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I got help from The Craig Print Shop and think these really turned out nice. People really seeem to like them. If you would like one send check or money order to The SWBWH Club  Box 1728 Hayden, CO 81639. $15.00 for one or two for $25.00. Thanks for supporting my work! Nancy

Storm's Band

We spot a large group of horses in the valley below. We decide it is worth the hike to get up close and personal with the mustangs. I was most interested in this small band. I do not see them that often and worry about the development of the colt, RainDance.

A couple of months ago a friend had seen him with bachelor stallions. I am glad he is now back with his parents and hopefully getting some milk from his dam, Blue Sky.

Storm is a wonderful roman nosed dun with no white on him. One could get him confused with Hurricane. He put up a huge fight to get this lovely little mare spring of 2010 when Lightning's band went down. RainDance is most likely Lightning's son.

Here is the handsome dun having a word with Tashunka, the roan. The horses were in a group composed of about 5 bands. For the most part, they were are getting along.

It is hard to mistake Sky with her little lightning splash and great big blaze. I like her white eye lashes.

Storm loves her too...This is a very shy pair. This is one of the best encounters I have had with them.

RainDance reminds me of a little Cowboy or Ranger. He was born late last summer. I know the mare never got darted last fall, she evaded the HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) and their darts and PZP. I never saw this foal until this summer. Very elusive indeed.

Happy Mustang!

I hope RainDance makes it through the winter. He looks a bit thin and not as robust as some. Time will tell.

WildWind's Band



It is always fun to see WildWind's beautiful band. They can be quite elusive and it is no guarantee they will stick around. I am alone on this day so I know I have a good chance they will let me view them. Through a friend's photos I knew something was wrong with the elegant sorrel's right ear...we all assumed it had been bitten off in battle.
Lto R WildFire, WildSoul,WildStar,Maggie, Sugar, WildHeart, WildFlower, WildThing, and WildBoy

Well, when I saw this I knew something else was going on. It looks like some kind of growth? I went through my photos and a couple of months ago he had it, but it was smaller (but a lot more blood) and I never even took  notice. Now it is huge! But he seems in good health otherwise.

Close up view of the "growth". It has really damaged his ear and is still leaking a little blood. Maybe it is an abscess?

Don't feel too sorry for him..in the meantime he acquired Maggie, a 2 year old filly from Copper's Band (The Dark Ones). She is still settling into this band, but seems to have made a few friends and WildWind adores her.

She is the only mustang I can think of that has this coloring. I think of it as "muley", but is it called
"seal brown?' She is in good nick.

This white mare we call WildHeart. She is easy to tell apart from the other white mares by her "smudge mark" over her heart. She is one of the lead mares. She did not have a foal this year, but has her yearling colt and 2 year old daughter by her side still. She was clearly lead mare until Sugar came along (below). Now it seems like they share that duty.

The grey in the middle is WildHeart's 2 year old daughter, WildStar. She had a foal this year and boy is he cute! Aleta named him WildSoul. WildStar gets a lot of help raising him. The three mature mares are always near by, especially the grulla pinto, who also did not foal this year.

WildWind has two yearling colts...WildFire (grey) and WildBoy (sorrel). They are best of friends.

The youngest member....a little filly...WildFlower. Her mom is the sorrel who is also the mom of WildBoy.

The grulla pinto, Sugar, helps the young filly raise her colt. Sugar was not always in this band. When I first met her she was with Centauro with her 2009 filly, Gypsy. She left that band (and her filly) and then joined Copper. I first saw her with this stallion this spring. So she knows Maggie well who was with Copper.

The young mom is a little thin and not too interested in her foal, but lets him nurse. I was shocked this spring when I saw a few two year olds with foals. I honestly did not know a yearling filly could be bred, but it is rare. Anyway our little guy looks healthy and has a strong family to see him around the range. I hope this little mare does not get pregnant again.

The stand out yearling colt...WildFire. Is he not a beaut?

WildWind snakes his harem away.  A few minutes later they bolted and it was a sight to see them run like that! It will be interesting to see what happens to that ear! Let me know if you know what it is...thanks. N

Chief/JimmyDarkSand Band (feat Kanoa)

I had seen the new foal in The Chief/Jimmy band a couple of weeks ago, but not this close. We originally thought it was a filly, but "she" is a little colt....perfect in every way. A friend of the mustangs has named him Kanoa meaning "One Who Runs Free".

This band actually has three stallions...JimmyDarkSand, Roper and , this gorgeous bay, Chief. He has claimed Kanoa and his mom ...it is clear. He acts like a proud father. Last year Vermillion, Kanoa's dam, ran with Brave, but they were always close to Chief's band. The three grey mature mares in this band are very bonded. The stallios put up with each other for the mares (I think).

There's Jimmy, another bay. This summer he claimed Barbie, the dark grey, but now I am not sure which mares are his, this band is a bit confusing!

This is a very late foal. I am glad he has a mature mom and a strong band ....without them he would not have a chance in these brutal range conditions. Soon The Basin will be covered with snow , the water sources will freeze and the forage is thin. Winter is so tough out here. I would say "Ole Man Winter" is the number one predator around here.

The 2 yr old filly, Spook. Kanoa is her brother. We call the pretty white mom, Vermillion. There was another 2 yr old filly in this band, but she is with Dan. I would say about half of the 2009 fillies (2 yr olds) have left their families. Some have left and come back...no inbreeding here.

There is another 2011 foal in this interesting band...this one...Dreamer. It has been fun to watch him change colors. For now he is a red head grey. His mom is quite aloof with him and he hangs back with his yearling sister ,Megan ,and the cocky little dun stallion, Roper.

That's Barbie in the center, it is her 2 yr old filly that has left the band (Britta). She really looks stunning right now. A true Sand Wash gem.  Here you can see the three different shades of grey mares. Are they related?

Dreamer and Megan.

That's Roper. He has been dogging Jimmy and Chief all summer.

Isn't she a beauty? This is the one called Barbie...no foal for her this year, nor last.

Darcy...mom to Dreamer and Megan. She also has a 2 yr old colt running around with the bachelor stallions (Hawk).

Soaking up some rays...it is getting cold out there!

Dreamer and Megan...again.

Kanoa with his dam and his band stallion, Chief.

The little guy with his sister and primitive looking mom. She has some nice striping on her legs.

He will keep his newborn fuzz through the winter...what color is under there is anyones guess. For now he almost looks grulla.

Never alone for too long.

All of the mares help to watch over him.

We leave in peace.

Cobolt's Band



Our beautiful black stallion, Cobolt. He is quite shy and I do not see him and his small family band very often...just got lucky on the day.

Cobolt has one mature mare, Mahogany. She is on the right. We call her 2011 filly CJ. The horse on the left is a 2 yr old filly from Ohitika's band...Skye. On this day this band was right near Ohitika's. The horses are like that.

The sorrel with the long thin stripe is Ohyee...she is Mahogany's yearling filly. These two are most likely full sisters, although one could never know for sure.

Cobolt's girls.

The elusive mare. This is about the closest I have ever been to her. The wild horses are getting more used to people, that is for sure.

This band looks in good shape going into winter. Long may they run!