Blazer's Band

The sorrel stallion, Blazer, has added more mares to his band. Last summer it was just him and the dun mare, Yellow Cat. They had a very tight bond and trailed "the mob"....Brave and Chief's band and the bachelors that tagged...But things change.
Here he is with his original mare, Yellow Cat. Before she was with Blazer she was with Femur along with Vogue, Gem and a black mare.....The HSUS told me she had switched stallions many times post 2008 round up. She seems very happy with this blaze faced stud (Blazer) she is currently with...
This is Dusty, Prince's 2 year old grey filly. She has joined Blazer and brought her chestnut mom, Moonlight, with. Moonlight does not seem happy with this arrangement!
The other mare he acquired was Mystic, also one of Prince's mares. She has seperated from her yearling filly, Madeleine, who I see later with Bug's band. Mystic joined Prince last spring with her newborn, Madeleine. before that she was with Lightning.
So there's the new band...Blazer, Yellow Cat, Mystic, Moonlight and Dusty. They are hanging out near Chief and Jimmy's "mob". I have a feeling Yellow Cat is from that family...who knows? It would take years and an army of people to properly document this herd. This place is huge and the mustangs know how to hide.

Blazer's Growing Band

http://youtu.be/8YFl0ZqAQA4

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.

Lightning's band

Sand Wash Basin American Mustangs through and through. Lightning's Band.

The little family makes sure that the only foal is safe from harm. I call him Flash. He is a little pinto colt.

Flash.... his mom, Pablina, is the white mare. The bay mare does not have a foal.

The family unit minus Blue Sky and Pablina.

The awesome band stallion, Lightning. This is just amazing to see. He looks so healthy and conditioned...I am in awe!

Lightning and his daughter?  I call her Blue Sky. I am so glad she got spared being rounded up in 2008. She likes to be wild, I know. They seem to thrive in these extreme conditions with no humans interfering.

The one and only, Blue Sky. She has a nice pinto splash, a great big blaze and white eye lashes. A real American Beauty.

She blends in so well! The Sand Wash has so many grey/white ponies. Love it! I call her grey boots. (Later her name was changed to Pablina).

Beauty in motion.

Lightning takes care of his family. He is wary of me .... the way they move through the snow is incredible.

I think she is a 2 year old, one blue eye one brown, stunning little filly. One of the few young females I have seen. The mustangs must have gotten all mixed up when they were rounded up. No thought was given to bands. The mares were put in one area and the stallions in another. Every single weanling (2008 foal) was removed. We can do better. Seems like the system needs to be changed.

These two got separated from the herd, major drama. They like to stick together, that is for sure! The chestnut is a stallion.

Family portrait minus two horses.

Finding plenty to eat, looking very healthy for the middle of winter.

I call this chestnut beauty, Haze. He is like Blue Sky, one brown eye, one blue. He is a wild thang! This is a satellite stallion.

Little Flash, the lone 2009 foal, he is special.

Here is Lightning showing off his unusual facial markings.

These pictures are from back in November. I met this handsome stallion and his lovely harem near Two Bar Spring. His pinto markings are so much like Benson's, but they look nothing alike! He has 2 of the whitest mares I've ever seen. One of the foals looks a lot like Lightning, but is sorrel. I call him  Flash. This is a very stunning looking family of horses. I have a video posted of this group earlier on this blog. Also try Micahflash channel on You Tube for this and a few more videos of Sand Wash Mustangs.