Bugs Band (With Feather and Nomad)

I got a quick glimpse of Bug's Band up on The Ridge at daybreak. I had not seen this band since early last summer. They were all there joined by Nomad and his only mare, Feather. The buckskin stud on the right (with the socks) is Nomad and the one on the left is Bugs. I had never seen these two side by side, they actually look quite similar.

Bugs and Nomad side by side. Look at that natural collection!

No new foals for this band this year, but these mares have been prolific since the 2008 gather. The sorrel, Hazel has had three colts... all palominos. Two of them are still with her..Sundance (2 yr old) and Titanium (yearling) . The third one, Nick, is a 3 year old who is currently MIA. The dun, Rita had a colt in 2009 (Ziggy) and has her 2010 colt by her side, Butch.

All of these wild horses looked fantastic! You would never know they have been through one of the worst droughts in Northwest Colorado history. This is what earns them the title "mustang".

Bug's two loyal mares.... the dun, Rita, and Hazel. Since I met Bugs early spring 2010 he has had these two mares.

Bugs keeps a close eye on us while Hazel leads her colt, Sundance, across the land she knows so well.

The yearling colt, Titanium.

The little grey horse is Madeline. Bugs got her the spring of 2011 when Prince's band broke up. She seemed content with this band from the start. She is a two year old out of Mystic.

Here you can see Nomad's mare, Feather, take the lead and the other horses follow her for a run. It is so beautiful to watch.

Oops, almost forgot Buddy, the black horse who dogs Bugs. He was there too... you can tell him by his two front pastern socks.
 

Nomad & Feather

It sure was nice to see Nomad back with his only mare, Feather. A friend had taken some photos earlier this winter of when this couple had got separated ....Feather was shown with a group of bachelor stallions.

Nomad is a layed back type of guy.

Look how stocky he is! He is still adorned in his winter coat.

Feather is a wiley little mare and does not think much of humans. She has had only one foal (filly) since the 2008 round up, Streaker, who is now with Voodoo. She is part of he HSUS PZP study.

After a few brief moments, Feather decides to split and lead Nomad off.

One last look at this Sand Wash "couple"

Misc News and Photos from the Range

I can't believe it! Demi, the domestic mare who got dumped on the ridge last fall, has survived the winter and has somehow made it back to where she started and is with Benson, the stallion she originally started out with. She looks great!
Here is the handsome overo black and white, Benson. Demi was last seen with Greasewood going into the winter, he is a more dominent band stallion then this guy. Greasewood had another mustang mare that did not like Demi. I wonder if she was the reason the mare left? Demi, in my opinion, would like out and have a nice home with humans that would care for her. She let me and some kids pet her and looked like she was waiting for a ride out. I can only hope the HSUS does something about this situation. For now she is on her own.
Tripod is parked on the ridge alone. Sure wish he would find a friend soon. I observed him trotting and cantering with bad leg and all.
Well, I found Prince's missing chestnut (Moonlight), her grey 2 yr old (Dusty) and his ghost pinto (Mystic). They are with Blazer and his original mare, Yellow Cat.... Mystic does not have her yearling filly, Madeleine. I found her near by with Bugs..... The chestnut mare looks pissed off! She does not like Yellow Cat and Blazer telling her what to do!
Here is a shot of Cinder...Josie and White out's filly. She is pretty shy and her mom has never been the same since she was darted last fall. I was grateful to get this close. She is a beaut.
White Out's band. This is one of the bands I observe in the winter. They are all doing good. As I suspected River, the 2 yr old colt, has left the band. I saw him a few days before with Centauro's 2 yr old colt, Capitano, and the elder stallion, Kiowa.
Chief telling Roper to GO AWAY!! Chief is working in tandem with JimmyDarkSand to keep three mares and some of their youngsters.
There is Darcy's new foal. She is in the Jimmy/Chief band. They seem unsettled and just hurried by.
Miss Owl.
There is Apache. I had not seen him all year. He is tailing Jimmy's band....from a distance.
Willie Nelson was with three 2 yr old colts on this day, showing them the ways of the range.
Nomad and Feather have "lost" their 2 yr old filly, Streaker. For now they are just a couple. They have a strong, harmonious bond.
...if looks could kill. Brave and Ellie.
The black is one of Picasso's 2 yr old colts (Snip) and the chestnut is one of Corona's (Craig). Both colts got kicked out of their bands early last year. They seem to be good friends now.
Craig....a Corona baby out of his grey, Indian Rose.
Little miss Madeleine..."the pink horse". She seemed relaxed with Bug's band. This is the third Sand Wash filly I have seen as a yearling leave her band. It will be interesting to see what happens in situatons like this...She sure semed content and relaxed.
Craig flemming...lots of mares in heat this time of year..
There is Nomad having a word with Willie Nelson...nothing became of it, just a bunch of postering and noise.
I can't tell you how happy I was to see this guy, Sterling. He was one of the first stallions I met on the range. At the time he had the mare Crow. I am pretty sure this is Owl's sire. His coat always looks like that. He is the type that shows all of his battle scars. He was alone on this day.