Corona's Band

Lucky me....I run into Corona and his band on this day. The spectacular "dunalino" is looking magnificent! He is looking over at Cosmo and band. Somehow Corona's 2 yr old filly, One Spirit, has ended up with them. Everyone seems OK with this except for One Spirit, who keeps looking over at her family band, but I think this is the way is is going to be. This is nature's way of making sure the mustangs do not inbreed.

Cowgirl, the big dun with Cosmo has befriended One Spirit and they stick together.Cowgirl has not had a foal of her own since the 2008 round up. The other mares are not as accepting, but I am sure it will all work out over time.

Here is Corona's black mare, Em, One Spirit's mom. She does not seem too concerned her daughter has left. This is another mare that has not had a foal for a couple of years.  It might have something to do with the PZP, but I also believe some mares are just not as prolific and the weather might have some effect. The winter of 2010 was brutal. These mustangs were 2 feet of snow with bitter cold temps and very little to eat. The horses are becoming rare. For instance in Cosmo's band he has 5 mature mares, but only one had a foal this year.

Can Wakan...Corona's little gem. She was born early this spring. She was just a little ball of fluff. She has grown into a beautiful little creature. She really inherited her sire's good looks. I couldn't take my eyes off of her....she is just so cute. Super healthy and curious. here you can see she is getting her winter coat.

Corona with his 2011 filly, Can Wakan (Sun Dance).

Little Indiana Jones. He was born after Can Wakan. He is an independent little guy and has what it takes to be called a wild mustang.

Corona striking a pose. He seems to know he is special.

Maybell looks over at her sister, One Spirit. Maybell is the other 2 yr old filly from Corona's band. She is still with her dam. Her wind knots are coming undone and starting to break off...look for this filly to leave her family soon.

The palomino in the middle is Bobby, Corona's yearling colt and also the only colt in this band. He is a full brother to Can Wakan and Maybell. He has a corded mane like his sire. Bobby was the first wild foal I ever saw. He is special to me...they all are!

The Basin received some good rains last week. Look how clean and shiny our pretty boy is.

Corona in his prime. I pray he will not be harassed by a helicopter.

"snaking" his mares.

Corona's Band

Cosmo's Band

It was really nice to see Cosmo's band. I hadn't seen them for a while. Cosmo is a layed back grey stallion, very much loved and respected by his harem.

Cosmo on the left. The dark grulla is Grace ...next to her is her stunning yearling filly, Heidi. Heidi was born about this time last year. I am wondering if Grace is pregnant again? Hard to tell. She was all over Cosmo on this day.

There is only one 2011 foal in this large band...the little chestnut we call Milagro. He is out of the flea/bitten grey, Tulip. Tulip is the only prolific mare in this band. Last year she had a colt, who is now missing (Astro). I am hoping he is off with the bachelor stallions. The other grey here is Jess, she never seems to have babies.

Jess

Milagro

Cosmo, Grace and Heidi. Isn't Heidi a beautiful shade of grey?

The little pinto mare is Vogue. Before Cosmo she was with Femur. Cosmo acquired her and her 2009 filly (shown here) last spring. The filly we call Gem. She is larger then her dam now, but still a momma's girl.

The dun is Cowgirl...no foals for her. She plays "aunt" to little Milagro.

Cosmo... He is a very nice, loyal stallion. Just love this guy.

Going in for some afternoon milk. The wild horses were lazy on this day and hanging out in a big bunch. There were at least four other bands near by...all getting along.

The lovely Vogue.

Heidi....we will have to wait and see if her mom has another late foal this year.

Cosmo's Band

I set out this morning hoping I would come across Cosmo's Band. I had heard he had a new foal back in April, who I still had not seen. He even had been given a name and an ID number for our spread sheet. Well... lucky me, with a little doing, I finally spot Cosmo and the molting little colt we call Milagro. Here he is with his full brother, Astro. 

There are the two  brothers using their "auntie" Jess, for a scratching post. Jess does not produce offspring....at least not so far. I believe she is a young mare, but that is just a guess. She is part of the HSUS PZP study. E mail hhopkins@humanesociety. org for more info.

The grey mare, Tulip, who is Milagro's mom, has had three foals in a row. Her 2 year old filly Juniper, recently left the band and joined Rounder, the liver chestnut who lives near Cosmo.

I can't tell you how glad I was to see this regal band stallion. He is very tolerent of people and lives towards the entrance. Couldn't we set up a baiting system to manage this band? It seems like a sin to chase these docile animals with helicopters. Why not set up corrals with electric gates where we could humanely manage the horses? Why not feed them if they are starving? PZP select mares? Pull out domestics and adoptable horses? This land has been severly manipulated by man. The land and the mustangs are screaming for help. Things have changed, we must think of ways to preserve this herd and the land they call home.

High desert beauties....

This little filly we named Heidi is a looker, a real stand out. She was another late foal last year (born in Aug). Her mom is a grulla and I think she might be too. Just love this filly!

Cosmo

Milagro with his mom, Tulip. Tulip looks very much like the flea bitten mare with Rounder, Pablina. We will have to keep our eye out for that if they decide to "gather"

The colors in this band of wild horses is exquisite!

The little pinto mare is Vogue...she is shown with Heidi (no relation). Vogue joined Cosmo the middle of last summer with her 2009, filly, Gem.

The sorrel front and center is Gem. I highly suspect her sire is Femur, but can't confirm. Real momma's girl this one. Like I have said before the mother/daughter relationships are sometimes the strongest.

Vogue and Gem

That's Tulip, the prolific mare in the harem. She sure has beautiful folas. I think she is part of the PZP study. They administerd the drug in the corrals in 2008 and then darted 50 of the original 63 mares with the drug again last fall (2010)....half with PZP and half with PZP 22. Next year we will see if it makes any difference. The 2008 dosing was a failure as it was given the wrong time of year....we had over 40 foals in 2010. Also in 2009 we had a bumper crop, making me believe rounds ups cause the mares to reproduce even more! We should take more time and see what happens if we just leave them alone for more then 4 years. In the meantime we should be working on a humane bait system. We also should be cleaning up the range, work on enlarging the HMA to the east, close gaps in fence, communicate...Let's show the nation Colorado leads the way in wild horse management.

Heidi