I had initially thought I could do one last post with photos and stories from day 2 and 3 on Burnt Timber, but as I began to go through my photos, I decided it would be to large of post. So I will have one more post after this one.
After our morning trip up the Dryhead, we unloaded Ophelia and headed up Burnt Timber Road. This would be our second day on Burnt Timber this trip. The weather said we may get some rain in the afternoon, but that did not bother me in the least. I am very comfortable driving this road in most conditions now.
The first bands we came to were by the water guzzler. It was Jackson’s band and Cloud’s band. Clouds still being dogged by a very determined Santa Fe. I thought they both looked even thinner, just in 24 hours.
It was good to see Jackson and band. The last I had heard, Heritage was not with him, so I was glad to see her back with him again. Also there were both Aztec and Jasmine, bringing Jackson’s band count to 11.
I was sorry that I was not able to get closer photos, but shortly after we arrived, Jackson decided to move his band further away from the Cloud/ Santa Fe conflict.
We stayed watching Cloud and Santa Fe chasing one another back and forth. I have been asked a few times if Mica showed any interest in helping Cloud chase Santa Fe off. No, none. I believe that this particular aggression with Santa Fe (and the others that have continued to dog Cloud) mean business. No place for a 2 year old inexperienced colt. I am glad that Mica was not joining him, I think it is a wise decision on his part.
After a while, we decided to make our way up the road and see what other horses we could find. I was happy to see Hernando and his new band of Warbonnet and Phoenix. Of course we constantly thought of Teton and scanned the range for him each and every day. We never were able to locate him. I hope someone sees him and let’s us all know. I know there are many of us whose hearts ache for this older stallion.
I continued up the road, stopping at Cheyenne Flats to have a look at what horses I could see over there. I don’t have a spotting scope, so I am not 100% sure whose band that is. I saw a total of 20 horses far over there, but was unable to confirm who they were. If anyone wants to let me know who they think this is, I would appreciate it. I was first thinking Morning Star, but I am not sure.
I wanted to see just how far I could get up the road, and we made it to almost the old horse trap area before we encountered two much snow.
On our way back down, Doc and Demure crossed the road in front of us. Right in the exact area where Anh and I had spent hours with Jacksons band in February. I am sure Demure has most likely had her foal by now. I hope it is a healthy foal that survives this year.
I wanted to see what was over a hill, so I hiked up, and was just about face-to-face with Maia. I knew I was way to close, so quickly turned and went back down. We drove down the road a short way and hiked back towards them. I knew we would be at a better distance this time.
Maia looks very pregnant to me.
When we reached the water guzzler where we had left Cloud earlier, we found him and Santa Fe still going at it. Also there were Nancy and Matt from PMWMC. It was good to stop and talk with them for a short time. We both shared information about the horses, then went opposite directions.
We decided to head down and see if we could see more horses, leaving Santa Fe and Cloud.
As luck would have it, I spotted Cappuccino and his band again. They were grazing and then headed over to eat the minerals by the road. Still no McKeahnie with them. But Matt had told me that they had seen him. He was alone he said, but looked to be just fine. I hoped we would see him. He is one of my favorite two-year olds.
Again, another two year old filly looks to be pregnant. This time it is Moenkopi. She is the 2012 daughter of Galena and Jackson.
The wind was picking up, but still no rain, so we turned around and headed back up the road. We thought we would end our day by seeing how Cloud and Santa Fe were doing.
They were still at it. I found myself worried for both of them. Neither is a young stallion. Santa Fe was born the same year as Cloud, 1995. Both stallions will be 19 this year.
The rain was starting to come down. Sideways. The wind was strong as we hurried to Ophelia and made our way back down the mountain. Grateful for yet another fantastic day on the range.
Sandy
