2020 Pryor Foal # 2 was born to Phantom and Johnston. Phantom is the 2015 daughter of Icara and Fools Crow. Johnston is the 2009 son of Cascade and Seattle.
The foal is a filly and has been named Unity.
Thank you Brittny for the use of your beautiful photos.
I woke up this morning with a message from Sarah and Abbie. Jackson had died. While this was not unexpected, it was still very shocking. I can’t imagine the mountain without Jackson.
Jackson was born to the mare Broken Bow and stallion Two Boots in 1998. This beautiful coyote dun stallion was a giant force on the mountain. He claimed the largest bands up until he lost his status of a band stallion in May of 2014. While he claimed a mare from time to time for a short while, his days of being a prominent band stallion were over.
For some stallions, they give up the will to live after the loss of their band. But Jackson choose to embrace his next role: caretaker of those in need. He was often spotted with young bachelors teaching them the “ropes”. But perhaps his most important role was that of a caring bachelor stallion. It seemed if any horse on the mountain was alone or need a friend, Jackson was there. Either briefly or for a longer period of time, he stood by those in need. The most significant one was when he spent an entire summer watching over a wounded Mandan. I believe Mandan is a live today because of Jackson.
Caring was not new to Jackson, when he was still a band stallion, I witnessed many touching moments of closeness with his family. This behavior never ended, as he continued to carry out that role as an older bachelor.
Perhaps one of the funnest moments I shared on the mountain with Jackson, was in July 2014. A few cattle from a nearby ranch, happened to wander on the range. While I am sure this wasn’t the first time he saw cattle, it was amusing to watch his reaction to them. The rancher removed them later that day.
In the winter of 2016-17, he somehow injured his left eye. It appeared that he had lost sight in that eye. Many of us worried he would not make it without vision in both eyes. But once again, he showed us how amazing and strong he was.
I could continue to tell many stories of this amazing stallion. But somehow the words are not coming very easily to me this morning.
To me, Jackson was the most caring and nurturing stallion on the mountain. There will be a giant empty space where this amazing stallion was. He left this earth on his own terms, wild and free. Rest easy Jackson. You changed my life, and I know you changed the life of may others. Thank you.
The Sixteenth 2019 Pryor foal was born sometime around November 1 to Jasmine and Doc. Jasmine is the 2009 daughter of Aztec and Cloud. Doc is the 2003 son of Winnemucca and Little Foot.
The foal is a filly and the name that has been chosen is Talulah.
I found that there are three meaning to this name. The first one that came up was: An Online Australian Woman’s Boutique. Surprised by this, I googled it again. This time from Wikipedia:Talulah Jane Riley-Milburn[1] (born 26 September 1985), known professionally as Talulah Riley, is an English actress. Still thinking that there had to be more, I googled it again and found this: The name Talulah means Leaping Water and is of Native American origin. Talulah is a name that’s been used by parents who are considering baby names for girls. Choctaw.
Okay, I think the last meaning is the one I will think of when I say this name, since the announcement of the name did not include what meaning it was intended for.
Welcome to the Pryors beautiful little filly! These photos were taken by Jack Sterling on December 3 (Thank you Jack for the use of your photos). As you can see, she seems to be doing quite well. Looking forward to seeing this little one!
The 2019 year is coming to a close soon. For the past several years, I have been publishing this post to honor and remember the horses that died during the year, this year is no exception.
A part of me just wanted to let it slide by, this post is never an easy one to make, but in the end, I realized that I needed to continue this tradition and give these wonderful wild horses one last post of love. The mountain is a special and spiritual place, even though these horses are gone, their spirit continues to touch anyone who visits and takes the time to listen.
The horses below are listed in alphabetical order.
1. Baja. Baja was the 1996 son of Tonapah and Looking Glass. Baja was an incredably strong band stallion. He held on to his band until the fall of 2017. That year he was 21. The average life of a wild stallion on the mountain is 19, and for him to not only out live that, but to continue to hold unto his band until he was 21, was an amazing accomplishment. He was one of the most beautiful stallions on the mountain. He is truly missed. His legend lives on with his beautiful daughter Quahneah and her offspring.
2. Duke. Duke was the 1996 son of Flicka and Bigfoot. Duke was also a strong and consistent band stallion. He too lived to the age of 23, losing his band the winter of 2017-18. His legend lives on with 7 offspring left on the range.
3. Fiero. Fiero was the 2005 son of Sacajawea and Merlin. A beautiful stallion with an amazing bloodline, Fiero died too soon. Unfortunately, he has no known offspring on the range.
4. Jemez. Jemez was the 2009 son of Strawberry and Blizzard. Life is tough for these Dryhead stallions. So few filly/mares for these amazing stallions, Jemez’s life was cut short due to an injury. He also has no known offspring on the range.
5. Lobo was the 2011 son of Sapo and Bolder. Lobo was an amazingly beautiful horse. Just coming into his own, he disappeared the winter of 2018-19. I have fond memories of him as a young colt, sparing with his 1/2 brother Killian. He has no known offspring on the range.
6. Tiny. Tiny was the 2019 foal of Waif and Kemmerer. He was first seen by Dennis McCollough in April 2019. He was never seen again. Thank you Dennis for the use of your photos.
7. Warbonnet. Warbonnet was the 1993 daughter of Tonapah and Geranimo. This beautiful mare was very close to Phoenix, you could often see the two of them grooming, napping or grazing together. Her heritage lives on with her daughter Heritage and her son Tecumseh.
Rest in Peace, Wild Horse Souls. Your spirit lives on, and you will always be remembered.
Sandy
2019 Pryor Foal # 10 was born to Oceana and Grijala. Oceana is the 2013 (born in October that year) daughter of Tecumseh and Galadrial. Grijala is the 2006 son of Cavelita and Conquistador. The foal is a colt and has been named Titan.
I remember the first time that I saw Oceana. I was instantly in love with this special girl. She was born late in the year ( late September) to a special couple, Tecumseh and Galadrial. Their story is one that I have told many times on the mountain, and should write a blog post about it. Oceana was a great surprise to all of us that have followed this group, and after looking back at old photos and recalling their story, I guess it would be fair to say that Oceana is my favorite mare on the mountain.
I first saw Oceana in May of 2015. She was a small, sturdy, fuzzy little girl, who idealized her father and and captured my heart. Surrounded by not only Galadrial and Tecumseh, but also by Gringo and Beulah. This unusual band of 4 would take great care of her. Despite being born late and a little small, Oceana became very independent.
It was clear the spring of 2016, that Oceana had a big attraction to the powerful stallion Grijala. She joined his band at a young age, and he was always seen as being kind and gentle to her.
In late June of 2017, Abbie, along with myself and a group of students, discovered a new born foal with Docs band. This foal did not belong to this band. Abbie and suspected that Oceana was pregnant, and that this may be her foal. Somehow, this young foal got separated from its band. Here is a photo of the foal that Abbie and I named Hope Ryden. ( Not to be confused with the foal that Jasmine had a few months later, also called Ryden) You be the judge. We’ll never know for sure, but seeing her new foal made both feel we had been right. You can read that post here: Hope
Regardless of the past, I do know that we now have a beautiful little colt with fantastic parents. I could not be happier for this amazing filly that has grown into a beautiful mare.
Sandy
2019 Pryor Foal # 4 was born to Morgana ( Father unknown). Morgana is the 2012 daughter of Icara and Merlin. Thank you to Brittny for the use of her beautiful photos.
2019 Pryor Foal # 5 was born to Paris (Penn) and Jesse James. Paris is the 2015 daughter Audobon and Hamlet. Jesse James is the Seneca and Admiral. The gender is unknown at this time due to the remoteness of this band. Name has not been given. Thank you to the BLM for the use of their photo.
Pryor Foal # 2 was born to Petra. London is most likely the sire.
Petra is the 2015 daughter of Galena and Doc. London is the 2011 son of Gold Rush and Doc.
No name has been given and the sex is unknown right now.
Pryor Foal # 3 was born to Niobrara and Fools Crow. Niobrara is the 13 daughter of Firestorm and Jackson. Fools Crow is the 2005 son of Strawberry and Cortez. It’s a colt. The name is Thunderbird.
Thank you Cheryl for allowing me to use your photos.
This will be the 7th year that I have made this post. This is a “fun” only post where any of you can suggest names for the 2019 foals born in the Pryors. Of course, like on all the previous years, I can not guarantee that they will be used, but it will be fun to list them, and I do know that whenever a foal is born, I come to this post to look at all of the suggestions. And if you can, please include the meaning for the name, it would be very helpful to know that.
In 2000, the BLM started using a letter for each year of foals, starting with A. This year is the T year. So please feel free to list your ideas in the comment section of this post. To read more about this system and why we use names, please refer to my Name Game post that I did last in 2013. Click on Name Game to go there.
I am looking forward to reading all of your suggestions. If someone else has already posted your name idea, please list it again anyway. It will be fun to see what the most popular name suggestions are!
I’ll be posting my annual “Who Will Have Foals This Year” post soon. But in the mean time, let’s have some fun coming up with names!
Sandy
In all the years I have been going to the Pryors, I have grown to believe that the mountain gives you gifts according to what your energy or attitude is while you are walking on the horses’ ground. You just need to be aware of what and when they happen and be thankful for the gift. This morning was one of those times, and I will hold it in my heart.
On July 9, 2013, my guest Jeanne (who has become a very dear friend) and her two young grandchildren, along with my daughter Amber, witnessed a birth of a foal to a young two-year old filly named Labrava. I won’t go into the details here, but if you would like to read that post you can click on NACER.
Today, just a few days long of the July 2013 birth, Labrava gave birth again. And myself and Abbie were the first to witness this miracle.
We had 3 wonderful photographer guests that wanted to get first light in the morning. I actually love the early morning, and was eager take them out and find horses. After a few minutes of shooting Tecumseh/ Gringo band and Doc’s band, we decided to move down the road a bit. I parked the car and just took in the beautiful landscape while I sipped my first cup of coffee for the day. After spending several weeks on the mountain, I have often just enjoyed leaving my camera down and taking in the horses and landscape with my eyes. As I did this, I noticed Irial’s band to my left. I counted the horses, including Irial. Irial has the biggest band on the mountain at 11. He was one short. Abbie and I had been watching Labrava closely, and we thought she was very near to foaling. We saw them the night before and she was walking as if she was uncomfortable. In a perfect world, we hoped that she would foal that night, but we weren’t sure, because sometimes they can actually go on for days looking that way.
I looked through my binoculars past the other members of Irial’s band. Just below the hill, I could see LaBrava. I immediately thought she looked thinner. Could she have had her foal?? I turned to Abbie and said. Let’s go take a look. We took a very wide berth around her (more than 200 feet or more), we walked slowly over. There on the ground was a tiny dark foal! LaBrava was comfortable sharing her new life as we watched. As soon as he stood, it was obvious he was a colt that was going to look just like his father!
Thank you LaBrava for showing us this gift!
The 10th Pryor Foal was born to LaBrava and Irial. LaBrava is the 2011 daughter of Blue Sioux and Coronado. Irial is the 2008 son of Ireland and Prince. I’ll let you know when a name has been chosen!
Pryor Foal # 9 was born in the Dryhead while I was on the mountain top. LaNina has given birth to a colt. His name is Stillwater. I do not have any photos to post, but when I do I will post.
LaNina is the 2013 daughter of Bakken. The sire of this foal could be two horses. Hidalgo or Hidatsa.
Out of the 9 foals born, there are currently 6 surviving.