band" led by the grey mare, Eleganza. I am glad to see she has settled with this brawny stallion.

Blondie is a real beauty. She is the only apricot dun I know of roaming the range.

Montie is roaning out.

Barcus has lost half an ear trying to win over mares....Last year he got stuck on the other side of the fence....I am so glad he found his back way in to his home. He is really healing up nicely and is full of himself.

Solaris

Here comes Solaris and band to the water hole.

Solaris is a bay. He had a larger band last year, but still has two faithful mares and their young with him.

The grey mare we call Frosty. She has a yearling roan filly (Flare) and a new 2011 foal. The other mare is the bay who has a two year old daughter. They are called Sedona and Mesa. Real look  alikes. Here they are watering at Sheepherder Springs. Some of the mustangs' favorite water hole.

Frosty sees me and is very alert. She is not sure about humans.

Solaris

The new foal. He is a colt we ID'd as Satin.

It is so hard to tell the bays apart in this band. We will have to work on it so we make sure if there is a gather it is more humane.

I posted this so we could see the white on their legs. I think that is the 2 yr old, Sedona, looking at the camera.

Viggo's Band (feat Zorro & Rocket)

The two frisky brothers in Viggo's band have a romp...

The little grey colt is Rocket, he was born early this spring. The handsome sorrel is Zorro, he is a 2010 colt.

Zorro was an only foal untill Rocket came along.

"Come on big guy show me what you got!"

These two are in Viggo's band.

Such a joy to watch wild mustangs play.

Back to mom to have a drink of her milk.

Vegas's Band (feat PJ and Morgan)

Vegas's band has finally settled down enough to where I can get a good look at them, but the mysterious grey mare with the new foal is very wary of people. I am cautious to put a new ID on her because I am not 100%  sure she has not been recorded. Anyway here they are.

There is PJ (Picasso Junior) who was born into Picasso's band late last  summer. Somehow he ended up with his Vegas along side his dam.,Olga. He is a crowd favorite. You can see why. Most likely he is a Picasso colt, although one could never know for sure.

He seems happy with the new arrangement .

PJ was one of only a few pinto babies born in 2010. He is unique in every way.

This little grey mare joined Vegas soon after Olga. She does not seem to be a 2 yr old. I think if I go through photos I will find out where she came from...she looks very familiar. This colt runs beside her. We call him Morgan.

Morgan and PJ will be mustang brothers and learn the ways of Sand Wash Basin together. Isn't he cute?

I think Vegas will take good care of his newly acquired band. Last year he had Lady and Casino....On a personal note he is also the sire to my adopted mustang, Odakota.

Jib's Band

I spot Jib's band in the distance....I veer off onto a two track to get a closer look of this elusive band. I am on a mission. I want to show the world how awesome these last remaining Colorado free roaming mustangs are.

There's the lead mare, aptly given the name Crazy Horse...look at that coloring!. She is show with her 2011 colt with the question mark strip....Riddler. Crazy is not well, "crazy", about humans , but her curiosity about me gets the best of her and she turns to face me. That is what makes wild horses unique from other wildlife.  They are willing to trust humans. I don't think you could get an elk to join up out here!

This is a typical Jib ecounter. You are racing against time to snap a few photos, these mustangs usually don't stick around long. Jib put himself between me and his band and struts his stuff.

Jib

There are the two 2011 foals. I have not determined the gender of the one on the left. He or she is ID'd as Dash.

The family portrait from Lto R  Jewel (Jill's yearling filly), Jib, Dash, Jill,Callie (Crazy's 2 yr old daughter), Riddler and lead mare, Crazy Horse.

Jewel is the type of horse I worry getting lost in the shuffle if they do "gather" them. The greys are hard...there are quite a few of them and they constanly change color. Let's keep our eye on this girl

Jill, Jib's white mare with Dash.

.....and their off!

Twister's Band (Feat Promise)

Today I make a special trip to see if I can find Twister's band. I know Shady would have had her foal by now. At first I do not see them so I take a detour and explore some new area then come back to where I have seen them so many times before...sure enough they are there! I am more then thrilled!

Twister loves the new filly in the band, CopperGirl. I am pretty sure she came from Copper's band. She is a beautiful liver chestnut color. Twister lets his two year old colt, Gus, interact with her. Gus and CopperGirl are good friends.

Twister, the loyal band stallion. He was quite lame for most of last summer, but his mares stayed with him. He is sound this year.

Shady's new foal is filly and a real chunk! Healthy as a horse this one. We group named her Promise on facebook. Once again the names are so we humans can communicate together. In my opinion it does not make them any less wild. Please ignore these ID's if you do not agree with naming. The worst thing a person could do would be to change them. We all need to be on the same page if there is a gather. The mustangs are also being put on a spreadsheet with numbers if  you are more scientific minded.

Look how Sunni, Windy's filly, has grown....she is greying out beautifully. She was born a little before Promise, but already Promise is bossing her sister around!

The grulla is Whisp, Promise's full sister. For the longest time I thought Whisp was a colt, but confirmed today she is a filly. Here she is telling Sunni off.

Whisp, she is Shady's 2010 filly.

Most likely half sisters. Twister's band is usually off by themselves and his two grey mares are loyal to Twister (I think). One could never know for sure who is the true sire of the foals out at SWB.

We "Promise" you a more modern, humane way of management.

Keeping up with her band.

Twister with his yearling daughter. She is gogreous and very feminine. Look at the primitive striping down her legs. These are not turned out ranch horses....that I know for sure.

The grey mares have a tight bond. They are proven brood mares.

Family bonds.

Windy's amazing mane. Shady has a good one too.

It might be awhile before I see this band again. I was so lucky to catch a glimpse of this secretive wild horse harem. Thanks Twister!