Prince and Picasso's Bands

Well, it is confirmed...Prince, the elegant white stallion, got his chestnut mares back along with their 2 year old daughters. Last week I caught a glimpse of them sneaking across the desert, then I saw Rounder without them. It took Prince all summer, but he has his girls back. It is great to see.

 This was one of the first bands I saw when I began observing the herd the autumn of 2009. They were just like this with the fillies being little weanlings. Then Prince added the ghost pinto, Mystic, and her newborn daughter, Madeleine spring of 2010 (they came from Lightning's band). He came out of winter with his band intact, but all hell broke loose (I have no idea what happened), but  Rounder ended up with Sunshine and Blazer got Mystic and Moonlight, the other mare. Prince ended up alone... Then Moonlight found her way back to Sunshine and joined Rounder's band. Just recently Prince got them back...So now things are how they started. The dynamics out here are complex and fascinating.

I hiked over a mile to get these shots. I really wanted to see Prince back with his mares. He did not look so good when he was alone. To me he is an old friend.

This is the grey 2 year old filly. She was the one that was with Blazer, then ended up joining Rounder. They never seemed to mix in Rounder's band. Rounder's mares never seemed to accept them.

I call them "the twin chestnut mares"...Sunshine and Moonlight. Named after Steamboat ski runs. I really think they are sisters. They have not had foals since 2009.

The other two year old filly, Oda. She really takes after her mom in the good looks and color departments. She is best friends with Dusty, that is for sure! Such mama's girls. I wonder how long they will stay with their dams? The mother/daughter relationships are some of the strongest out here.

So I'm looking at Prince and his family and look who appears? Picasso! He looks great and seems to be chasing Prince's band. Does he have his eye on Dusty and Oda? I was worried about the Icon as a fellow photographer had shots of a banged up knee, probably from when Vegas stole his yearling daughter, but on this day he was 100% sound and "feeling his oats"!

Picasso's loyal mares...Mingo and Monet.

Picasso's band.....a band with no youngsters.

A fine looking pair!

While I was watching Prince and Picasso, Greasewood came from a mile away to say hi. I could see his mare Yarrow through my binoculars and I saw her run! This is good news...the little mare has been very lame for most of the summer, but I saw her leading her band. More proof how tough these mustangs are!

It was well worth the hike to see this beautiful band of mustangs reunited with each other. And seeing Picasso was a bonus!

Solaris's Band (Taken Over by Willie Nelson)

I was surprised to see Wilie Nelson, the grey/white stallion, had taken over the bay's, Solaris's, band. Willie has been a bachelor since the round up of 2008.

There is Solaris, he is near by and has not given up getting his family back. He is pretty beat up, but no huge wounds. Most of what you see is dried mud from where Willie has kicked him. Willie has blood on him as well.

He also has that large wound on his back right knee, but he has had that for awhile and it has actually gotten better.

Here is what they are fighting for.  Solaris even had a larger band last summer. Maybe he is getting old? The band is unsettled and the boys still have some fighting to do, but when I was observing them Willie clearly was dominant and was strutting his stuff. I posted a video on my YouTube channel for anyone who is interested.

It is good to see Willie with mares. His color is spectacular.

The strongest stallion will win, but for now we will have to wait and see. I am impressed Willie took over an entire band!

Rounder's Shrinking Band

The first band I see this morning is the liver chestnut's, Rounder's. I knew Prince had gotten his chestnut mares and their 2 year old fillies back from Rounder and this encounter confirmed that.

 Rounder had one of the largest bands on the range, but now just has two mares and two youngsters. Proving once again how dynamic the herd is...spreading the genetics around. Nature's way.

Rounder's mares Pablina and Floriano. They are best of friends. They came from Lightning's band when that family broke up in 2010. They never seemed to accept Prince's mares. It looked like Rounder had two separate families when he had the other two mares.

Florinao, she did not have a foal this year. She still has her yearling colt by her side, the big blazed chestnut we call Cabellero.

Pablina has had three foals in a row. Her 2 year old colt, Flash (now with bachelor), her yearling grey colt, Diego, who recently "vanished"...I am hoping he shows up... and this year she has a beautiful 2011 filly .... this little one. Lozania. She is a very elegant mustang mare and a proven mother.

The bay's yearling colt, Cabellero. His sire could be Haze . Haze was with Lightning's band as a satellite stallion when Floriano would have gotten bred. Love this guy, he has a flaxen tail and a dark mane and that wonderful blaze!

The only 2011 foal in this band, Lozanio (Rose Bud).

There is the stallion on the left. The liver chestnut with the prominent stripe. He looks more relaxed now that his band is smaller. I think Prince was running him down, stalking him. He looks much better then last time I saw him. He is a high strung stallion.

The HSUS girl told me she had never seen him until he took over Lightning's band and she had bee documenting for two summers. He is a beautiful stallion with wonderful conformation.

I wanted to show you that wire on the tree. The wire is everywhere in the Basin. We need a clean up day to get rid of it! It is a hazard to the mustangs and an eye sore . Every time I go out there I try to pick up a bit of wire...it is everywhere! We are in need of a non profit group who looks after this herd and the range. These modern day mustangs need guardians to ensure they can stay out here on their rightful home.

Rounder leads his band off.

The wild horses seemed relaxed and harmonious on this day. They were on their own. They had been hanging out with Corona's band the last time I had seen them (about a week ago). Everything changes out here, there is no science to it...just wild horse behavior.

Barcus's Band

The big black stallion, Barcus, is looking really good. He went throug hell and high waer to get this little dun mare, Honey, earlier this year. He lost an ear in the process! I'll always think of Barcus as the one that got stuck on the wrong side of the fence spring of 2010. He would not stop running the line, screaming out for his herd. Somehow he escaped back in to his home and has been a force ever since.

Honey came with her yearling filly, Blondie and her 2011 colt, Monti. When I first saw Honey this spring, she was with the "unsettled bunch". The large group led by the white mare, Eleganza. Last summer she was with Solaris.

The mare does not seem happy with this arrangement! Maybe things will get better? I am sure she is pining for her sisters.

The new foal is beautiful! He is a little roan. He was born early this summer over by Yellow Cat draw.

Barcus was hanging out with a large group of harmonious bands on this day including Corona, Cosmo, Yellow Man and Viggo. Look how big he is! Gotta love this big black wild stallion. He is a sight to behold! I bet he will get a few more mares in the near future. There will be many 3 yr old fillies next year. I looked at my records and out of the 60+ foals born in 2009 (post round up) almost 60% are fillies. Should be interesting..

Centauro's, Jet's and Cherokee's Bands

I briefly saw Centauro's large band. I confirmed they are all still there...all 11 of them. This is the only band that I know of that has four 2011 foals. The bay mare, Reyna, was very flighty and, as usual, led them off. All membes looked sound and healthy.

Wow was I ever happy to see the black, Jet, streak by with his one mare, Zephyr, and her new foal who we named Zepplin on face book. We have not confirmed the gender. Jet had the largest band when he was rounded up in Oct 2008. He seemed to get his mares back and had quite a large band (9) until this spring when something totally disbanded them. Jet ended up alone. Femur got 2 of his mares and all of his 2009 and 2010 fillies and colt. The white mare (Sunspot...lost foal) is with Centauro and this grulla found her way back to Jet. Look for him to get more mares. He is extremely athletic. Go Jet! I love this stallion, I have seen him race across the desert at turbo speed. I will never forget the power of Jet.

Cherokees Band.... I have only got a close up view of them a few times. Earlier this spring I recorded the grey/white pinto lead mare (Bonita) gave birth to a pinto colt, also a grey. There he (Marty) is running second behind his mom (she looks just white here). The horse behind that 2011 colt is Zander (grey), Bonita's yearling colt. The next horse in line is the only mustang that needs a name in my project "Photo Documentation of the Sand Wash Basin Wild Horses". The HSUS worker told me he is a colt. He is marked very much like the stallion, Cherokee, who is not shown in this photo. The brown mare is Mandalay. I don't know much about her and even less about the horse behind her (also brown). I know it is a filly we named Mirage. I am pretty sure Miracle, who is now with Vegas, is the 2 yr old filly from this mystery sorrel mare..

Vegas's Band

I drive for miles and miles and finally spot a little orange horse in the distance. It's Mango! Picasso and Mingo's yearling filly. She is at first with a grey, but the  grey quickly disappears into a dip.

Soon the mustangs get curious and come to investigate.  I am pleasantly surprised to see it is Vegas, the big bay, and his band. I have a special fondness for Vegas....I am pretty sure he is the sire of my adopted 3 yr old mustang, Odakota.

They get even more curious and come to do a "trot by". This is one of the  the favorite things  that wild horses do. They approach me! I have the best luck at this if I am alone.

This was thrilling...They seemed to pose for a family portrait! It took them awhile to all get lined up, but once they did I really enjoyed snapping photos of them. These are my favorite kinds of shots...wild horse family portraits!

So Vegas ends up with Picasso's babies...who would ever have thought? I think Mango is safe here. Mango and her half brother, PJ.

The stand out pinto colt..PJ.!  PJ  and his dam were with Picasso when he was born late last summer. We found him with and his mom, Olga, with Vegas this spring. So I do not know who this mother/son  pair wintered with.

PJ and his dam, Olga. Olga had been with Picasso since the spring of 2010 ( as far as I know). She has a 2 yr old son, Snip, which she raised with Picasso's band(pure black),  He is now running around with the bachelors. PJ is huge! He is just over a year old here.

See what I mean?

Vegas with the Picasso babies. Picasso is getting old. I think nature shuffles these around they they will have a better chance of survival. It takes a good, strong band to get the mustangs through the brutal Colorado winters. I am glad Picasso still has his two loyal mares with him.

This little grey mare is not so used to people. I am almost sure she is a 2 year old from Cherokee's band, but can't confirm, as I rarely see  Cherokee. The foal is colt we call Morgan, he is going through his molt and we can see he will be a grey! Such a cute little guy! The foals of the few 2 yr old fillies that had babies (not many) are kinda small....they have a little different look.

The encounter does not last long and the wild horses are on there way, led by the bay lead mare, Olga.

Well, I sure am glad I found Mango. She is one of only a few yearling fillies who have left their families. The other three I know of are Madeleine, Chikala and Destiny. It will be interesting to see how they all do.

Dan's Band

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