Mountain Top, Day Two. June 16, 2013. Morning.

So much is happening on the mountain, that I decided I will need to break this day down in morning/afternoon posts.  It would just be too long to do as one.  I hope you don’t mind.

Amber and I had decided to sleep in the truck for some extra warmth.  I really like sleeping in the truck.  It is easy to sit up and see what is going on around you.  The rest of the summer would be too warm and  we would be sleeping in a tent.

This day I was awoke by the sound of a horse (or two) right outside my truck.  It was just starting to get light.  I continued to hear noise, and it sounded really close.  I sat up fast and looked out.  Looking face to face with Fiesta.  He was peering into the truck window right at me.  I scared the horse poo out of him, (sorry Fiesta) because of my fast rising motion.  He leaped back as Juniper and Horizon stood laughing at him!  That is how it seemed to me.   I was sure they had offered him 5 dollars to touch the truck and he was just about to win the bet and then I ruined it for him and sat up.

I looked at my watch, it was 4:30 am.  I tried to go back to sleep, but the excitement of the day and the knowledge that there were horses right outside, made me give up on sleep and crawl quietly out of my sleeping bag and open the door to a new day.  It was now 5:15.  Fiesta and gang had moved on and taking their place on the other side of the road was Custer and his beautiful family.

I stood watching them as they walked slowly away, then turned my focus on the camp stove that was waiting to be lit.  I was looking forward to a hot cup of coffee in my hand as I watched the Wild Horse world wake up before me.

Several minutes later, I had my wish.  I had my coffee and I had spotted more horses just a short walk from camp.  I enjoyed a couple sips, then grabbed my camera and walked towards the horses.

I already knew who they were: Cloud’s band and Teton’s band.  With more further down the hill that I was unable to make out.  Cloud’s band is even easier to find now.  Little Nimbus (Encore), stands out like a little beacon of white light.  Even on a snow field she is easy to spot.

Nimbus was born just a few days after my last trip.  This was my first time to see her.  She was cute, but then again, what foal isn’t?  I love them all.

I could also see Galaxy’s band and Blue Moon’s band just a bit further away.  I had not seen Halcyon’s new foal either and I was looking forward to a closer look.

That would have to wait.  I looked back and saw Amber moving about.  Teton’s band had moved away and down the hill out of view.  I would have to wait to get some photos of them.

I stayed with Cloud’s band for a few more minutes and then walked back to camp for more coffee.  I would be here for a few days, no need to rush.

Shortly after my return to the camp, I noticed more horses just down the road.   It was Hernando and Jupiter.

My coffee would have to wait yet again.  I grabbed my camera and took a short walk.  I stood and watched these two boys for a while.  Amazed at how they had both matured and filled out this past year.  I would not be surprised in the least to see Hernando with a mare before long, maybe even Jupiter.

Just a short distance from them were a sleepy threesome.  Horizon, Juniper and Fiesta.  They must have been tired from all their movement and pranks on the humans during the night.  Just beyond them was Bolder and his band.

I looked back towards Penns Cabin and the  field was full of horses.  It seemed they were sprouting up like the wildflowers surrounding them.

Both Amber and I sat watching the horses while we drank the fresh coffee and ate our breakfast.  Was there anything better than this.  Not much, if anything I thought.  One of Don’s (BLM volunteer) favorite sayings is when he is on the mountain is: “I wonder what all the poor people are doing right now?”  That saying crossed my mind as I sat holding my warm cup.  We had the mountain to ourselves, with fields of wild horses grazing and napping around us.  Life was good.

Gringo’s band was close too.  I still did not see conflict between Gringo and Tecumseh.  I found myself holding my breath each time I saw this band.  I had witnessed some pretty violent fights between these two last summer.  Was something different?  I wasn’t sure yet, but I was beginning to think that perhaps they HAD reached an agreement.  Maybe Tecumseh was acting like a Satellite Stallion now and the wounds I saw on him were from fighting off other stallions, not from Gringo.

I noticed that Cloud was charging off after someone.  It was Galaxy.  Apparently Cloud felt they were to close.  They had a brief exchange.  It looked like Cloud had been in a few fights, by the look of his coat.   His coat almost had a roan look to it.

The horses were slowly making their way down the road towards Penns Cabin.  Amber and I decided to follow.  With every dip in the uneven land, more horses appeared.

Garary and his newly acquired band (that he took from Grijala) appeared.  I wondered how this match would be.  I have to admit, that I am a bit prejudice against Garay.  Gold Rush was last seen with him  in 2012 and disappeared.  Kindra was last seen with him earlier this year and now is missing.  I know this could all be a unfortunate consequence, but it still makes me wonder about him.

Quelle Colour is a very strong and wise old mare, I have no doubt that she will be just fine with him.  It was also very apparent that she was enjoying him, as I saw them breed several times in the next few days.

Kohl on the other hand was a bit of a handful for Garay to keep track of.  Not unlike how Judith had been with Santa Fe last year.   I saw her wander, run and move far away from them several times.  She is still nursing Quelle Colour, and in some ways so dependent on her mom, but yet seems to want to go off on her own.  I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the other bachelors swoops in and takes her while Garay is distracted with QC.   Kohl seems willing to go.

I noticed Irial down below me.  He was standing on the rocks over looking Mystic Pond (which was very full, with a huge snow field above it, more snow than last year).  Irial briefly had Audubon, I wondered if that brief time when he had a small band of his own would make him more determined to get another.  Time will tell.  I can tell you, that I did not see him just hang with the boys for long, he was mostly on his own.

I briefly saw Doc and his band.   Demure had given birth to a beautiful grulla filly in May (Foal # 10).  But she went missing shortly after she was discovered.

We continued to make our way past Penns.  I love this part of the upper mountain and it seems the horses do as well.  I spotted Duke’s band right away.  It was good to see them.  I had not seen Helenium’s new foal Noble yet.  He was the first-born on the mountain this year, and already so big.  I had to do a double take and make sure it was really him.  He seemed almost as big as his younger sister Meriweather, who was born last year.

I thought Madonna looked better than she did in other more recent photos of her this spring.  I was glad to see that she did not look pregnant this year.  At the age of 24, she needs a break.

Gracianna looked very close to foaling.  Tonapah (Lakota’s mother) looked amazing for the age of 27.  She felt good too.  I witnessed her flirting and then breeding with Duke that morning.

There was another story unfolding not to far away.   I had heard from Shawn that Santa Fe was dogging Coronado’s band a few weeks ago.  He still was.  He was being very persistent.  He was also acting like protector for the band too, and would take on any stallion that came close to this band.  But Coronado did not like this new situation and would charge at him constantly.

I witness this from a distance and did not get very good photos this time.  But there would be plenty of opportunity for me to get some closer photos this trip.

There was so much to watch and study, that I missed what caused Doc to chase his band around.   I do feel that Doc is running a much tighter ship now.  He now keeps his band very  close and allows no wandering.   I wondered if it had anything to do with Demure leaving him in April and then the lose of their foal.  The calm, relaxed Doc that I had witnessed this winter and spring was a changed stallion, at least for now it seemed.

Amber and I decided to head back the opposite direction.  I could see several horses up on the hill above Mystic Pond.  I also wanted to head back that way because we were expecting Lori and Brianna to join us anytime.

I  spotted Chino off in the distance.  It was good to see him.  He had lost his Topper Mares.  One to Corona earlier in the year and most recently his Topper Too to Baja.  Chino is 20 this year, so it may be the end of his days as a band stallion.

Jackson is another stallion that has to run a very tight ship.  With the two new foals, his band is at 10 now.  It is a handful for him to keep everyone in line and out of trouble.  I was happy to see them near by and we spent quite a while with them.

When I first discovered Nye in April, I was positive she was a filly.  Then I saw that TCF said she was a colt.  But Shawn said on his last trip he still thought she was a filly.  I am happy to say that after I witnessed her peeing,  I have defiantly concluded that she is a filly.  It does appear that she may have a small hernia, which could have led to the conclusion TCF made.

While I was watching Jackson’s band, someone stopped in a UTV to tell me that: “there is a light-colored stallion that has a lot of wounds on him”.  They asked if I was the BLM (not sure where they got that, but I do have a “adopt a wild horse” BLM sticker in my truck window.  I said I was not, but that I did report to them everything I see on the mountain, especially concerning injures  and births.

I went down to investigate and quickly realized the stallion he was referring to was Tecumseh.  I took some photos to document his wounds.  They looked pretty bad, but nothing that wouldn’t heal, if given the chance.  Certainly they could become infected if reopened or when fly season comes.   He seemed okay otherwise.

After watching him for a while, I realized that these wounds may be from other stallions.  Tecumseh is definitely acting like a satellite stallion, very similar to the role that Fiesta has with Horizon.  I did see some tension between Tecumseh and Gringo, but most of the confrontation was with other stallions.  I honestly think that Tecumseh would rather die than not be with/by his band.  It made me feel sad.

As I watched Tecumseh, something caught my eye.  It was the odd couples Horizon, Juniper and Fiesta.  They love to make an entrance, but the way they do it, almost always stirs things up.  This time was no exception.  Morning Star was making sure they moved on.

There was so much happening around us, I had a hard time trying to decide which way to point my camera!

Yes, that was all happening around us.

We decided to leave the action and walk around and over to Mystic Pond.  I wanted to check out the amount of snow that was there and also to see if any horses were there.  It was beginning to get hot (by mountain top standards) and I was sure some horses may be there cooling off on the snow.

I was right, there were several bands enjoying the snow and water that Mystic had to offer.  Here, just like at Krueger Pond, there was more snow than last year.  A lot more.  You can see in some of the photos just how deep that snow is.

Again, it was hard to know which way to turn to take photos.  There was so much still happening around us.

Everything seemed to be calming down, so we thought we would make our way back to camp for a while.  When I got to the truck, I saw Blue Moon’s band and I noticed that Halcyon’s foal was not with them.  I discovered her a short way away, mix in with Coronado’s band.  It was interesting to watch.  She seemed very confused.  No one from Blue Moons went over to get her.  It must be too risky to leave the band.  Blue Moon was making sure they stayed put.  They just stood there and stared at her, hoping she found her way back.  I got my camera out and took a few photos of the scene.

We made it back to the truck.  I looked at my watch.  It was only 12:30.  But my horse day had started at 4:30 am this day.  I already had eight hours with the horses, and what an eight hours it had been!

I wondered how the afternoon could be any more exciting.  I wouldn’t have to wait too long to find out!

Sandy