JimmyDarkSand/Chief Band

This unique band has two bay band stallions, three lovely grey mares a dogging dun and some good looking youngsters. Here you see Jimmy leading the mares. Chief is out of sight but claims the lighter greys, Vermillion and Darcy. Jimmy has the dark, dappled grey, Barbie.

The foal in the middle is Jane. She has really shed out dark. Her newborn fuzz was a tawny color, but no mistaking her distinctive horizontal star. The goofy yellow yearling is Dreamer, he is Jane's full brother out of Darcy and Chief. The HSUS will not tell me which mares they darted with PZP in 2010, but I would suspect these mares got some of the contaceptive.

Actually, the star is a small slit of a moon. She is sturdy and has a good family band to look after her in this brutal environment. Temperatures could go below 40 degrees below 0 in the winter.

Jimmy with the grey mares ...L to R  Barbie, Darcy and Vermillion. Vermillion has a colt that was born late (Nov) of 201, Kanoa. I did not get any good photos of him, but he is a beautiful guy, kinda grulla with a nice conformation. He was hanging out with the satellite stallion, Roper. You can see him in the facebook albums.

Jimmy claims this mare, Barbie, and she seems to adore him.

Vermillion"s three year old filly, Spook.

Roper, the cocky little dun who has been dogging this band for over 2 years. To me he is the essence of a wild horse.

Chief/JimmyDarkSand Band



Chief out front and the other bay, Jimmy, behind him. These two stallions coexist. I think it is because their mares want to be together. This is always an interesting band to observe plus they have the foal that was born in October. I really wanted to see how the little guy (Kanoa) was wintering.

There he is (on the left) with his big brother, Dreamer. The two colts are about 6 months apart.

Dreamer gets up first....

....followed by Kanoa. They bee line it to their moms.

He is molting! He looks so funny...what color will he be? For now he looks good and strong ( and a little goofy!).

The grey mare making the funny face is Vermillion, Kanoa's mom.

The chestnut filly is Vermillion's 2 year old daughter, Spook. Kanoa is her half brother. Vermillion was with Brave last year, so that is the most likely sire of the late foal.

This is the yearling filly, Megan. Her dam is the one with Dreamer. She is usually hanging out towards the back with the cocky little dun stallion....

.....Roper.

All of the mustangs here look fat and healthy. It is a good thing to see.

Chief/JimmyDarkSand Band (feat Kanoa)

I had seen the new foal in The Chief/Jimmy band a couple of weeks ago, but not this close. We originally thought it was a filly, but "she" is a little colt....perfect in every way. A friend of the mustangs has named him Kanoa meaning "One Who Runs Free".

This band actually has three stallions...JimmyDarkSand, Roper and , this gorgeous bay, Chief. He has claimed Kanoa and his mom ...it is clear. He acts like a proud father. Last year Vermillion, Kanoa's dam, ran with Brave, but they were always close to Chief's band. The three grey mature mares in this band are very bonded. The stallios put up with each other for the mares (I think).

There's Jimmy, another bay. This summer he claimed Barbie, the dark grey, but now I am not sure which mares are his, this band is a bit confusing!

This is a very late foal. I am glad he has a mature mom and a strong band ....without them he would not have a chance in these brutal range conditions. Soon The Basin will be covered with snow , the water sources will freeze and the forage is thin. Winter is so tough out here. I would say "Ole Man Winter" is the number one predator around here.

The 2 yr old filly, Spook. Kanoa is her brother. We call the pretty white mom, Vermillion. There was another 2 yr old filly in this band, but she is with Dan. I would say about half of the 2009 fillies (2 yr olds) have left their families. Some have left and come back...no inbreeding here.

There is another 2011 foal in this interesting band...this one...Dreamer. It has been fun to watch him change colors. For now he is a red head grey. His mom is quite aloof with him and he hangs back with his yearling sister ,Megan ,and the cocky little dun stallion, Roper.

That's Barbie in the center, it is her 2 yr old filly that has left the band (Britta). She really looks stunning right now. A true Sand Wash gem.  Here you can see the three different shades of grey mares. Are they related?

Dreamer and Megan.

That's Roper. He has been dogging Jimmy and Chief all summer.

Isn't she a beauty? This is the one called Barbie...no foal for her this year, nor last.

Darcy...mom to Dreamer and Megan. She also has a 2 yr old colt running around with the bachelor stallions (Hawk).

Soaking up some rays...it is getting cold out there!

Dreamer and Megan...again.

Kanoa with his dam and his band stallion, Chief.

The little guy with his sister and primitive looking mom. She has some nice striping on her legs.

He will keep his newborn fuzz through the winter...what color is under there is anyones guess. For now he almost looks grulla.

Never alone for too long.

All of the mares help to watch over him.

We leave in peace.

JimmyDarkSand's/Chief's Band

The band with two bay band stallions.

That's Jimmy, he has just one mare, Barbie. I think Barbie likes to be by her mare friends so Jimmy stays with Chief for her (just a theory).

The Chief. Hard to get face shots of this stallion. Isn't he beautiful and wild?

The lone 2011 foal in this large band...Dreamer. he is one on Chief's grey mares (Darcy) colts. He is going grey too!

There is one yearling in the band. the filly, Megan. She likes to hang out with her little brother.

This is Roper, he has been dogging this band all summer. Looks like he may be taking away Megan. He is relentless.

Here it looks like Roper has claimed Megan. hard to be sure.

The dark horse is Spook, she is the only two year old left in this band. Her mom is the real white mare, Vermillion. They were with Brave last year. Brave traveled with Chief last summer, that is why I think the mares are bonded.

It is difficult to tell Jimmy and Chief apart. You almost have to see their faces. This is Jimmy. I can tell just because he is moving with his dappled grey mare, Darcy.

Brave's Band

Stallion on the left. Pretty spooky!
Chief hiding behind white horse.Brave is a huge, magnificent bay band stallion. I have yet to hang out with these guys. Sorry, all these pictures with no snow were taken in November. I had some extra shots I thought were worth posting...My hope is come 2012 we know the family bands and individuals so we can cull them humanely or swap with other HMA's to improve genetics. I am pretty sure the HSUS (The Humane Society of the United States) is doing a good job with this. I just can't find any info. The 2 other herds in Colorado have public helpers in on it as well.. Friends of the Mustangs for The Little Book Cliffs and Spring Creek has a horse riders group help count and work on the range. Sand Wash is the largest of the HMA's in Colorado. These horses need friends to make sure they can still run wild and free!