I’ve been a bit behind on announcing the new foal arrivals on my blog. But, here they are:
Pilar and her new foal Ukiah
Pryor Foal # 5
The fifth foal for 2020 was born on Mother’s Day weekend to the mare Pilar and stallion Hamlet. Pilar is the 2015 daughter of LaBrava and Irial. Hamlet is the 2007 son of Delliah and Pierre. The foal is a colt and has been named Ukiah.
Pryor Foal # 6
The sixth foal for 2020 was born on Mother’s Day weekend to the mare Morning Reverie. Morning Reverie is the 2017 daughter of Hataali and Morning Star. I am listing the father of this horse as unknown. The foal is a filly and has been named Usha.
Usha
Pryor Foal # 7
Foal # 7 for the season was born to Quintana and Okomi, also born on Mother’s Day weekend. Quintana is the 2016 daughter of Feldspar and Mescalero. Okomi is the 2015 son of Firestorm and Jackson. The foal is a colt and has been named Udall.
Udall and Utah
Pryor Foal # 8
Pryor Foal # 8 was born to the Penn and Jesse James. The birth of this foal was probably Mother’s Day week or the week before. Penn is the 2015 daughter of Audobon and Hamlet. The foal is a filly and has been named Ukulele Lil.
Penn and Ukulele Lil
Pryor Foal # 9
The 9th foal of this year was just discovered this past weekend by Dennis. The foal has been born to Niobrara and Fools Crow. Niobrara is the 2013 daughter of Firestorm and Jackson. Fools Crow is the 2005 son of Strawberry and Cortez. The foal is a filly and has been named Uushuwate.
Niobrara and foal
Thank you Dennis for the use of your beautiful photos!
The Billings Field Office is initiating public scoping and encouraging input on a Joint Management Area Plan (JMAP) for the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range. The planning area includes public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service which comprise the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range.
Implementation of a Herd Management Area Plan (HMAP) or a Joint Management Area Plan (JMAP) is consistent with the authority provided in 43 CFR 4700 and the 1971 Wild Free- Roaming Horses and Burros Act (WFRHBA). The JMAP is needed to manage wild horses within the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range Joint Management Area to maintain the wild horse herd as a self-sustaining population of healthy animals in balance with other uses and the productive capacity of their habitat and attain the objectives outlined in the Billings Field Office Approved Resource Management Plan.
The Billings Field Office will begin accepting public scoping comments regarding long and short-term management objectives for an updated Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range Joint Management Area Plan (JMAP) through the ePlanning website at http://eplanning.blm.gov . Public comments will be considered in the development of an Environmental Assessment that will be prepared to analyze and recommend a decision regarding long and short-term management actions for the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range
Substantive comments and recommendations should focus on long and short-term herd and habitat management objectives and goals. Please refer to the Preliminary Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range Joint Management Area Plan on the ePlanning website at http://eplanning.blm.gov for the preliminary plan. Examples of substantive input includes comments regarding:
Population control, method and techniques, sex ratios and growth rates.
Removal criteria such as characteristics and age structure.
Achieving appropriate management levels for the attainment of a thriving natural
ecological balance.
Maintenance of existing developments.
Healthy populations of wild horses including her characteristics and age structure.
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Electronic comments may only be submitted via e-Planning however, if you prefer to submit hard copy comments you can mail to:
Preliminary Pryor Mountain Joint Management Area Plan can be found at: BLM e-Planning website – https://eplanning.blm.gov Click “Text Search”
Click “Advanced Search” in the NEPA #: Type DOI-BLM-MT-C010-0004-EA
Click “Search” Click “Documents” Click “Comment on Document”
Mail: Billings Field Office 5001 Southgate Drive
Billings, MT 59101-4669
The BLM will consider any substantive comments and include as appropriate. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment, including your personal identifying information, may be publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Comments must be submitted no later than close of business on Friday, May 15, 2020 in order to be considered. If you have questions, please contact Jerrie Bertola at (406) 896-5223.
Sincerely,
David Lefevre Field Manager Billings Field Office
Here is a link that will take you to the proposal details. Click on BLM
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at my email: wildinthepryors@aol.com.
All comments must be submitted by May 15, 2020. You can submit on line or via mail.
When commenting, please remain courteous and try to back up your comments with educated reasons.
The first known Pryor Foal was born to Nova and Hickok. Nova is the 2013 daughter of Kitalpha and Bristol. Hickok is the 2007 son of Belle Starr and Starbuck. The foal is a colt and has been named Uinta.
Thank you Diane Granger for the use of her photos.
2019 Pryor Foal # 13 was born to Jewel and Fools Crow.
Jewel is the 2009 daughter of Waif and Corona. Fools Crow is the 2005 son of Strawberry and Cortez. The foal is a colt. No name has been chosen yet. Thank you Brittny Budde for the use of your beautiful photos!
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.
Morgana and Titana
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.
Photo by BLM Paris and her foal are in the middle of the photo.
A young Mandan. Born in 2012, this photo was taken in early 2013.
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.
Petra, daughter of Galena and Doc. June 2015
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!
The year of 2018 is very quickly coming to a close, and like the past several years, I am doing this post to honor the horses that have died in 2018. The list is shorter then it was last year, but no less painful. Even though several of those that passed in 2018 were very young, their memory will not be forgotten.
We didn’t get the chance to watch them grow and develop a strong presence on the mountain, but the lucky few that saw them and recorded their existence can remind us all of who they were. Thank you to those that allowed me to use their photos.
Below are the horses that have died (or are missing) in 2018.
Blue Moon, 2012
1. Blue Moon (Flint). 2001 son of Shaman and Sitka. While Blue Moon has not been gone the official length of time to be declared deceased, all of that witnessed his deteriorated condition this past summer, can recognize that he most likely is gone. He not only lost his band last winter/spring, but he somehow got injured. He seemed to have a back/spinal injury that appeared to be very painful. Not only the physical injury, but it was also very clear that his spirit to live had greatly compromised. He was one of those stallions that just couldn’t settle into bachelorhood again. His heart was broken at the loss of his band.
I have many, many fond memories of Blue Moon. He and his band were frequent early morning/late evening visitors to my campsite. They seemed to recognize my truck, Abbie and myself. Blue Moon was the type of horse that if he could, he would have pulled up a chair and asked for a cup of coffee, and talked to us for hours about life. And his life was full of stories, he struggled as a young bachelor to devote full attention to his band. That lead for some painful memories for him, but in the more recent years, he became a devoted caring band stallion that gave his every minute to the care of his band.
He will be deeply missed.
Blue Moon and his brother Custer, 2015Morning Star 2012
2. Morning Star. 1996 son of Washakie and Plenty Coups. Morning Star lost his band one final time in the fall of 2017. (After losing them and winning them back in the spring of 2017). I don’t believe he was seen after that. He was looking quite thin in the summer of 2017, so without his band and his strength, he was not able to make it. Morning Star was a strong band stallion, who kept his band together. His death lead to the separation of his band, and as current as last week, it has been reported that they are still in constant turmoil. Morning Star was a strong presence on the mountain and will be greatly missed.
Morning Star, summer of 2017Kemmerer (2010 Sacajawea X Blizzard), and Sacajewea, spring 2012.
3. Sacajawea. 1996 daughter of Three Bars and Calamity. Sacajeawea has not been seen since June 2018. She has always been a strong independent mare, often setting out on her own and changing bands. She was by far one of the oldest and strongest bloodlines that the Pryors had. Her beautiful primative markings and gorgous Grulla color always took my breath away.
Photo by Laura CurtisKemmerer, Sacajewa and Seattle. Spring 2012.
4. Sparrow. 2018 son of Pele (Penny) and Irial. Born the week of May 14, missing May 20, 2018. No photo available.
Stargazer and Quartz. Photo by Dennis McCollough
5. Stargazer. 2018 son of Quartz, father unknown. Born week of June 3. Died June 6.
Stargazer. Photo by Dennis McColloughShamrock. Photo by Dennis McCollugh
6. Shamrock. 2018 son of Pegasus, father unknown. Born the week of May 20. Discovered missing by Abbie and Sandy, June 21, 2018.
Abbie and I were both so excited to look for Shamrock and so shocked and disappointed when we discovered her missing. Shamrock was a beautiful foal and seemed strong. But Pegasus (whom I discovered and named!) was with an unexperienced new band stallion (Missoula, whom I discovered and named!).
I am uncertain about what happened to the Sparrow and Stargazer, but I am quite certain that Shamrock was taken by a mountain lion. A few days after we discovered her missing, Abbie and I came across a large blood patch and drag marks with blood. While we can’t be certain, we concluded that it was most likely that of Shamrock.
Shamrock and Pegasus.Labrava and Santiago, July 15, 2018
7. Santiago. Son of Labrava and Irial. A beautiful strong colt, Santiago should have survived. Abbie, I and my last guests of the season discovered this little beauty early on the morning of our last day.
We can only speculate what happened to this beautiful foal, born to a large strong and stable band. There was and is a lot of young bachelors pushing for a band of their own. Abbie and I witnessed several very dangerous pursuits involving several bands at a time. There were also several people on the mountain at the time. Did Santiago get separated and injured from a bachelor confrontation? Did he get separated from people approaching too close ( like a foal from 2017?) There were conflicting reports of what happened. Only the mountain knows for sure, either way, this colts life ended way too soon. His death haunts me.
Rest in Peace wild ones. Your spirit still runs free on the mountain.
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!
LaBrava with her new colt and her daughter Pilar (Pixie)
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.
Penny (Pele), daughter of Fools Gold and Coronando. June 2015
This will be the 6th year that I have made this post. This is a “fun” only post where any of you can suggest names for the 2018 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 S 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. Or you can go to the Center’s latest post and read more about it as well. Click on Center 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!
If you haven’t already read my post about “who will foal in 2018”, click on FOALS 2018. That way you can get an idea on who may foal. Thank you!
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.
