My friend and very devoted Pryor Mountain Wild horse observer, Laura Curtis, sent me a short report from her recent Dryhead trip (couple weeks ago) with her husband John.
Her are Laura’s photos and her summary. Thank you so much Laura!
We got to the Dryhead early Saturday morning.( 09-20-14) We saw Fiero with Sacajawea, Oregon and Strawberry near the road, so we had a long time with them.
Oregon has matured so much from when we saw her in July. Sacajawea is very thin. I am concerned for her going into winter so thin needing to provide for nursing Oregon. I love her beautiful two-tone mane, looks like Oregon may have that mane also. Fiero, Oregon and Strawberry looked good.
The big surprise for me was that Hickok now has a harem. Saturday morning he had Kitalpha, her yearling filly Nova, Seneca and Hightail. They were up the sandy draw behind the high ridge where the “greeters” hang out, so my view of them was very distant even after climbing up the ridge.
Sunday morning Hightail was off by herself with a good view in the area where the greeters are often seen even though she wasn’t close to the road. Considering her age each time I see her, I feel especially blessed.
We saw Hawk, Chief Joseph and Johnston each drive; they seemed happy together and healthy.
And I was overjoyed at the Center when they showed me a recent photo of Medicine Bow taken in the Dryhead and he looked great!! Such happy news!!
Thank you again for everything. Have a wonderful Fall. Laura
Thank you again for all the lovely pictures and posting you do. The horses are just beautiful, and I enjoy seeing and hearing about all of them. Maybe next year I can get back over that way.
Thank you Trudy.
Thanks for the update. Boy, Sacajewa does look very thin. How old is she? I’m afraid she’s going to have a very hard winter. Praying her and Oregon will be fine though.
I’m always amazed with Sacajewea’s coloring, I was hoping Oregon inherited it. I hope they can hold on through the winter………
Wow Sacajawea is thin. I guess we havent seen close ups of her in awhile. Honestly I wonder if Oregan has been weaned already. With how poor her body condition is I doubt she’s producing milk. Hopefully theres enough time before winter really sets in for her to at least put on a little more weight. All the others look plump and fat. Im glad Strawberry is with them. Hopefully she can help get Sacajawea and Oregon through the coming winter.
Thank each of you for your comments. Lola, Sacajawea was born in 1996. Sarah, there is no way of knowing how much milk Oregon was getting, but she nursed contentedly while we were watching them, and in some of my photos you can clearly see that Sacajawea teats are large. It sure is taking a toll on her mommy. It is good that Oregon was one of the earliest foals and looks to have good weight going into winter.
Sandy, thank you for sharing my photos and info. I received your 2015 calendar today and it is gorgeous. Every page “takes” me to the horses!! Thanks.
I’m happy to hear that there has been a sighting of Medicine Bow! Sure have been wondering about him, and hoping he was just being elusive. Hope someone sees Jemez sometime, too. I really fear for Sacajawea. Her body condition has changed markedly since I was there in July. Wouldn’t be so unexpected to see her like that in the spring—but now… 🙁 I, too, hope she can pack on a little weight before the bad stuff gets there, and that she doesn’t have an illness of some sort. I think Oregon will be OK. She knows how to forage and has band mates to follow. I think she’s a gorgeous little “lady”. Thanks to you both for the update.