New to this year’s contest is the “Wild Horse” category!

“This class is for any horse living in the wild anywhere in the world, or a horse that was born in the wild but now lives in a sanctuary or holding pen. Photos for this class should depict the spirit, nature and challenges of horses living in the wild in the modern age.”

50% of the profits from this submission category will be donated to The Cloud Foundation. You can help TCF and earn recognition for your photos of wild horses at the same time!

Submissions are due by February 1, 2012. You can learn more information about the contest, including guidelines and entry forms by clicking here.

Shane - one of our Freedom Fund band stallions (Oct. 2011)

THE WILD HORSE CONSPIRACY

by Craig C. Downer, Wildlife Ecologist and Author  (Date of Publication: 1/18/2012)

This stirring and amply illustrated, 300-page book fully justifies America’s magnificent wild horses and burros while countering the biased machinations against them. Written by an ecologist who grew up observing these animals in the West, it presents new evidence concerning their history and evolution in North America then describes their many positive contributions to soils, plants, animals and people. Though true restorers of this continent’s ecosystem, they have been unfairly targeted for elimination. Over the centuries, they have borne our burdens and helped us along life’s way—which makes it doubly unfair that they should be blamed for what we humans have done. As always, they stand ready to help us do the hard work now so desperately needed to restore our shared home. Many of the author’s personal experiences with these animals, their diverse herd areas, and the multicolored people involved with them are herein vividly shared. Urgently required now at the 40^th anniversary of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act is a strategy to reverse the negative schemes that are causing their demise the wild. As described, Reserve Design provides a way for establishing self-stabilizing populations through intelligent and caring programs executed with enthusiasm. Their lesson for humanity concerns how to share freedom and the land with such paragons of nature. Soaring beyond mundane pettiness and with an inspired vision for the future of all life, the elevated perspective and compassionate spirit of this book will prove key to accomplishing its critical goal. In the wild the vigor of any kind is preserved. And the entire horse family—as the Earth itself—needs America’s wild horses and burros to continue at vital levels into the future here in their evolutionary cradle and worldwide.

The author has defended wild horses/burros against attacks for over 40 years and observed many of the West’s colorful herds. He has also studied the endangered mountain tapir and is president of the Andean Tapir Fund, also dedicated to saving wild horses/burros (www.andeantapirfund.com). A member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission and board member of The Cloud Foundation, he has written popular and scientific articles and books, including action plans for endangered species, enjoys nature photography and musical composition, lives in Nevada, and is proud companion of mustangs Lightning, a palomino stallion, and Princess Diane, his curly mare, both of whom he knew in the wilds of NW Nevada before they were captured by BLM in 2010.

To order Craig’s groundbreaking book, make out and send $25 (which includes taxes, shipping & handling) either to Andean Tapir Fund (as a tax-deductible contribution to this 501 c 3 organization) or to Craig C. Downer, both at P.O. Box 456, Minden, NV 89423-0456 USA. Alternatively, you may use PayPal to purchase the book by calling up www.andeantapirfund.com and clicking on PayPal.  To order more than one book, please pay $20 per book for up to 5 books, $15 for over 10 books (which includes taxes, shipping & handling).  For any questions or to arrange for a speaking, picture showing and book signing event, write the author at the above address, or call (775) 267-3484 or (775) 901-2094 or email ccdowner@aol.com.

Dear Cloud Friends;

I know many of you have already sent in your comments to the BLM regarding the planned permanent removal of 30 young Pryor mustangs, but I’d like you to consider adding a special plea for Echo, Cloud’s little grandson (BLM name is Killian).

In April 2010, Bolder’s black mare, Cascade, gave birth to a pale colt. It was early May before Makendra and I could get up on the Pryors to look for the colt that supposedly looked like Cloud. We spotted Bolder and his family far out on a still snowy, finger-like ridge on Sykes. We could see a little colt lying in the snow under a juniper tree. He looked snow white but, on closer examination, I could see his stockings and the blaze on his face. On the tip of his nose he had a pink snip, just like his great grandpa Raven, his grandpa Cloud, and his father, Bolder.

A young version of a familiar sight

I named him Echo because he looked so like Cloud. But, I was to learn that his resemblance to Cloud was much more than skin deep. We laughed as he ran and lept off the ground. Here he is playing on Sykes Ridge when he was a few weeks old.

His dun sister had been born in the snow on the day Makendra and I hiked out to photograph the band. Here is footage of curious Echo meeting Kicks-A-Lot (BLM name is Kiva) when she was just one day old.

Echo & his new sister, Kicks-A-Lot

Outgoing is an understatement for Echo. In the months that followed I watched him develop into quite a precocious little fellow. He played with yearlings when he was just a foal. As a yearling he would march right up to band stallions. Well, I thought, you’ll become a great band stallion if you don’t killed first. His brave, yearling exploits usually ended with him running back to his mother to nurse!

Echo playing with the yearling, Shaft, in summer 2010. Both could be removed in 2012.

Cloud & his grandson (Photo by Carol Walker)

Echo has unusual genetics (his mother is perhaps the only off-spring of Cloud’s rival, Mateo) and he is the only young palomino on the mountain. He is a powerful, athletic colt who will pass on his strength to his offspring—if he gets a chance.

The removal of Echo will be a personal tragedy for me. Although I believe that Cloud will live for many more years, he will not live forever. When he is gone, we will still have Echo as a physical reminder of the great stallion who inspired me, and so many of you.

Three generations left to right: Bolder, Echo, Cloud. (Photo by Deb Little)

I ask you to speak up for Cloud’s Echo. Thanks so much for fighting for his freedom!

Echo - Dec. 2011

Happy Trails,

Ginger

P.S.  The Cloud Foundation does not support the removal of any young horses from the Pryor Mountains—certainly not at this time of year, and certainly not 30 youngsters, which will leave the herd under populated and vulnerable to eventual die-off.

Dear Pryor Wild Horse Defenders;

We’ve just learned that the BLM Field Office in Billings has extended the comment period for the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Preliminary Environmental Assessment (PEA) until January 20^th. Emailed comments will be accepted (BLM_MT_Billings_FO@blm.gov), but physically mailed comments are encouraged (Jim Sparks: BLM Billings Field Manager, 5001 Southgate Drive, Billings, MT 59101).

Little Lynx in Cloud's band could be removed if bait-trapping proceeds.

In light of this extension, we are doing more research on alternatives to an unnecessary removal of 30 young Pryor mustangs. We will be sending this new information soon.

Stay tuned!

Happy Trails!

Ginger

Dear Cloud Friends;

The Billings BLM has decided to accept emails (BLM_MT_Billings_FO@blm.gov) and faxes (406-896-5281) for comments on their Preliminary Environmental Assessment (PEA) which calls for the permanent removal of 30 young horses (ages 1-3 years) from the Pryor Wild Horse Range during 2012. Comments are due by close of business (4:30 pm MST) January 6^th.

2-year old Adelina, granddaughter of Blue Sioux & Red Raven

The removal will bring the herd to the “Appropriate” Management Level of 120. This drastic plan is completely unacceptable and dangerous for the future survival of the Pryor Wild Horse Herd.

• The herd currently numbers only 150 adults (one year and older), the bare minimum to maintain genetic viability.

• In 2011, mortality equaled births which is exactly what BLM states as their goal for the herd.

• The PEA includes an alternative (which was considered but not analyzed – why?): “This alternative consists of initially removing ten wild horses and re-assessing every year until the recruitment rate is equal to the natural mortality.” This is already the case! In 2011 mortality equaled recruitment (surviving foals).

Bottom line, it is dead wrong to remove any horses of any age before knowing how many foals are born in 2012, how many horses survive the winter,  how many foals survive going into the fall, and the level of predation.

We urge you to write, email or fax (currently broken according to Billings BLM). Please encourage BLM to select the No Action Alternative.

Stand up for Cloud and the young horses of the Pryors, including Cloud’s look-alike grandson, Echo (Killian) and so many other youngsters who are the future of the herd. They deserve to live their lives in precious freedom!

Cloud's only son, Bolder, with his son, Echo

Happy Trails!

Ginger

Regular post letters can still be mailed to:

Further confirmation:
I confirm that the Billings Field Office will accept electronically transmitted public comments, but definitely do encourage comments being mailed or hand delivered since malfunction of the electronic means when receiving a high volume of comments can lead to comments not being successfully received in their entirety.  Thank you.
- Richard Hanes, Ph.D.
BLM Acting Assistant Director, Washington D.C.

Dear Friends of Cloud and the mustangs;

On our three-day trip to the Pryor Mountains this month, Lauryn and I saw only 76 wild horses. Most of these were dots through the spotting scope. But the ones we saw up close and personal were pretty spectacular—Cloud and family, his son Bolder and family, and Flint with his band! It is a thrill to see any wild horses, but these three bands are what I consider the “trifecta” of Pryor wild horse viewing!

Day One: December 15, 2011—the 40th anniversary of the Wild Horse and Burro Act

How appropriate that we were able to spend much of this day with Cloud and his family. They were foraging in the snow around juniper trees, just below the old uranium mine on Tillett Ridge. Fog was still clinging to the hills below us as we began to hike closer to the pale stallion and his band of girls. The last time we saw Cloud was in late October when he and his family were on upper Sykes Ridge in an area we would never have been able to access at this time of year. But here they were on Tillett within a hundred yards of the road.

Cloud & his family

As we sat with his beautiful family (Aztec, Breeze, Jasmine, the Black, Dancer, Feldspar, Agate, Ingrid and little Lynx) I thought about 40 years ago and the words of President Richard Nixon when he signed the Act into law. He talked about the “tonic of wildness seeming all too scarce.” Here, in the quiet beauty of the Pryor Mountains, wildness is alive and well and it is a tonic for the soul to be sure.

Feldspar

Ingrid

Cloud & Aztec's yearling daughter, Breeze

Flint & Feldspar's yearling daughter, Agate

Echo

Day Two: December 16, 2011—Wild discoveries on Turkey Flat

We planned to try to drive up a ways on Sykes, but as we passed the red buttes in the desert, we stopped to glass. Out on the flats ahead, in an area called Turkey Flat, was a gleaming white horse. Cloud’s grandson, Echo, was shining in the snowy landscape! We had found Bolder and his family. After about a nanosecond of thought, we changed our plans, parked and began hiking. The pale colt in the distance, stood out like a beacon. Echo was foraging with his black mother, who is perhaps the only offspring of Cloud’s old nemesis, Mateo. Her son is nearly as tall as she is, but still nurses. Echo is just the type of powerful youngster who will pass on his strength to his offspring—if he is allowed to live free.

A tall Echo nurses his mother, Cascade

We looked around for Jewel, the pale buckskin daughter of Bolder and Cedar. She was gone. It came as no real surprise as the filly is going on three—time to select a stallion. We were excited, wondering who the unique filly might have chosen.

After watching the band for hours, Lauryn suddenly said one word—“Texas!”  Up to then we hadn’t noticed she was gone. I believe that the pretty dun mare with the Texas-shaped star was the main motivation for Bolder stealing Shaman’s band in 2007. Where was she? I worried something might have happened to her because I just couldn’t imagine her leaving Bolder.

Lobo, recovering nicely since his ankle injury

Lauryn spotted horses across the flat, on the low hills at the base of Sykes Ridge. Was it Texas? No, it was the dun bachelor, He Who, and the rest of the “Fiddle” gang – Cloud’s 6 year-old halfbrother Fiddle, He Who, the Indigo Kid (Electra X Prince), and two year-old, Jasper (Feldspar X Flint). There was one other horse among the boys, a very light horse. Through the scope we identified Jewel! In less than a half hour we had hiked down, off the Mesa where Bolder and his band foraged, followed a shallow canyon and hiked up into the low hills. From a high vantage point we spotted the band moving toward the big red buttes and we followed.

Jewel, with He Who behind her

It was pretty clear that He Who had claimed the filly (or had she picked him?). At only four, it will be hard for He Who to keep the filly unless she is completely bonded to him. Over the course of the next few hours, we were amazed that Fiddle seemed uninterested in Jewel. Indigo sparred briefly with He Who but the older dun backed him off. He Who asserted his dominance chasing Jasper off a little ways. Fiddle didn’t care and just tagged along, grazing, and looking pretty.

He Who keeps the Indigo Kid at bay

Jasper is warned to stay away

As Jewel and He Who grazed with their heads just inches apart I wondered if this was the beginning of an enduring relationship or a temporary fling. Time will tell, but are they ever a handsome couple.

He Who & Jewel

Day Three: Discoveries on Tillett

We drove up on Tillett again. Below the mines where we found Cloud two days before, we spotted Cloud’s palomino mother, Trace’s mother (War Bonnett) and his little sister (Kayenta), Diamond, and the rest of his colorful band. Everyone looked just great. Phoenix, Cloud’s mom, will be 21 next spring but she looks beautiful as ever. Kayenta is stunning with her unusual red roan coat and elegant lines. She is tall and strong—just the kind of female to one day pass on the strength of her parents, if she is allowed to stay on the mountain.

Diamond and his band below the mines on Tillett

About a mile up the road we could see a light on the very tip-top of the mines hill. It was Cloud, looking like the King of the Mountain. His band grazed on the slopes of the big hill, working their way around to the road. I watched the Black glancing toward the juniper studded canyon just to the west of the road and saw what had caught her attention. Flint was there and he had Texas!! How in the world did this happen? Texas looked up and I wondered if I saw some ambivalence in her demeanor. Was this transition her idea? Had her lack of reproduction contributed to this surprising switch? Studies have shown that reproductive failure can lead to increased infidelity. I believe that Velvet’s lack of reproduction led to breakup with Cloud earlier this year.

Flint with a surprise!

Was this her idea?

Flint with Halcyon and her daughter, Adelina

We drove higher onto the open meadows of Tillett and glassed for more than an hour, scanning across Big Coulee to the many ridges and canyons on Sykes, trying to spot Mescalero and his son, Longshot. We did see Custer and his band and Morning Star and his family but no others. Longshot was seen earlier in December and we pray that this endearing little spitfire of a colt will be able to weather the coming storms and the cold Montana winter.

Flint's lead mare, Sequoyah

On our drive back down the mountain we glassed again into the area far to the west of the road, rugged country I call the “Hell’n’Gone.” Horses! It was the red bay stallion, Duke, and his band trotting in the snow on a faraway side-slope. We spotted Madonna. And to our shock, her daughter little Lariat trotted alongside her. We had written off the the foal because she appeared to have a broken leg. She was lame but was keeping up with her band! What a thrill to see her alive. I have to credit Lariat’s experienced mother, Madonna, for sticking with the filly when her daughter was barely able to take a step in October. Also Duke’s stable family should receive credit for not deserting the mare and foal.

Family is such a crucial component in the survival of any foal, let alone one that looked to have a broken leg. Way to go Lariat—the little filly who could!

Hope you have a peaceful holiday season, full of family and fun. Please keep these special wild horses in your prayers.

Little Lynx in Cloud's band

Happy Trails!

Ginger

Cloud

Our work to protect wild horses and burros still roaming free, depends on donations from people like you. Any year-end contribution is appreciated. And remember it can help you defer giving money to Uncle Sam come April, allowing you to give the gift of freedom to our precious wild horses. Thanks!

Dear Cloud and Pryor Wild Horse Defenders;

The BLM is proposing another significant removal of wild horses on the Pryor Mountains. I know. Just when you thought it was safe… they’re back!

BLM’s recently released Environmental Assessment (EA) seeks to remove via bait trapping and potentially water trapping,30 young Pryor mustangs, ages 1-3 years. Bait and/or water trapping could begin as early as mid-January. Comments are due by January 6, 2012. We urge you to comment and to support the NO Action Alternative, the only alternative that keeps a viable population of horses on the mountain.

Cloud's yearling daughter, Breeze, is just one of the horses that could be removed in 2012

Here are the points we feel you may want to mention in your remarks. Make sure to use your own words.

1. Making decisions on a 30 horse removal now could put the Pryor Wild Horse Herd in jeopary of a die-off. Natural mortality in the winter of 2011-2012 is an unknown. The number of foals to be born and survive in 2012 is also unknown.
2. The population of the Pryor Wild Horse Herd is currently stable with only 150 animals one year of age or older. According to Gus Cothran, PhD, the foremost equine geneticist in the U.S., “A census population size of 150-200 is required to achieve the minimum effective population size (usually 1/4 to 1/3 of the of the total population).” Currently, the Pryor population is at this bare minimum level.
3. In 2011 there was no population growth. Births equaled deaths—18 births versus 18 deaths.
4. Removing 30 young horses in one year alone is risky, unnecessary and threatens the genetic viability of the herd, diminishing their ability to survive into the future.
5. We urge BLM to wait and see what winter brings as far as mortality, and what the foal crop looks like in August of 2012. Late summer would be the time to assess herd growth and health as well as range health and decide on whether removals are really necessary.
6. No details have been provided in this EA regarding the disposition of young horses once they are caught, other than their transport to the Britton Springs corrals at the base of the mountain. What then? Where and when would the young horses be available for adoption? These details need to be revealed to the public.
7. There are no criteria cited which ensure that young horses with narrow genetic representation in the herd, unique or underrepresented colors and markings, and rigorous physical characteristics (i.e. size, health) would be retained on the range. Consideration must be given to these removal criteria to ensure that the “best” are left on the range in order for the herd to perpetuate itself into the future.
8. Urge BLM to adopt the No Action Alternative.

Jasper is the only male descendant of the stallion Starman

Jewel is a unique pale buckskin

Both could be removed in 2012

We are encouraging you to speak up on behalf of this small, isolated, genetically unique, world-famous herd. BLM will not accept emailed comments but feel free to send your comments via email to info@thecloudfoundation.org and please put in the subject line, “Pryor EA comments.” We will print out your emails and mail them with our Foundation comments. Or you can send your letters directly to:

Cloud's grandson, Echo, represents both unique coloration and rare bloodlines being one of the only male descendants of the late stallion, Mateo

Dear Supporters of the Pryor Wild Horse Herd;

I want to share the following letter we received this week from the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area (BCNRA) regarding signage which they have erected along the paved Park Highway. It alerts motorists that there are animals on the road. We appreciate your emails and letters encouraging this action by the BCNRA in response to the hit and run deaths of the band stallion, Admiral, and his yearling son, Climbs High (Kapitan is his BLM name) along the park highway last summer.

Climbs High, May 2011

As you may recall, the driver of a truck, Adam Finn of Germantown TN, was intoxicated when he ran them down at 2 am  on July 24th. His case is being heard in the Lander, WY U.S. District Court and, as yet, no decision has been reached. Mr. Finn drove away from the accident, but his truck broke down about a mile from the crime scene. Authorities found him still drunk in his truck the next morning.

We appreciate the signage which the BCNRA put up this fall to alert drivers that animals may be on the road. It is common to see not only wild horses, but bighorn sheep and deer as well as smaller animals along the highway, hence the generic nature of the signs.

Photo Courtesy: Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area

Thanks for speaking up. Your voices made a difference!

Happy Trails!
Ginger

Dear Friends of Cloud, his family and herd;

Our trip to the mountaintop late last month was a difficult one. At least six inches of snow had fallen several days before we began our drive up scenic Crooked Creek Road, just reopened after summer-long repairs. Our late start found us in the dark as Lauryn and I passed the Big Ice Cave. Within minutes, we were in snow following the tracks of at least one other vehicle which gave us hope of reaching the horse range. Then the tracks ahead stopped and turned around, and so did we. There was no getting through the wet drifts so we backtracked. Halfway down Crooked Creek, our headlights lit up a little red fox as it dashed across the road. It’s only the second fox I’ve seen on the mountain in 17 years.

We both agreed if we were to find Cloud and the rest of the mountaintop horses, it would not be on the “easy” road.

Bighorn ram & ewe

The next morning we made a trip out to the Dryhead to see if we could find Climbs High’s mother and the band. No luck. But we did see 15 Bighorn sheep including 7 that were foraging on mountain mahogany near the Devil’s Canyon Overlook. A young half-curl ram joined the ewes and lambs, clearly interested in one female in particular. Back on the main road we rounded a curve and came face-to-face with the young grullo band stallion, Fiero, and his little family as they strolled down the roadside.

Bighorn sheep forage on Mountain Mahogany by the canyon

Next, we turned our sights on Tillett Ridge. On the mid-ridges, snowdrifts were visible under the trees although most of the snow had melted off the road. A huge mud puddle was rimmed with fairly recent horse tracks, but where were the horses?

We glassed over onto Sykes, but saw no horses over there either. It’s eerie to travel mile after mile, knowing there are more than a hundred horses around, but not seeing any. We didn’t spot a single deer either. It had been a really rough winter for them, but I trust they’ll make a comeback in time.

Surely we’d see horses in the teacup bowl. Again—nothing.  We walked to the snow-fed water hole. No horses. Where were they? Tiny rivers of melting snow made the road to Penn’s Cabin a slip and slide. Beyond the cabin we finally saw horses and thought we had found Cloud, but it was his grandson, Echo, with Bolder and the band. Beyond them Diamond grazed with Cloud’s mother, Phoenix, Trace’s mother, Warbonnet, and Kayenta, her gorgeous, red roan filly. We hiked closer to Bolder’s band and were distressed to see Cedar and Bolder’s young son, Lobo, holding his left leg off the ground. His pastern was badly swollen, and when he walked he tried not to put much weight on it. I hoped it was just a sprain. The ground was slick and he could easily have twisted his ankle. Everyone else looked great. Bolder was particularly chubby and two-year old Jewel was looking stunning. I wonder when and who she’ll choose as a mate?  Velvet was fatter than I’ve ever seen her. I am still shocked that she left Cloud and that he allowed her to go, but that might be because she hasn’t foaled in the past 5 years. A lack of reproduction can result in a lack of fidelity.

Diamond, Phoenix, and War Bonnett

I was surprised to see Bolder courting and then breeding Cascade this late in the year. As a result of PZP, the mares cycle monthly but don’t settle.Echo is Cascade’s only surviving offspring even though she’s a nine-year-old. Cascade, herself, may be the only surviving offspring of the stallion, Mateo. So Echo represents a rare Pryor bloodline on his mother’s side.  Watching the pale palomino yearling is déjà vu for me, as if I’m getting a chance to see Cloud growing up all over again.

Bolder courts Cascade

The next day, Lauryn and I hiked out to take more pictures of Cabaret’s band—the four that died sometime over the past winter at the base of the new Forest Service fence. Deep snow covered the distant Beartooth Mountains and patches of snow had accumulated around the bodies of Cabaret, his black mare, Duchess, and their son and daughter. In 2010, Fortunatus dogged the band all summer and into the fall. He has not been seen all year. Did he expend too much energy trying to steal Cabaret’s band? I doubt we’ll ever know what became of Sierra and Zeppelin’s blazed-faced son. He was the last of his line, and the only young sorrel on the mountain. Cabaret’s mare, Duchess, was also a huge loss to the herd as she was the only remaining offspring of our Freedom Fund mare, Mystery. With a tiny wild horse population like the one on the Pryor Mountains, it’s easy for rare lines to disappear and this is what happened with the death of Duchess and the likely death of Fortunatus.

Lobo, still keeping weight off his ankle, but looking better

Echo - Does he remind you of someone?

Later in the day, we found Bolder’s band again and were encouraged to see Lobo looking a little less lame. The bands we saw were the same ones we’d had seen the day before. Cloud’s mother looked remarkably fit going into winter. But where was her pale son? Maybe Cloud and his family went down the mountain during the recent snowstorm. But which ridge—Tillett or Sykes?  We set up the spotting scope in a place where we could see both ridges. Way down on Tillett near the old uranium mine we spotted Jackson with Firestorm and their large band. Then we spotted two unidentified horse on Sykes. We decided to head down on Tillett a ways which allowed us to glass onto Sykes to see if those dark horses belonged to Cloud. As soon as we glassed onto Sykes I spotted a light horse among some dark ones near the new water cachement. It was Cloud and his family!

We drove back up Tillett and on our way to Sykes spotted Duke’s band above the teacup bowl. Madonna’s bay filly foal, Lariat, was hopping rather than walking. One of her front legs looked broken. Unlike Lobo’s swollen ankle, her leg dangled as she struggled to keep up with her family. As we watched the little filly struggling on the far hill, all those scientific rules of the wild like natural selection and survival of the fittest rang very hollow. I know that Madonna will not leave her foal. The old mare is like that—remarkably nurturing, even with the young of other mares. Where is a mountain lion when you need one? The big cats are quick and efficient killers, but there has been virtually no predation this year and only two cats have been successfully collared in the mountain lion study going on in the Pryors. Despite this, it is likely that up to a half dozen cougars could be legally stalked and killed if hunters with dogs can track them down. I texted Matt Dillon (there’s virtually no cell reception on top but we can usually get a text to go through) and asked him to notify the BLM in hopes they might come and monitor the situation.

We headed over to Sykes and into the limber pines. There was movement in the trees ahead and we stopped.  Some very big birds were walking through the forest. It was a small group of turkeys! This is the one and only time I’ve seen turkeys on the mountain. I wonder what had prompted them to come up so high?

Wild Turkeys at the base of the mountain

We continued down the mountain, and stopped just above a descent into two deep canyons. A distinctive cliff face is key to finding the area where the new cachement lies. I scanned to the left of the cliff. Horses! It was Cloud’s little brother, Red Raven, with Blue Sioux and the band. Beyond and above them was Morning Star and his band, including Shadow, Cloud and Aztec’s beautiful dark roan daughter born in September of 2007. We thought we saw Flint and his family just as they dropped out of sight over the ridge top. It was too late in the day to hike out to them so we drove back up the mountain, knowing we would be back in the morning.

The wind was brutal as we reached the top of Sykes again, but died down just before sunset. We backtracked to the teacup bowl. Empty. But beyond it, we made a discovery. Bands of horses were grazing in the late light, including Mescalero, the dun roan son of Shaman and Sitka. Next to him we saw a newborn dun foal nursing his black mother. It was Polaris with her tiny son. My heart dropped. A birth in the fall can be a life-threatening situation for both mare and foal. I set up the camera and filmed the spirited newborn racing around the mares and his older sister, Lemhi, who looked like a giant next to her little brother. He ran around the trees, through the trees, and into the meadow, bucking and flipping his short little tail into the air. He will need every bit of spirit he can muster to survive the coming winter. The family moved into the bowl after sunset with the dun foal still dashing. Even Lemhi broke into a run, catching up with her little brother. We named the spunky colt Longshot.

Longshot: Shaman's newest grandson

Longshot and Mescalero's band

The next morning we drove down Sykes, looking for Cloud. We saw Red Raven and his family walking uphill through the deep forest. It was clear they were on a mission to reach the mountaintop. Everyone looked great, including Red Raven and Blue Sioux’s beautiful filly foal, La Brava.

Farther down the road, we glassed over to the trees hiding the cachement and spotted bachelor stallions. It was a group of four led by Cloud’s six-year-old brother, Fiddle. No other horses appeared to be around so we drove on, stopping to glass through every opening. As we turned to look back up the mountain, we spotted a dark shape on a hilltop. Both Lauryn and I strained to see who it might be. When we saw the long, dagger-shaped star, we knew we were looking at Agate. Cloud had stolen Flint’s family the winter before when Flint decided that he must have the beautiful mare, Sequoyah. He lost Feldspar, Jasper, and little Agate in the process.

"The Fiddle gang"

Agate

We began hiking and within a half an hour, we were in the presence of Cloud and his family. What a backdrop—behind them was the spectacular Bighorn Canyon. Within minutes, however, they buried themselves in trees for a mid-morning snooze. Lauryn went off to find more horses while I sat with Cloud. Wild horses generally don’t sleep for much more than a half hour before they go off grazing again. Well, so much for what I know. Over an hour later, I was still sitting on the hill above them watching Cloud sleep. The mares had started to graze.  The only foal in the band, Lynx, is small but looks like he is ready for winter. So does his three-year-old mother, Ingrid. Aztec is plump. So are she and Cloud’s daughters, Jasmine and Breeze. Feldspar was looking fit and Agate is turning into quite a beauty. Jasper had become a fun-loving bachelor shortly after Cloud claimed Feldspar and little Agate.

Ingrid, Cloud & Aztec with the Bighorn Mountains in the background

Ingrid & Lynx

Jasmine & Breeze

Once Cloud finally woke up he went a few steps to rub on dead snags, scratching those hard to reach places. When the band moved onto a flat near the road, I noticed that two-year old, Jasper, and his buddy, the Indigo Kid (Prince and Electra’s three-year old blue roan son) were in the trees below, watching. They could see Cloud as he grazed on the hilltop. Suddenly Cloud looked up, giving the two bachelors quite a start as he barreled down the hill toward them. As I filmed Cloud, I could hear Jasper and Indigo racing away behind me. Cloud raced past me and into the forest. Distant screams reverberated through the forest. I knew that Cloud was having a “talk” with Fiddle and his young buddies. In a few minutes, Cloud came racing back to his band. He looked the same as he always has—fit, strong, and ready to defend his family, and, in true Cloud fashion, anxious to show off a bit.

Jasper

Electra & her foal, Limerick, just before the fog rolls in

The next morning we left the mountain as fog rolled into the canyons. Down on Tillett again we glassed over to Sykes. Mescalero and his band had descended onto a huge ridge above Big Coulee. We could see little Longshot running around his mother. Good luck little boy, I quietly whispered as we drove away. I think of Longshot everyday, praying he and his mother can somehow survive the coming snow and cold.

Longshot and Lemhi

Happy Trails and Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Ginger

P.S. Please consider making a contribution to our current legal efforts to save Wyoming’s mustangs, or to our continuing legal battle to restore the lands in the Custer National Forest for Cloud, his family and the entire Pryor Mountain herd. Be sure to keep the TCF store in mind for Christmas. We will be doing a Cyber Monday Sale on 11/28! Your gift is tax deductible.

The centerpiece of RSGA’s lawsuit is the push to have BLM remove all wild horses from not only the private but all the publically owned land in these checkerboard lands – almost half of Wyoming’s entire wild horse population.

Based on BLM’s disastrous track record in retaining viable wild horse  herds on public lands,  it seems highly unlikely BLM will vigorously defend the right of the mustangs to remain on these southern Wyoming landscapes. And so The Cloud Foundation along with American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC) and the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros (ISPMB) filed for a motion to  “intervene” on behalf of the wild horses. On November 2^nd, we were granted that request.

We were on location at the Great Divide Basin roundup in late October to witness the removal of hundreds of wild horses. Great Divide Basin is just one of the herd management areas that will be eradicated should RSGA win this self-serving lawsuit.

In order for us to be able to make a difference for the future of Wyoming’s wild horses, we need your help.

The Cloud Foundation must raise at least $5,000 now to fight effectively for   thousands of animals.  As you know, we operate exclusively on tax-deductible donations from the public, and we need you to help us right now, before BLM cuts a deal with RSGA to destroy our Wyoming herds.

You can donate here.  Your contribution will go directly toward legal expenses to defend Wyoming’s mustangs. Please do what you can. Thanks!