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.
 

Bugs Band

Rita's 2010 colt, Butch

Bugs Band.

This is Bugs and the black behind him is Buddy. Buddy has been dogging Bugs for a couple of years now.

Bugs has had the same two, loyal mares since 2010 (at least). The red dun is Rita.

The pretty chestnut is Hazel. Hazel has thrown 3 palomino colts in a row.

Bugs acquired this little 2 yr old, Madeleine, when Prince's band broke up spring 2011. Her mom is Mystic and her likely sire is Lightning.

There is Hazel with the palomino boys...Butch, Sundance and Ttitanium.

These are hazel's colts...Sundance (middle) and Titanium. Her 3 yr old, Skip, also a palo, is running with bachelors.

Titanium is a 2011 colt.

Bug's Band

Here is Bug's Band. Rita, the red dun mare is out front followed by the only 2011 colt, Titanium. Titanium is followed by the other mare in the band, the sorrel, Hazel. Behind Hazel is her 2011 son, Sundance, who looks a lot like his brother, Titanium...Then comes Madeleine, a 2 yr old filly who got separated form her dam last spring. Then Bugs, the buckskin band stallion with Rita's 2010 colt Butch. All of these pale horses will be palominos ( I am pretty sure...) Anyway dogging the band is the ever persistent black, Buddy who is also their satellite stallion.

Bugs Band

You can tell Bug's band by all the pale colored youngsters.

The beautiful buckskin, Bugs. I had not seen this band for awhile. They all look great and a little grown up!

Here is the only 2011 colt in this band, Titanium. Shown with his mom, Hazel, who has had three palo colts in a row!

The other mare, a red dun, we call Rita. By the looks of her my guess is she is older.

Rita's 2010 colt, Butch. You can see how he will shed out darker.

Here is the "odd ball" in the band....Madeleine. She came from Princes band last spring when they "disbanded". She got separated from her mom (Mystic). The mares in Bug's band really like her as do the young colts. It is not unheard of, but it is unusual for a yearling fillly to not be with her mom. Madeleine is now a coming two year old.

Titanium with his full brother Sundance. It is hard to tell Butch and Sundance  apart. I think Sundance is paler and a bit smaller.

As usual....perfect hooves. That is a mustang trait.

Buddy, the black, is still dogging Bugs. He was all last year too and has been seen with Madeleine.

These two are constantly going at it. Long may they run...

More Bugs

I sure have been seeing a lot of this band this spring. Last year it was the same and then they "vanished" and I did not see them again until the next fall. Anyway there's Bugs, the buckskin. The little pale colored horse on his right is Mystics's yearling, Madeleine. For some reason she ended up with this band when Prince's band broke up.
That's Sundance, one of the two "palomino" yearling colts. The other one we call Butch. This one is much lighter and sometimes think he might just stay white? I'm not a color expert. Butch is more clearly a palomino.
The new colt, Titanium. This is the third palomino colt the dam (Hazel) has had in the last three years....Skip, Sundance and now this little guy.
Bugs, a good loyal band stallion.
That's Titanium's full two year old brother, Skip. He is in the process of leaving his band, but is still near by. There was another two year old colt, Ziggy, in this band, but he is already off running with the bachelors. Ziggy and Skip had a tight brother bond. For now Skip is interested in a two year old filly near by....White Sage... Greasewood's daughter.
Bugs and fellow band stallion, Greasewood. This was the first time I had seen Greasewood since last November. He looks good and still has his one mare, Yarrow, and her two year old grey, White Sage. Greasewood had Demi, the domestic, up until this spring, but Demi has left him and I last saw her on the ridge with Benson. Look for White Sage to be leaving her parents soon.
Sundance sniffing his new brother. Hazel is a super good mustang mom.
So if you see a band with four little light colored wild horses that is Bug's band! I think Madeleine will be well taken care of here.

Bug's Band (feat Madeleine and Titanium)

It is always nice to see Bug's band. You can tell his band by all of his nice palominos. He has two new additions to his harem...
The first addition is another palomino colt! Hazel had her foal and he is a little Sand Wash jewel. An artist friend of the mustangs has named him Titanium. This is Hazel's third palomino colt in a row.
The other new surprise member is Mystic's yearling filly, Madeleine, from Prince's band. The dun mare in Bugs band did not have a foal this year and hopefully can look after her. The handsome palomino on the left is Skip, one of Bug's 2 year old colts
That's Bugs, the handsome buckskin band stallion.
This is Titaniums full yearling brother, Sundance.
Here is the other palomino yearling colt, Butch. He belongs to the dun mare, Rita.
This is a group of bachelors that was right near Bug's band. The dun in the left is Ziggy, Rita's 2 year old. He has left Bugs band and is joined by Craig, Willie and Snip.
Skip, the next Corona? I have seen this guy really blossom into a gorgeous mustang.
Look how stocky and sturdy the new guy is!
That's Skip getting to know Madeleine. Her mom is near by with Blazer. I have no idea why they split apart. She is from Prince's broken band. She was born into Lightning's band last spring. Her dam, Mystic, took Madeleine as a newborn and joined Prince.
Since Rita did not have a foal this year, yearling Butch recieves the milk.
That's Skip and Butch. This is always a fun band to observe because of all the playful colts.
I love it when an encounter ends like this. All the horses relaxed and ignoring me. We will have to wait and see if Madeleine stays with this band. For now she seems fine.