What an amazing first mountain top trip I had. All of my guests were amazing troopers putting up with the weather. We had everything from rain to hale/snow while we were there, but also had some beautiful sunny days as well. We all became bonded by the beauty of the wild horses and mountain. They will all be life long friends. We were able to see all the mountain horses except Garcia and band, Jupiter and Demure, Jackson and Moorcroft. That is over 120 horses!
The changes, although I knew about them, were a little hard to take. It was so strange not to see Jackson with his band. Galaxy is staying on extra alert, protecting Maia and her foal. Maia, although only two years old, seems to be an excellent mother. Broken Bow seems to be settling into Mescalero’s band. I saw her and Half Moon grooming each other, which seemed like a good sign.
I was happy to see Nimbus looking better than I thought she would. Although not an ideal situation (I wish she could be with some older mares), she seems okay. A bit thin. She is a very petite little filly and if she had a horn coming out of her forehead, she would make the perfect unicorn. Her beauty is breathtaking. She really seems to like Knight, and he tries to take good care of her. London and Inali were there the first day, but they had a big fight and London left. We also saw Knight running with some of the boys and worried about where Nimbus was, but she was back with him (and Inali) by the next morning. If Knight keeps up this pace, his many scars on his roan coat, will make him look like Custers by the time he is six.
Once again, it appears that Heleniums foal is a SHE not a HE. So what shall the name be now. I think I will add a feminine flare to it, maybe Outlawless??
I head back to the mountain in just a few days. I know that many of you want to see some photos, so I am trying my best to go through over 3,000 photos and post some. I will break this down into two or three posts.
I will post more photos as soon as I can.
Sandy
Sandy, these are some of your finest photos ever! The light!! It’s breathtaking. Okomi is adorable, and so good to see Tecumseh. You really did see a lot of horses. Thanks for posting, I’ve been excited to get news.
Nanina
Sandy, awesome photos and blog!! How about Outlawlass for the little girl?
HA! That would work. Although I was actually just kidding. Her beauty will outweigh the masculine name and she should be able to stay Outlaw! 🙂
Personally I think Outlaw might still work. I’m not sure why Helenium’s foals have been getting incorrectly IDed, but since Noble hasn’t been changed to Noblewomen I think Outlaw will work even if it’s a bit masculine. I was also noticing how mature Noble looks. She’s turning out to be stunning!
Also, you got some really great photos with the mist and snow. I can’t wait to see more photos!
I do have a couple questions reagarding Galaxy’s band. Is Oro the first foal Galaxy has had to raise or was Maia pretty young when Galaxy first won the band? Also, in one of the pictures of Galaxy’s band it looks like Encore was near by. Did Galaxy look like he might have been interested in stealing her from the bachelors or has he mostly been focused on his own band?
Hi Livi, Galaxy took Princes band shortly after Maia was born, so this is Galaxy’s first foal of his own, but he did raise Maia. No one seemed interested in taking Nimbus, except the 3 boys.
Galaxy raised Maia. She was only a couple weeks old when he stole the band.
Thanks Sarah & Sandy. For some reason I was thinking Maia had been older.
Stunning photos, especially of Tecumseh with the mist behind him 🙂 Galadriel looks very pregnant! Hope it’s Tecumseh’s foal 🙂 Noble is still stunning, LOL that her little sister got mistaken for a boy too 😀 Can’t wait for the rest of your trip 🙂
Gorgeous pictures! Noble is truly beautiful – she’s going to be a stunning mare. It does make me laugh that both she and her sister have been mistaken for colts.
Nimbus has been on my mind a lot since she was stolen by the bachelors, so I’m glad to hear she’s doing all right. Thank you for the updates and for sharing your beautiful photos!
Thanks for the sneak peak! Haha Okomi seems to be quite the feisty little boy. I don’t think I’ve seen a picture of him where he is standing still! Oro is simply gorgeous! I kind of hope he ends up roaning out and looking similar to Custer. It’s great that Maia is such a great mother even at her young age. And it doesn’t hurt that she’s surrounded by some other pretty great mothers. And is with a gentle and nurturing band stallion. Haha in the picture of Galaxy’s band below the one of them in the rain it looks like Cloud is sitting like a dog in the background. Outlaw looks so much like Naolin. Naolin looks like he may get to skip the awkward yearling phase. I’m happy Gracianna foaled again. Maybe if her foal is a colt and they wanted to rename Outlaw then Gracianna’s colt could be named Outlaw instead. It seems like Noble was very interested in you and that Outlaw was too. I am so so happy that Galadrial is pregnant this year! I also really hope it’s Tecumseh’s. But whether it is or not, I’m still happy that she is pregnant. It looks like Ketchikan is pregnant too. Hopefully things will go better for the foals in that band this year. I really think last year Ketchikan and Jacinta both lost their foals through separation, injury, etc that had to do with the fighting between Gringo and Tecumseh. Gringo had never raised a foal before and that inexperience combined with the constant fighting didn’t end well. He’d never had to watch out for a foal before, let alone watch out and keep them safe while also trying to run off another stallion. But it is a new year, and him and Tecumseh have a better relationship so I am feeling positive. I look forward to the rest of your posts!
Great post! Cannot wait for more. 🙂 That Noble is quite the looker. And Firestorm looks stunning as usual. Love the foals and that everyone looks fairly healthy.
Beautiful pictures! I especially love the ones of Firestorm, Okomi and Ketchikan but they are all beautiful! I think Ketchikan and Galadriel look pregnant too 🙂 do you have any other guesses for who might be pregnant? Noble looks so much more mature than Nimbus, but they are both such beautiful fillies. Really glad to hear that Nimbus is doing a bit better and seems to like Knight.
Do you know where London went? Most of the horses look really nice and healthy which is fantastic to see. Maia looks awesome, and Oro is gorgeous!
Thanks for sharing with us, even though you must be very busy! 🙂
Hi Abbie! London joined the new “boys of summer group” : Grijala, Mica, Mandan and now London. At least that is where I left it a day ago. But those boys like to change it up often! Thank you so much. Trying to get out as many photos as I can before my next trip. I know there are many of us (myself included) that were hungering for more photos. I think Lariat may be pregnant as well. I will be posting more photos of her. We all know that it will be a Garay foal because of what I witnessed last summer.
I think he’ll fit in really well with that group, if he stays of course! Mandan and Mica are just a year younger than him and probably less serious than Inali and even Knight.
Ooh, a LariatxGaray foal would be fun! Unexpected, but it would be nice to have a Madonna grandchild since she’s currently MIA :/ And haha, I think you’re right about the cravings for photos and updates! 🙂
Though on second thought Lariat is quite young! I’m sure she’ll be able to handle it though. She looks really good 🙂
Also, by the way, have you thought about applying for the “free trip” that I am offering? I think you would be a wonderful candidate.
I would love to and am honoured that you think so! 🙂 I’ve been meaning to shoot you an email about it actually 🙂
Out of curiosity, has Beulah ever had a foal?
She foaled once, but her colt was later removed.
Thanks Sandy! Really enjoyed the photos & text! So good to hear where everyone is and what they are doing!!