Benson Gets A Band! (Video)

Benson's Band

Big boy Benson has found himself some mares! He has Scenic (pinto) and Zephyr (grulla) plus Zephyr's 2011 filly, Zepplin.

These two mares were part of Jet's band which splintered this spring. Jet lost his entire family at first and the Zephyr found her way back to him and had this beautiful filly. The three of them were together this summer. The other pinto mare, Scenic, summered with Femur.

Zephyr, the grulla, is very wary of people. She did not stick around for long.

Benson seems to be chasing them...the mares are making the decisions here. Scenic's best mare friend, Razzle, is near by. She ended up with Chrome. I will blog about that next.

Zephyr and Zeppelin....what has happened to the black, Jet?

It is nice to see Benson with a band. I don't know if this will last...time will tell.

Bachelors (Cowboy, Benson and Tripod)

Yay! I got my blogger to work again! I was out of commission there for over a week so I am way behind on my posts. The first thing I wan to mention is that Tripod is with Benson and Cowboy and our little underdog looks great!

Tripod, the little cremello 2 yr old colt, son of Corona and Cheyenne, is permanently disabled by a severe hock injury he sustained as a newborn. We have seen him alone a bunch this summer, now he with the wise and range hardy mature stallions, Benson and Cowboy. They are looking out for hin. He is in good "hooves" with these two sturdy overo pinto mustangs.

Tripod...I got a great video of how he gets around with this injury. Look for it on YouTube. It is really interesting. He puts weight on the back hoof below the injury and the hoof has taken on a bizarre shape...hard to explain, but he does good, although it would be a certain death if he was chased by a helicopter.

The Cowboy....probably the biggest horse out at SWB. I have no worries about him surviving the cruel winters out here. He is the definition of an easy keeper.

Tripod hiding behind the bush.

This makes me smile! Tripod is no longer alone!

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

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.