Picasso's Band

I caught a brief glimpse of Picassso and his two loyal mares, Monet and Mingo. Right away I can see Mingo (pinto) is pregnant. Last year she lost her newborn foal. I am hoping this year she has one that looks just like the magnificent Picasso!

Picasso looks great! He was feisty and busy chasing away some pesky 3 yr old colts.

Flash, Ziggy and Snip. Snip (black) is Picasso's son.

There is his buckskin mare, Monet. She carries the Sombrero brand. She is one of two domestic mares that intrgated into this herd...not just any mare could do that, the conditions are extreme out here and the wild horses depend on each other for their survival.

He was aged at 20 at the last round up (2008). The HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) was at the gather and has the approximate ages of many of the horses, but will not reveal that information...why??

These guys were on the move. It had been a long time since I had seen our beautiful Icon...I feel truly blessed I saw him on this day.

Blue, Destiny and Friends

Here is a photo of Blue and Destiny. Blue is the hansome stallion and Destiny is the little medicine hat filly from Viggo's band. She is a yearling who somehow got seperated from her family last spring. At first she was with a group of youn bachelor stallions, but then Blue came along and has really claimed her as his own. He is very possevive of her and will fight hard to keep other stallions away.

On this day he had a large possee of young colts (mostly 2 year olds) that are not a threat to him. He even lets some of them interact with his filly. This was quite a sight. I am never ceased to be amazed how colorful these mustangs are. This was such a handsome group...I will try to explain who they are..

Blue on the right with two, two year old colts, Ziggy and Snip. Ziggy is from Bugs band (dam is Rita) and Snip, the black, is a Picasso baby. His dam is Olga, who is now with Vegas.

These colorful pinto are both 2 year old colts. Tango and Flash. Tango, on the left, is from Picasso and Mingo and Flash is Pablina's son, the most likely sire is Lightning. Aren't they gorgeous?

The palomino, Nick, is a bit of a mystery. I do not know what band he came from. He might be a 3 year old, but can't confirm. If he is a three year old he was not rounded up in 2008 as all weanlings were removed from the herd. Anyway, Nick is a nice mustang who is very social. He is usually with a large group of "boys".

Close up of Nick.

Blue stands out with his wonderful coloring. A blue roan at its finest! Destiny is safe with this guy.

The grey is Tonka, who was near by and came to have a word with Blue....nothing became of it. Tonka is a band stallion with a good size harem.

Picasso's 2 year old colts, Tango and Snip. It is nice to see them together. They are best of friends and half brothers.

Blue comes to get a closer look at me.

Miss Destiny otherwise known as "Miss America".

She has half a bonnet and a very nice shield. I don't know if she is a true medicine hat, but she sure is special.

Off they go!

All of these wild horses looked great and this was a really fun encounter!

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.