Hurricane's Band

There is Hurricane's band sneaking across their high desert home. Hurricane is the dun. The white mare, Pablina, shares duties as lead mare with the bay, Floriano. The two mares have been together since the 2008 round up. They were with Lightning first, then Rounder....last fall they took up with this young stallion. We call him Hurricane. Before this he was a bachelor stallion. I remember he used to hang out with his buddy Chrome, harrassing the older stallions.

The bay guy with the big blaze is Cabellero. He is a real momma's boy. He was born in 2010.

Lozania is Pablina's yearling filly. She is the youngest horse in this band. Pablina looks a little lean. I wish we could put some hay out for them and get them used to being in a corral.

Dusty is the odd ball here. She is a 3 year old filly from Prince's band who joined these guys last fall (2011). She is an easy keeper and looks good. I am glad she does not look pregnant. Sure wish The HSUS had PZP'd our younger horses while they were out here....

It was really nice to see as these horses as I have not seen them for a long time. This place is VAST.

Hurricane's Band

On the way out of the range I spot Hurricane's band on a small ridge. They have moved about 10 miles south since the last time I saw the (;ast week). They are looking for food...it is sparce. The sheep are thick towards the entrance and have been parked there for quite a while.

Originally I thought the new grey filly in this band was White Sage, but now I am pretty sure it is Dusty, out of Moonlight, from Prince's band. Dusty has has  quite an adventuresome life for a 2 yr old filly......When Prince's band broke up this spring she and her mom ended up with Blazer, then they were with Rounder.....then Prince got both his mares back along with their 2 yr old fillies (Dusty and Oda). This didn't last long (for Dusty)....Dusty was seen with Greesewood, Picaaso and now, Hurricane....all during the last couple of months! She seems happy here...she likes the 2011 filly Lozaniza. They seem to always be together (for the brief glimpses I get)
I know of no other filly that has been with that many stallions in such a short time. Most of the 2009 fillies are still with their moms.

The ever elegant, Pablina. She is a prolific mare. Lozania is her 2011 baby. She also had the 2009 colt, Flash, and the 2010 colt, Diego. Diego got kicked out at an early age (as a weanling) late this summer. He has been seen with bachelors. Flash is a big strong, social 2 yr old. He is a pinto....I believe the son of Lightning.

The only colt in the band...Cabellero. He is unique in that he has a flaxen mane and dark tail and this stand out blaze. He is the bay mares (Floriana's) yearling colt. Floriana is not as prolific as her grey "sister", Pablina. She did not have a foal in 2009 (to my knowledge) nor this year. She is a wary mare and always on the alert.

There's Hurricane out front (the dun). He is a young, inexperienced band stallion and it shows. He is losing weight and does not have full respect from the mares. They seem a little doubtful about his leadership. It will be interesting to see if he can hold on to all these mares. Notice the ever alert bay mare, she has been really spooky lately.

It's fun to see these young stallions with mares. It really "fluffs their feathers" and makes them happy mustangs! Good luck Hurricane!

Off they go....I also saw Prince's, Yellowman's and Greasewood's bands from the binoculars. It seemed like the domestic mare, Demi was missing. Yarrow is still hanging in there!

Winter's Day

I finally decide it is time to head out to the range. I am surprised how good the roads are. After we pass a few sheep camps we spot this band of horses. It is Hurricane's (formally Rounder's). I can see they have added a new horse...the grey one...I am pretty sure it is White Sage from Greasewood's band. The horses are very skittish and no not stick around. I know the BLM did an aerial count and am wondering if the low flying aircraft has spooked them. We decide to push on and maybe catch this band on the way out.

The next band we see is Eagle's. Here are the two rambunctious brothers. Falcon and Meadow Lark.

The magnificent band stallion, Eagle. He is also very spooked and does not hang out for very long.

Eagle's only mare, Lark, looks very pregnant. The pinto brothers are her sons. She is not part of the PZP study.

That's Corona's band in the fog.

On the way back we do see Hurricane's band again and I decide to see if I can approach them. This is how close I came before they ran. L to R White Sage(?), Pablina, Pablina's 2011 filly, Lozania, Floriano (bay) and her yearling son, Cabellero. They all look great! They are having an easy winter compared to last.

The gorgeous white mare, Pablina. It is difficult to determine if she or her friend, Floriano, is lead mare. They seem to share the role. Pablina and Floriano stick together. Before Hurricane they were with Rounder and before that Lightning. As I was observing them I could see Lightning about a mile away. He has been a loner ever since he lost his mares. 

Hurricane, the solid dun. As far as I know these are his first mares since the 2008 round up. I think he is a young stallion. The HSUS has the ages of some of the horses as they were aged at the 2008 round up. E mail hhopkins@humanesociety.org.

Do you think that is White Sage (the grey)? Her mom and former band stallion were both lame last time I saw them. She seems happy here.

The mustangs never really settled with me around.

Lozania with her new sister filly. White Sage is huge like her sire!

I like the little chestnut colt with the big blaze, Cabellero. Floriana did not have a foal this year. Maybe that is why this guy is still with her. Pablina's yearling colt (Diego) left this fall to join the bachelors.

Hurricane.  12/25  The grey filly is actually Dusty from Prince's band. I confirmed that yesterday.

Rounder's Band (taken over by Hurricane)

Well, I was surprised to see Hurricane, the solid dun, has taken over Rounder's remaining two mares, Pablina and Floriano, plus their youngsters. The mares were leading the way and Rounder was a ways back tailing them.

There is Cabellero, Floriano's (bay) yearling colt. I have a fondness for this little guy, he is so unique with his dark mane, flaxen tail and great big blaze with an apron that wraps around his nose...so cute!

Pablina, the grey mare, has this little 2011 filly by her side. She is named Lozania, such a little princess. She doesn't seem to mind who she is with, just so her mom is near by.

Pablina and Floriano are best mare friends. They originally were together in Lightning's band, which Rounder took over last spring. They are usually right next to each other. This is Floriano.

The elegant, Pablina.

Poor Rounder...he looks run down and a bit thin. Maybe he will be Hurricane's satellite stallion?

On the other hand, I am happy for Hurricane. He has been a bachelor since the 2008 round up.

You can tell Hurricane from the other dun stallions because he has no white and a blocky head. He has the look of a Spanish horse. We will have to wait and see if he keeps these mares.

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.

Rounder's Band

Lucky me....on this day I am fortunate enough to run into Rounder's band. I had heard there were some changes to his harem and it was nice to see for myself.

Pablina, the flea bitten mare, has lost her yearling son, Diego. Hopefully he has struck off on his own and has found some bachelor stallions to roam the range with. This is about the time of the year the first yearling colts leave their families. Diego was born early last spring so he would have been old enough to strike off on his own.

Rounder now has both of Prince's chestnut mares plus both of their 2 year old fillies. For awhile the mares got seperated when Prince's band got "disbanded". Moonlight was with Blazer for a short while, but found her way back to her "twin sister" and best friend, Sunshine. They have a very tight bond. Here you see the mares with their fillies.

Rounder, the impressive liver chestnut band stallion.

That's Juniper, she joined this band sometime between last fall and this spring. She is a 2 year old filly from Cosmo's band.

The only 2011 foal in this band, little Lozania. She is growing healthy and strong and is well taken care of by her family band.

Here are Rounder's original mares, Pablina and her bay friend, Floriano. They came from Lightning's band. They have a very tight bond and are not real accepting of Moonlight and Sunshine yet.

I love this sweet little colt. We call him Cabellero. He is Floriano's yearling. He was born later then his brother, Diego, the one that is missing. Often the colts will leave when their dams have their new foal. I don't think Floriano was bred this year, but I could be wrong. If she doesn't have a 2011 foal, most likely Cabellero will stay with his dam, but nothing is certain out here.

Cabellero is getting to know his new sister, Dusty. She is Moonlight's 2 yr old filly.

Dusty, most likely Prince is her sire.

That's Oda, Sunshine's daughter and Dusty's best friend. I am so glad they somehow got reunited.

The family bonds between these mustangs are strong. We should take this into consideraton if we have a "gather". It is inhumane to chase them with helicopters and rip the families apart. In this day and age we can do better. We should be working on a bait system where we could pull out a few adoptable youngsters if there is a population problem.

Juniper, Cosmo's daughter, Rounder's young mare. She seems content here.

Rounder with his new mares.

Kiowa, the pinto bachelor stallion is challenging Rounder, he would like some mares of his own. He has been "babysitting" two 2 year old colts all summer, but seems ready to have mares. He is strong and fit and it giving Rounder a real threat.

Rounder is a lean machine. He is off to face off with Corona, who is near by.

Nothing much becomes of it and he backs down from the dunalino. Rounder will have to work hard to keep all these mares. He has no satellite stallion to help him. We will have to wait and see what happens.