Bachelor Stallions & 3 Year Old Colts

Rounder. He is one of the four stallions dogging Cosmo's band. He is an ex band stallion. He "appeared" out of nowhere spring of 2010 when he stole Lightning's mares.. The HSUS girl told me she had never seen him before that (its that big out here) and she had been documenting since 2008 (summer months). He is a beautiful liver chestnut. He is looking a little run down....he wants a mare! He challenges Cosmo, but stays away from the other doggers.

Last year he had quite a few mares, maybe too many. His band splintered last fall.

This is Hoot. For now he seems to have claimed Cosmo's 3 year old filly, Juniper. But he is still with Cosmo. He goes back and forth with Kiowa and Outlaw.

Kiowa. He had Juniper for awhile last fall, but she ended up with Cosmo and her family band. He is relentlessly trying to get her back. He is a fighter. A true American Mustang!

This is a different scene....a different day. These are young East Side bachelors, Sir Duke (Grey) and Clyde (Sorrel). Lots of folks have been seeing these 3 year old colts...Sir Duke seems to change daily with his looks. The greys are hard to ID. I am so glad The HSUS is going to help us with the ID cards. I think together we can have a pretty good documentation. I think this will help the wild horses if they are gathered as planned, Oct 2013. The HSUS has spent hours and hours studying their markings.

This is an older East Side bachelor, Sundown. He was "babysitting" the two previous colts on this fine day. I like this photo because it is a good one for an ID card. It shows his leg marking and facial ones too. I would say he is somewhat of a submissive stallion. I have not observed him with any other mares since the 2008 gather.

Another encounter.... I have been seeing quite a bit of this beautiful blue grey bachelor and I think I have finally figured out who he is! Takoda from Tashunka's band. He would be a 3 year old colt. He has befriended Tripod our disabled colt. He is a lively guy who is very bold and likes to have fun with the other colts.

The pretty palomino is from Maestro's (Bug's) band. He is another 3 year old. There are a lot of these 3 year olds. The HSUS reported more then 60...(.we have 50 some recorded). These are the post 2008 gather babies. I personally believe round ups cause larger foal crops the next year. It is wrong to gather the entire herd at once. It would make more sense to deal with the horses band by band in a larger period of time if some need to be adopted out.

Anyway shown with Nick is Tripod, the disabled perlino colt. It is nicwe to see him with other horses. I observed him really playing hard...rearing up, getting down. It is amazing to me how he has adopted to his deformed hock.

* Note... I have learned The HSUS has names for the band stallions. Out of courtesy to them I will start using some...So Bugs become Maestro. The most important thing about names (to me) is that we are all using the same ones.

Tripod's injured hock. He sustained this injury as a newborn. He is the 2009 colt out of Corona and Cheyenne. The HSUS mentioned they were interested if any one would like to give him a home.

The chestnut is actually Voodoo, a band stallion. He left his 2 mares and came to have a romp with the young bachelors. I love to watch them play! The palo is Skip.

Good ole' Lightning. He has left his pasture by Two Bar to join in the Cosmo fiasco. He really looks good and is giving the boys a run for their money!

Outlaw is a scrappy little guy. He has a wonderful flaxen mane and tail. He is out of one of Prince's chestnut mares. I saw a foal photo of him pre 2008. he is also involved in taking over Cosmo.

These three have been observed together all week. The whites are two older stallions, Snowman and White Out. White out is the likely sire of the darker grey 3 yr old, River. This is the first time I have observed a colt returning to his band stallion without his Dam.

I think of Snowman as the guru of SWB. He is quite timid, but friends to a lot of horses. Occasionally he gets real beat up and then one of his friends will help him. White Out is more bold and will still challenge other stallions.

Rowdy Bachelor Stallions ( East Side)

It is gale force winds out...the bachelor stallions are frisky. It is a joy to watch!

They are in a constant state of motion...play fighting.

There is Sir Duke (grey) having fum with Skerik (black). Skerik came from Silverado's band. I never could figure out if he was the 2009 colt in that band or a satellite stallion. I am leaning towards the 3 yr old colt by the way he acts.

Boy, these greys are hard to ID! My best guss is Sir Duke. I make an educated guess by where he is and who he is with.

Sir Duke was an orphan when I first met him in the spring of 2010. He was on the road running the east fence line. I wonder if his band crossed over to the east side?

L to R Hank (dun), Renegade (grulla), Skerik and Sir Duke.

The sorrel is Clyde the other black is Harlan.

Hank is such a beautiful horse, I was disappointed I did not get more flattering shots of him...just the way it goes. I like him for his multi colored mane against his dun background....really stunning.

The bachelors continue to play down by the water hole. Wow, are they ever frisky! It is really something to see. Their energy makes Sand Wash Basin light up!

Clyde was also an orphan colt in 2010. This was soon after the 2008 round up which really mixed up their complex social order. I think we can do better. Maybe by knowing who the horses are and how they fit into the herd will help them. I am hoping so!

Handsome Hank

The bay on the right is Sundown. He is a submissive, older stallion.

Running from the waterhole.

Clyde is relentless...he goes around and around with the big black.

....and up

I think the roan is Half Moon, but once again, can't confirm. There are other roans that look similar. This is the one I saw with the blacks and Renegade the other day.

The wild horses are rapidly losing their winter coats. It weas almost 70 degrees on this early spring day.

One word for this amazing encounter...FUN!

East Side Bachelor Stallions

Eastside Bachelor Trio

My first encounter on this day was with these three bachelors who hang out on the east fenceline. I am sure they have lost friends or relatives who have escaped over to the other side. In my opinion this section of public land where so many mustangs have escaped, should be part of the HMA. The cattle guards get filled in with snow during the winter and the wild horses are free to leave, but most don't.

Anyway it is Hank (dun), Clyde(sorrel) and Sir Duke (grey). Duke and Clyde are 2 yr olds. Hank is older, but I don't know his age.

This is Hank, a stunning lined back dun with striping on his legs. He has a wonderful, colorful mane. A real looker this one.

These two are best friends. Both colts left their bands at a young age. I do not know where they came from. The HSUS might have this information, but they are not sharing their knowledge which is sad.

Buddies.

This was a brief encounter. Hank is real wary of people. This is common at Sand Wash to have an older stallion mentoring two year olds.