Colorado Wildfires – What does it mean for our wild horses?

A lot of folks have been asking us about all the wildfires that are happening in the state of Colorado. There are a lot of them occurring.

One question on a lot of peoples’ minds: what does this mean for the wild horses?

Right now, none of the fires burning in the state are threatening any of the wild horse herds in Colorado.

One dun Colorado band stallion

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Photo Gallery: Oklahoma, April 2012

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Two Girls, One Very Battered Tent, and a Herd of Wild Horses

(A.K.A. How I Spent My St. Patrick’s Day Weekend – A note from Lauryn)

Dear Wild Horse & Burro Friends;

Some of you may remember my first trip to the Sand Wash Basin herd back in June, 2011. We didn’t see very many horses, but we were also clueless where to go. That’s why we got the low-down ahead of time—before St. Patrick’s Day weekend rolled around. With detailed instructions from Sand Wash expert Nancy Roberts, I drove up to Denver to meet fellow wild horse advocate and enthusiast Rachel Reeves. We loaded up Rachel’s dad’s pickup on Friday evening (complete with instructions), and drove the winding roads to Craig, arriving at the little motel just shy of midnight.

Our instructions from Rachel's dad

A Snowy Visit to the Pryors

Sunday, March 3, was a warm, sunny day in the Pryors. The mountain was blanketed from top to bottom with a fresh coat of wet snow. This is great for future forage production, although it made accessing the range a challenge—but that’s part of the adventure!

A very snowy Sykes Ridge

We drove just a few miles up Tillett Ridge “Road” (more like a rocky obstacle course), when we spotted the new band stallion, Grijala, and his little family foraging on a hillside. Just a few miles past them we found Jackson and his expanded family. The hefty, coyote dun stallion had somehow acquired part of Cloud’s band! While it is great that Cloud’s daughters, Dancer and coming 3 year-old, Jasmine, are with the Jackson band, we were surprised to see that Cloud’s young mare, Ingrid and her cute little dun foal, Lynx, were also with him.

More Photos from Our March Visit to the Pryors

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Cedar & Onaqui Mountain Roundup – Feb. 2012

These photos are from the Onaqui/Cedar Mountain roundup in mid-February 2012 southwest of Salt Lake. Some photos are of the release of mares and stallions as well. All released mares were treated with PZP. All photos were taken by Lisa Friday.

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Stone Cabin Wild Horses Released – Feb. 2012

For the hundreds and thousands that are removed from the wild, there are still a lucky few who are released back. The Stone Cabin Wild Horse Complex roundup in eastern Nevada removed over 600 horses from their rangelands. Here are some of those that got the chance to go back home. Their families have been splintered, but at least they are free again. Photos of are both mares and stallions. All mares were treated with the infertility drug PZP. All photos were taken by Elyse Gardner, who was on site for the release. You can check out her reports from the field at her Humane Observer blog here.

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Winter in the Pryors

Dear Friends of Cloud and his herd, and all our wild horses;

Cloud Foundation board members, Ann Evans (Denver) and Anni Williams (S. CA) and I traveled north for a quick, two-day trip to the Pryor Mountains. Despite less snow so far this winter, this is still the toughest season to spot horses. The most valuable pieces of equipment we carried with us were our spotting scopes. The most valuable trait in using them is patience.

Anni and Ginger scope for horses

Action Alert: Cloud’s Echo

Erasing the Memory of Cloud

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

Surprises in the Snow

An Update on Cloud, his Family, & All the Pryor Mustangs

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