Shawn Ivie – Wild in the Pryors

Pryor Update From Shawn

March 5, 2013wildinthepryors

Shawn made the trip to the Pryors late last week. Here is his update!

It is really good to see that Jackson’s wound is healing. If you compare Shawn’s photos of Jackson to mine in my post I made a couple weeks ago (Click HERE to go there) you can see that the swelling has gone down a lot.

Thanks Shawn for making the trip!

Sandy

I finally had a weekend without a teacher day on Friday or a school activity Saturday, so I decided to run over to the range. Cass had reported that Jackson had been seen with his band, but I still wanted to see how everyone was doing since it had been a few months since I had visited.

I woke up early Friday and left the campground for Burnt Timber. I knew it was going to be a long hike so I wanted to get right to it and figured I could hit the dryhead and sykes on Saturday. The furthest I thought I would be able to drive is the kiosk, but unfortunately I didn’t even make it that far and had to park right at the turnoff from Crooked Creek. My original plan was to hike the road to the first guzzler on the right, but before I even reached the range I could see a lone black horse to the left on a ridge.

Once inside the range, I cut over to find Two Boots. He glanced at me across the canyon and went back to browsing. I did not want to disturb him, so I watched him a little across the canyon and then decided to just cut up the ridge I was on until I reached the big ridge that would allow me to catch the road.

As I worked my way there I found tracks cutting to and fro in the snow. Sometimes I would look and think one way was the “best” way to go, but the horse tracks would follow a different path. Guess which way was usually the best to go? I’ll give you a hint: it was not the biped’s first instinct that would have been right.

I followed the tracks, ridges and canyons until I got to the long, tall ridge. I could finally get on the road. A least that is what I thought, but then I noticed another dark horse by itself on the top of a knob. I scanned and saw 3 more horses on a ridge to the left. Not wanting to miss any horses, the best way to go seemed to be down canyon and then up a ridge to the horse on the right, and then move to the ones on the left. As Malaki and I made our way down through some deeper snow, I saw another horse with the one that I thought was alone and was glad I had chosen that route.

Coming around the back of the ridge the 2 horses were on, I ran right into Jackson, Galena and Aztec. Jackson was moving well, and his swelling did not seem too bad. Beyond them was the rest of Jackson’s current harem: Heritage, Jasmine, Moorcroft and Maelstrom in the brush, and up by herself was Brumby. I am not sure if she just happened to be eating there or if she wasn’t the happiest about Jasmine and Aztec. I seem to remember that last spring she was a little disgruntled when Jackson had some of Cloud’s.

I did not stay too long because I did not want to bother Jackson as he healed.

The next band I had viewed was Blue Moon’s. I was a little surprised to see him here, because last Spring I had to hike down the side of Burnt Timber and up an arm on Sykes to see him when Miocene was born. This is the first I think I have seen him on the BT side except up toward the top where they all cross back and forth to various water holes. At one point Isadora and Miocene must have felt that the others had moved too far from their side and they ran across the snow to “catch up” to Amethyst, who is currently back with Blue Moon. The last time I had visited the range, Malaki had been afraid of the horses and would stay right by my side as he watched them. He has lost that fear, and I was glad I put him on his leash whenever we got near horses because I have a feeling he would have joined in with them if he could.

Blue moon ignored them and kept eating in the direction they had just left, giving me my first clear view of him without shrubs in the way. There weren’t and cuts or scars, but the lines and nicks in his coat make me think that he has been active recently.

I continued over the hill to above the guzzler. From the top, I could see tracks going over ridges in all directions, but no horses. I finally spotted some horses across a canyon on a steeper side and though that one was either Cloud or Mariah. As I tried to determine the 2 horses with them I saw Teton and War Bonnet peaking over a ridge on my side of the canyon at me. For a little while I thought that maybe it was Phoenix and Half Moon on the other side, but when I finally hiked over to where Teton was I found his whole band with him and the others were still on the other side. I never got a good picture of it, but with the way the light was hitting it there were times where Missoula’s mane looked really blue in the middle with the red tips.

As Teton’s band made their way toward the guzzler, I went around them to the canyon edge to get a better view of the horses on the other side. I was fooled by the front one, because I thought I saw a thin blaze and that it was Dove. The rest of the time I watched that horse mostly had its side or butt to me as it ate. Thinking it had been Dove, I started thinking it was Coronado and wondered where everyone else was.

When I finally looked at my pictures later I found that I did have one good shot of the blaze and it was not thin and Dove, but that it was Feldspar. This really makes me think that I can’t go 2 months away from the range or my skills of i.d. start to go down; but it also makes me realize how weird it is for me to see Cloud with only 2 horses. I knew Mica was not with him now, but this is the first I have seen him with just Feldspar and Inocentes.

Another pair had left the area where Cloud was when I first got on the top to look over at him. They had moved off quickly up the canyon bottom and then up top closer to the guzzler. This was a change that I had not noticed in blogs, but seeing how quickly the horses moved away from camera range it made perfect sense to me when Sandy let me know that Chino only had 1 Topper with him now.

On my way out, I checked on Jackson’s group from up high one last time, made my way by Blue Moon and then hiked back out on the road in the ATV tracks from the park service. It was much easier hiking out than in, but by the time I got to the FJ I had decided I wasn’t going all the way back in on Saturday.

I made a horseless pass through the park. Having not seen any horses out in Turkey Flats from up top, I didn’t think it would be worth making a hike out there on Saturday, either. I stopped in to see Liesl and Kaibab, and was fortunate again this time to get there about 3 minutes before Lori came to feed them. I was able to talk to her for a while before heading to Cody to see some bighorn rams. I should be able to visit the horses again soon over spring break before hitting a track season that will keep me away longer than I wish.

Shawn

Logo designed by Amber Bushnell

Day Two, New Years Visit: Report from Shawn Ivie

January 4, 2013wildinthepryors

January 2nd 2013
Monday the 31st I checked the dryhead 1 last time, and saw the greeters near Ranger’s Delight.

I decided to run over to Cody to see the rams, and swung by McCullough on the way. After a New Year’s night of listening to owls and coyotes while watching the stars and having a little 14 hands cabernet sauvignon by a rare fire, I spent the 1st day of 2013 watching rams up the North Fork before heading back to Lovell.

I stopped in to see Liesl, Kaibab and Exhilharation at the center, and was fortunate that Lori stopped to feed them about 3 minutes after I got there.
Tuesday morning I woke up and decided to drive up to above Sykes Coulee to see if I could see any one either across it, and to look down on the lower sykes area. I did see 3 horses across the coulee, but decided I wasn’t going to hike over for just 3. While coming back down, I could see that there were more horses out on Turkey Flat than before and snapped a long distance shot.

I was determined to go up Burnt Timber and hoped I could tell who was on the flat by zooming in on the shot and looking at colors.
Another fruitless trip through the park and I was heading to BT. From the road, I looked out to get another view of the flat, but could not see them from this side today. I scanned the lower BT area while I was stopped, and was surprised to see some to the right of the entrance. While I may have been able to get up BT, since the snow was a little wetter and more slippery, I decided to hike and see who was down near the fence before deciding if I should go up.
I had never hiked in this area, so I wasn’t sure exactly how far it would be until I found the horses I had seen from the road. I had a landmark I was looking for, and as I got closer to it I started to notice more tracks in the snow. When I finally reached them, I was a little surprised to see Kitalpha first, because I knew there were at least 3 horses from the road.

Almost as surprised to see me was Greta. She led the group a little further up a hill before stopping and going back to grazing. I grabbed some shots of her, Garcia, Millicent and Kitalpha before leaving this secretive group alone. I did see them from a hill later, heading to an even more remote area to hide from everyone.

I decided since I was already in the right direction, I would continue at an angle to Turkey Flats . Not only is this way a little longer to get there in distance, but the walk along the flat plateau is replaced by some ridges and a badlands area that has steep washes and knobs. It was a lot more work, and I regretted my choice at times, but I did learn a lot about a new area. When I got to the flats, I didn’t see any at first and thought I had made the long hike for nothing. I knew there were some dips and I wasn’t going to leave without looking around really well.
As I came over a small rise, I first ran across Rosarita. Her, Mescalero and Polaris were eating their way toward the junipers.

I looked to the junipers and was surprised to see quite a few horses in them. Galaxy was there with his group. Since I saw them on Sunday, I went toward the group slightly to the left of him. There was a near black horse sleeping, but it was really the dark winter blue roan.

A horse came through the sage and first I thought Kalahari, but knowing that wasn’t possible I realized it was La Brava with Coronado right behind.

I moved around the juniper and saw all of his harem before heading back to the flat. I saw Irial, Jupiter and London again, but they did not have Bristol with them.
By the time we got back to the FJ, Malakai and I decided it was time to head home and have a warm bed to sleep in.

It may be a while before I can get back over, but I know Sandy will let us know what is going on when she gets over in a month.

Shawn

Thanks Shawn for another great update. I really appreciate it so much!

Sandy

Logo designed by Amber Bushnell

A New Year’s Visit: Report from Shawn Ivie

January 3, 2013January 3, 2013wildinthepryors

Another great update from Shawn! Thank you so much!

Sandy

December 30th
For New Year’s, I decided to take Malakai over for his first trip to the range and also to see the rams around Cody. We arrived in Lovell after dark Saturday night and camped out in the lower Sykes area. There was a little old snow on the ground, but not enough to make driving a problem, maybe an inch.
There are 2 reasons that this is not the best time of the year for photography. The main concern is that this time of the year is hard on the animals due to the cold weather and lower nutrition forage. Cold meaning that most liquids in the FJ froze overnight and while traveling through McCullough it took less than 10 minutes for Malakai’s water to freeze.

A lot of the horses showed their regular indifference and still grazed past me like normal. The ones that I knew were a little more cautious or seemed to want to be left alone I stayed far away from. There are some horses that it would have been great to get better pictures of, but it isn’t worth stressing the animal.
The second problem with this time of year is the amount of daylight. It doesn’t get light enough for photography until after 7:30 and is too dark to shoot by about 4:30. That means there is a short amount of time to get shots, and a lot of dark time to huddle under the sleeping bag and wait until the next day.

It was still getting light Sunday morning when we heard our first horses. After not being able to find him over Thanksgiving, I was surprised when Merlin appeared. He does look thin, but his gait seems normal. He was travelling with Johnston and Hawk. Since the sun had not cleared the horizon, the pictures of them came out grainy. I definitely did not want to move this group by approaching, so I tried some shots with the moon behind and a few with Hawk silhouetted on a small ridge.

The other horses in the area were Sitting Bull, Cecelia and Mato. They usually want left alone, so I only took distant shots of them. There was a cool sun dog as SB and Mato went over a ridge on their way to join Cecelia up the hill.

From one of my favorite knobs, I could see some horses out at the end of Turkey Flats. I decided that Malakai would get his first long walk through the range. From the Syke’s side, there are only 2 or 3 washes before you hit the long flat and can walk out fairly easily the 1 mile to where the horses seem to hang out. The familiar trio of Irial, Jupiter and London were together, along with a grullo. My first thought wasn’t of the grullo, because I assumed it was Garay, but of how dark Irial ( and most blue roans) get in the winter.

Shawn 1 — London, Bristol, Jupiter, Galaxy and Irial

Since they were moving toward me, I kept going past them to get a better view of Galaxy and Fiesta, who were checking each other out on the edge of the flat. As I watched Fiesta moving back toward Horizon and Juniper, it reoccurred to me how striking he is, and I wondered when he is going to get a harem for himself .

There are younger stallions, notably the G’s last summer, that have begun to assemble harems. Is Fiesta just mellow and happy to hang out, has he not had the right opportunity, or is he not strong enough to win mares away? I don’t know a lot about him, but it would be a shame for him not to have some young offspring soon.

I heard some commotion from the bachelors, who had drawn closer. Jupiter and the grullo were sparring.

I finally noticed that the grullo had both ears, so it wasn’t Garay. Galaxy came down to check the group out, and him and Irial had a prolonged shoving session. When they were done, Jupiter stepped in and wore Galaxy down a little more while Fiesta and the others introduced themselves. Galaxy’s harem seemed unconcerned and slept in the sage.

Things settled down and I got a better view of the grullo. He was shorter and skinnier than Jupiter, and barely seemed bigger than London. I noticed the pink ears, which reminded me of Bristol but I knew he should have Kitalpha and figured most grullos had the pinker ears in the winter. I also imagined him as an older, bigger stallion.

I think Malakai was a little intimidated by the horses. He stayed right by my heel or nestled between 2 small rocks, when he was not busy eating every root, flower or grass he could find. I am glad he is able to get out and grow used to the horses now, so that one day he will be able to go out and just walk down the road by horses without even giving it a second thought. One of my first trips up Burnt Timber I remember seeing a man walk down the road with a dog, I think a blue heeler, and the dog didn’t care about or bother the horses. I think the guy may have been Matt’s father, because I thought he said his son wrote a blog or ran the center.
Malakai hiked back to the FJ and I ran out the Dryhead while he warmed up. The first trip out we saw no one. I didn’t even notice many tracks out in mustangless flats. Most of the tracks were from the state line to a little past the overlook. I decided to check out BT, and started up it before I decided to wait and see if things warmed up later in the week. We went back through the park and saw Fiero right before the overlook. He was the only DH horse today.

Hoping to get some good sunset or moonrise shots, Malakai and I headed back to our knob in lower Sykes. At the top of the hill he started digging. I wasn’t sure if he smelled something good to chew or if an animal had been there. I scanned the area for horses, and when I looked back at Malakai he had nestled down in the hole he had dug. I let him rest while I watched the sun set, the deer come out and SB’s family graze on the side of lower Sykes. We did not see a lot of horses, but it had been a great first day of introducing Malakai to the range.

Shawn

Logo designed by Amber Bushnell

Thanksgiving in the Pryors: Report from Shawn Ivie

November 29, 2012November 29, 2012wildinthepryors

This is the last report from Shawn on his trip last week. Enjoy! I sure did! Thanks again Shawn for sharing!

Sandy

Thanksgiving morning started cloudy, so I decided I should run out to the dryhead and see who I could find to let it clear before heading back up the mountain. The first horse I ran across was… no one. No greeters at the gate, no horses hanging out on the hills around the overlook, and mustang flats was empty.

I scanned often, but did not get out and hike to some of the areas down draws or behind hills where I have seen horses. While I had driven through the dryhead, I had realized that the only clouds were right around where I had camped and the rest of the sky was clear and blue. I decided to head back up and hike over to where I had seen the horses on Sykes.

The only horses I saw from the day before were the Forest Boys and Knight eating more of the road. I scanned the opposite hillside from Cheyenne flats, and then looked up higher on Burnt Timber. A little higher in the light, new snow I could see some horses. Maybe in an effort to prolong the hike or maybe because a band in the hand is worth 2 across the chasm, I decided to check on them.

I thought I had seen Missoula’s bright colors from below, and as I entered their opening I saw Phoenix and War Bonnet moving into the trees.

I started to move toward another opening in the trees, hoping to catch them as they entered, when I heard some action and they came back out. The band moved past me, and Teton brought up the rear in his common snaking mode. A few seconds later, Jaser popped out of the trees and looked a little surprised to see me. Garay came out with him and Teton made a hurried little rush to keep them back near the trees.

As Teton and group moved down the ridge, Jasper and Garay followed as close as Teton would allow them before jogging over to make sure they knew he was there. I made my way back to the flats as the horses all moved down over the edge.

From the flats I was able to relocate some horses on one of the Sykes arms. I knew the snow up top would make that route dicey, if it had even been open before. The horses were high enough up Sykes to not want to drive up from the bottom. There is only one way I know of to make it to Sykes without adding a lot of wear on your vehicle, and it involves a nasty hike down burnt timber and then back up the other side.

You usually get hot as you hike, and cold when the wind hits you on the other side. While it is easy to see the horses and what to do from BT, once you get to the bottom it can be hard to find where you need to head up the other side properly. If you go up the wrong hill, like I did in my first attempt last spring, you end up on an island or the wrong arm and have to go down and up again. I avoided that this time, but did need to make one short detour along the bottom of rimrock before I could find a draw leading to the “top”. Even that is misleading on the Sykes side. It was finally what looks like the “level” ground from the other side, but they are long, skinny, sloped arms with a lot of steep draws between smaller fingers. I hiked up longer than I thought it had looked from the other side before I finally saw some horses across a smaller draw.

Irial and Mescalero were hanging out together, with Polaris and Rosarita eating above them and Jupiter and London eating below them. I found a spot slightly out of the wind and ate a Thanksgiving lunch pb and j sandwich as I watched them all eat.

London looks like he has been scrapping a little, and while I didn’t notice it there, I noticed while looking through the photos that Jupiter may have a small red wound near his right hip. All 6 horses seemed fairly comfortable together. I knew I had seen other horses, so after I finished eating I began walking up the arm in search of more.

Just as I was beginning to think that the other horses were on a different ridge arm, I saw a few moving higher up the arm. I took off after them and finally caught up. Coronado’s band was in front of me and Morning Star’s was a little more to my right. Of course I ignored Morning Star’s and went right for pictures of Manuelita. She looks healthy, but after seeing how big some of the early foals are she does seem so small.

After getting pictures of her and her family, I moved back down the arm but over the edge in the draw. This allowed me to put Morning Star and his band above me so I could set-up and wait for them to walk by as they were heading down, and get some shots with the blue sky behind. I prepared to head back down as Irial and the others came up. There must be water or some attraction in the area that draws the horses up to it.

Gaelic Princess with Hailstorm in the background.

I made my way back to burnt timber and since I didn’t see any other horses I decided to try the park again before I made my way to Cabelas and then Yellowstone. I didn’t see any horses on the way to the end of the range, and was heading out when I finally ran across a blazed grulla at the Ranger’s Delight trailhead. I was a little excited at first, hoping I had found the lone Merlin. I pulled into the parking area and was able to get a better look. It was just Fiero, but I had not seen him in a while, and not since he had lost his harem.

I snapped a picture of him as the light began to fade, and left the range knowing I will have o get back soon to continue the search for some of the missing horses and to see the ones I had missed this trip.

Shawn

Burnt Timber. A Mountain Report From Shawn Ivie.

November 27, 2012November 27, 2012wildinthepryors

Here is part two of Shawn’s trip last week. Thanks again Shawn! It almost feels like being there!

Sandy

Sykes view to BT — Looking towards Burnt Timber going up Sykes.

Wednesday – Burnt Timber
I know it gets a bad report, maybe deservedly so, but Burnt Timber is my favorite road up the mountain. It causes my tires to wear down a lot quicker than they should. Everyone that drives it is promised a flat at some point. There are parts where the bentonite-laden clay turn into a slip-and-slide if a few raindrops fall, which sometimes causes you to come down early to avoid getting stuck.

Yet somehow it is different from the other roads to me and feels like home. Crooked Creek takes you outside the range and takes about twice as long. Sykes, well, that is a great road for when you want to get your heart pumping on an adventure. I have never had as much luck with horses on Sykes, either. On Burnt Timber you can run across a horse throughout almost the whole run of it. In fact, the few places I have not seen a horse on BT have sign, so it is just a matter of time before I do see one in those spots.
I was pleased to see how dry the road was, and worked my way up the red canyon climb without much worry about the road conditions. My first group of mountain horses was on a hill behind the first water guzzler on the right. I am not sure of this one’s name. I was pretty sure it was Jackson on the left and the large group size almost assured it had to be him. At first I focused on the foals, because they would have changed more than the older horses since I had last seen them.

The first I found was Maelstrom. His really dark legs with the 1 white sock are really striking. I did notice Jasmine near him, and hoped that it meant Dancer was just with someone else, too. Next I moved down the ridge a little to where Moenkopi, Galena, Brumby and Moorcroft were feeding. I don’t know if they will last into next summer, but right now the dark wither bars on Moenkopi remind me so much of her father.

Jacksons — Moenkopi and Moorcroft, November 21, 2012

As I was trying to get just the right light and angle for some pictures of Moenkopi and Moorcroft together, Jackson whinnied and ran up the hill. At first I thought I had worn out my welcome, but he was interested in some of his mares which were working the other way. After clicking some shots of him as he ran, I turned my attention back to the foals. As Jackson and the rest moved towards us, he was paying close attention to a grulla mare, and every time he did Jasmine would run over and get close to them. I didn’t really connect things at the time, but it all made sense later. Despite Jasmine being a third wheel, Jackson did mount the mare and do his thing.

29596_10151253265606730_481588519_n — Jackson, November 21,2012

481814_10151253265486730_631944761_n — Jackson

526349_10151253265646730_595178563_n — Jasmine, Aztec and Jackson with Galena in the background.

67887_10151253265676730_1059238560_n — Jasmine

I left the group and moved up toward the wilderness lick area where I thought I had seen Cloud, or Echo (Killian). It turns out it was Cloud. Not that I want Damsel back with him as I hope she is with a non-related stallion, but I was still hoping that maybe she was there just to know she was safe. Inocentes was closest to me, so I moved well around her and up past Cloud to see the rest of his harem. Feldspar and Mica were in the open area above… and that was it. I watched a while and no one joined, so I went out through the trees on the other side of the hill and scoured through the brush.

cloud and Inn — Inocentes and Cloud, November 21, 2012

603980_10151253265996730_2022901193_n — Mica, November 21, 2012

Later that evening I saw Cloud down near the guzzler, and he still only had these 3 with him. After realizing Aztec was missing, it made sense to me who the grulla with Jackson was and why Jasmine kept getting close to her.

Aztec was the 10th member of Jackson’s band. That doesn’t explain where Baileys is, and it is another horse that I worry something has happened to at this point. I did not see her with anyone else on the trip.

From Cloud’s band, I continued up the road until my way was blocked at the start of Cheyenne Flats. Hernando, Inali and Hamlet were eating the road with Knight to the side. I don’t mean eating in the road, they are eating a good-sized hole of the red clay from the road. I watched them for a while, and since they weren’t moving I scanned Sykes to see if I could find any horses. I did locate a group of 6, then 2 more. I knew what I had to do on Thursday if the weather was nice.

The boys — The Former Forest Service Boys, Hernando, Hamlet and Inali, November 21, 2012

542948_10151253265271730_897275465_n — Hamlet

315723_10151253265331730_1837350705_n — Inali, November 21, 2012

61899_10151251893836730_1669399557_n — Hernando

526349_10151253265266730_331037377_n — Hernando

After waiting a while, I went off the road and around the bachelors so that they could continue eating. The last group I found was Galaxy’s band just a little further up. I love his wavy hair, but I am not sure how he even sees some times. He looks like he may have been in a scrap, and was a little more statuesque and a little less bouncy than normal. Maybe that is part of going from an active challenger to becoming a stern band leader. It was also hard to believe that Maia was a foal this spring. She seems too big for that to be true.

483448_10151253265371730_974883626_n — Ireland

27904_10151253265936730_946898185_n — Maia, November 21, 2012

While I did not see anyone else, at this late a date in November, I was still able to drive all the way to where I camp on the top without seeing hardly any snow. As I drove back to the horses, it was cloudy and the forecast called for snow. I decided to camp at the very bottom, so I would not have to worry about getting stuck in the already mentioned clay if it did snow. While it didn’t stick, I woke up about 10 to the sound of hard snow on my FJ, and I was glad that I didn’t have to worry about it and went back to sleep.

Shawn

WildinthePryors_logoColor_small_revised — Logo designed by Amber Bushnell

Lower Sykes. A Mountain Report from Shawn.

November 26, 2012November 26, 2012wildinthepryors

Since I am not able to go over to see the horses right now, I asked my friend Shawn Ivie if he would write up a report. Shawn was there last week. I know there are a lot of you (including myself) who would like to hear news about the horses. I will have several posts on his trip. This is the first.

Thanks so much Shawn!

Sandy

600063_10151252316706730_1907338718_n — Mato and Cecelia, November 21, 2012

Wednesday – Lower Sykes
I was anxious to get back to the Pryors, it had been a long time since I last visited, and I had 3 goals for my trip (besides just checking on all of the horses): 1 – Find Damsel, 2- Find Merlin, 3- See Mato(lower sykes) for the first time.

Knowing that the days in the mountains are short at this time of year, I camped in the lower Sykes area Tuesday night so I could search for Mato. As the sun came up, I made my way to one of my favorite look-out hills in the area. The first animals I spotted were actually deer, 10 in the group. While marching around the area throughout the morning I noticed that there was a lot of deer track, which was not evident during my summer hikes.
I did not see any horses in some of the usual areas, but it is easy for a horse to disappear in this area. As I searched a little further out, I finally found 3 horses and made my way toward them. I had expected to find either Sitting Bull’s band or Bristol and Kitalpha. As I made my way to the horses I noticed a grullo stallion and thought I must have found Bristol, but then I noticed the snip and a third horse would not make sense. I was more than a little surprised once I realized that it was Garcia, Greta and Millicent that I had found.

602324_10151253265071730_1848453766_n — Garcia, November 21, 2012

In the spring they were way over at the Burnt Timber Canyon guzzler. If this wide range is their usual pattern, it may explain why I have heard they aren’t the easiest to find, although I always seem to run into them. Garcia came over to the side of the draw I was on to investigate me, and finally passed on after I gently held up my hand to make sure he didn’t approach too close.

561756_10151253265056730_1415408917_n — Garcia

63125_10151253265106730_1599310087_n — Garcia, Greta and Millicient, November 21, 2012

394982_10151252316821730_1394735831_n — Millicent, November 21, 2012

From the top of a nearby mound I was able to locate some horses back on the white hillsides on the other side of where I park and camp. I knew there was too many for it to be Sitting Bull, but I decided to jog back over and up to them. The first I was able to recognize was Jesse James. The greeters were shirking their duties at the gate. As if they knew they weren’t supposed to be there, they quickly moved down the hill and at least in the direction of their posts. I did not see them for the rest of the trip, so they must have been taking a vacation from their jobs, too.

Before descending, I decided to take advantage of my elevated status and see if I could find anyone else. Back a little to the North of where I started I could see 2 horses. A quick stop at the FJ to drop some gear, and I was making my way through the washes to where I had seen them. My heart sank a little as crested a hill and only saw Sitting Bull and Cecelia standing there. I had heard that Mato may have had a limp, and I was worried that something had happened to him. Looking at some of my pictures now, I can see that he was there on the ground behind Cecelia the whole time, but it caused me a few moments of anxiety that morning. I was still a ways off, so decided to scramble down the hillside.

390365_10151253264716730_1470967993_n — Mato and Cecelia, November 21, 2012

534556_10151253266176730_266462105_n — Sitting Bull, Mato and Cecelia, November 21, 2012

By the time I had climbed out from the draw to the next finger of higher ground, all 3 horses were in sight. I was relieved to finally see Mato. I had witnessed his mother carrying him around throughout the summer, but I had not been able to find them the 1 time I was back on the range after he was born. It was also good to have accomplished one of my tasks with good news. It gave me hope that I would soon run across Merlin. After a check of Sykes Coulee and the Bad Pass Springs area with no horses, I decided to head up the mountain while the weather was nice.

Shawn

Two New Foals, August 20, 2012

August 20, 2012August 20, 2012wildinthepryors

Two more foals were born in the Pryors this past week! With all of the other news, I thought it would be nice to post a “good news” post!

The first foal is Cecelia and Sitting Bulls new colt. You can see photos of him by clicking on PMWMC. Matt took some great photos of them. The new colt is just beautiful! Thanks Matt.

I hope I can find this couple and their new foal when I visit in a little while. You can read more about Cecelia and Sitting Bull by clicking CECELIA. I got to see them for the first time a few weeks ago. I felt really lucky. They are a beautiful pair.

The second foal that was born is Dove and Coronado’s colt. Shawn Ivie found this beautiful colt this past weekend. Thanks Shawn for letting me use your photos!

I know Dove had a foal a few years ago and it did not survive. Since then she has not conceived, so this is a really special gift. The colt looks healthy too!

Dove colt — Dove’s new colt, August 18, 2012

dove and colt and Corn — Coronado, Dove and their colt, August 18, 2012

So, some good news to start our week off with! Let’s hope the good news continues!

Sandy

Dryhead and Lower Sykes Update,July 29, 2012. A Day of Firsts.

July 29, 2012July 29, 2012wildinthepryors

I thought with all of the sad news of the removals that we all needed to read a good post. So I decided to take the time tonight and update everyone on my day.

I arrived in Lovell, Wyoming early this afternoon. I was eager to head up the Dryhead. I had not seen these horses since May.

The first horses I saw were Hidatsa, Issaquah and Hawk. They were way off in the distance on Mustang Flats. I drove just a short way and saw one horse that I had never seen before, Hidalgo. Just this past week he lost his band (Cascade and Lewis) to the stallion Blizzard.

Hidalgo was with another bachelor, Jemez. I had not seen Jemez since last fall. It was good to see them both.

J and H — Jemez and Hidalgo, July 29, 2012

After a couple hours in the Dryhead, I received a text message. It was from Shawn. He was in lower Sykes and had found Sitting Bull and Cecelia. Theses were two more horses that I had never seen. It seems not many people see them. My friend Linda had told me where she had seen them in June. (thanks Linda!!) So I had emailed Shawn the details on where to possibly find them. There are so many dips and gully’s on lower Sykes (and all over the whole range actually), that it was hard to locate any horses here, let alone the two most elusive. Shawn was very lucky! I also knew that Cecelia was very close to having her foal.

I left the Dryhead and headed towards Sykes. I was a couple miles away when I received another text from Shawn. Cecelia and Sitting Bull were starting to move! Oh no!! I was afraid they would disappear over a ridge and I would not see them. I hurried (as hurried as you can be up Sykes, which is not very!!) I saw Shawn and pulled over and parked. We hiked in the direction that Shawn had said they had gone. We came over a ridge and were rewarded.

There they were! Poor Cecelia is huge and looks very uncomfortable. I am sure it will be very soon. We hoped it would be while we watch. We stayed there for a couple hours, then decided to leave them be. I headed back to Lovell. Shawn is staying nearby and is going to keep an eye on them. Hopefully he will be rewarded with a new foal! If that is the case, I know where I will be in the first light of the day tomorrow!

I can now say that I have seen every horse on the range!! Well, there are a couple new foals that I have not seen, but otherwise I have seen everyone! I feel so blessed to have been able to see them all! They each leave their own memory for me.

SB and C — Sitting Bull and Cecelia, July 29, 2012

SB and C2 — Sitting Bull and Cecelia, July 29, 2012

Tomorrow morning and I am going to take an early ride up the Dryhead (or Sykes!!!) and then meet Lori at Britton Springs. Our plan is to head up the mountain for a few days!

It was a good first day and a great way to forget everything else!

Sandy

Pryor foals: 16, 17 and 18, June 12, 2012.

June 12, 2012June 14, 2012wildinthepryors

Thanks to my friend Shawn Ivie for providing these photos for us!

Number 16 foal is born to Juneau. Juneau is the 2009 daughter of Gold Rush and Two Boots. The father of the foal is most likely Baja. Baja is the 1996 son of Tonopah and Looking Glass.

554369_10150952639091730_148762075_n — Juneau’s colt, photo by Shawn Ivie.

Foal number 17 is Madonna’s foal. Madonna is the 1989 daughter of Twiggy and Black Beauty. Yes, you read that right, Madonna is 23 this year. The father is Duke, the 1996 son Flicka and Bigfoot.

389310_10150949520611730_1029556926_n — Madonna and her foal, June 2012. Photo by Shawn Ivie.

Foal number 18 is Joviana’s foal. Joviana is the 2009 daughter of Felina and Morning Star. I am not sure who the father is. She was in Morning Stars band when she had the foal.

600034_10150952684921730_39303246_n — Joviana and her foal, June 2012. Photo by Shawn Ivie.

563867_10150952638886730_168872002_n — Joviana’s foal, June 2012. Photo by Shawn Ivie.

I leave for the Pryors again in just a few days. I look forward to seeing how much the foals have grown.

I will be sure to keep you updated!

Sandy

Thank you Shawn Ivie for your photos!!! You can see more of Shawn’s photos at these sites: Shawn’s Facebook and also at his Website.

Mountain Update, Foals # 9, 10 and 11, May 14, 2012

May 14, 2012May 14, 2012wildinthepryors

My new friend and wonderful photographer Shawn Ivie was up on the mountain this past weekend and discovered three new foals! I thought I would share some of his photos. But first I wanted to share one of his images of the foal that I discovered last month (click HERE to view that post). It is a photo of the colt Missoula. Missoula is the son of Half Moon and Teton.

181858_10150879519246730_351734361729_9714817_235587576_n — Missoula, May 12, 2012. Photo by Shawn Ivie.

Now on to all of the new foals.

The first one is Firestorm and Jackson’s foal. Firestorm is the 2005 daughter of Cloud and Scarlett (Velvet). Jackson is the 1998 son of Broken Bow and Two Boots. This is the second foal born to Jackson’s band the first was Galena’s. You can read about that foal by clicking HERE.

Firestorm foal — Firestorm and Jackson’s foal, May 12, 2012.

The next foal is Blue Moon and Halcyon’s foal. Blue Moon is the 2001 son of Sitka and Shaman. Halcyon is the 2007 daughter of Blue Sioux and Coronado.

Halcyon foal, May 13, 2012. Photo by Shawn Ivie.

Halcyon’s foal, May 2012. Photo by Shawn Ivie.

The third foal that Shawn discovered is Greta’s. She has been with the stallion Garcia since last spring, so the foal is most likely his. Greta is the 2006 daughter of Belle Star and Chino. Garcia is the 2006 son of Topper and Tony.

Greta and foal, May 13, 2012. Photo by Shawn Ivie.

Greta’s foal, May 2012. Photo by Shawn Ivie.

Thank you Shawn for sharing your photos! You can see more of Shawn’s photos on his Facebook page. Click HERE .

I leave for the Pryors again in just a few days! I can’t wait!

Sandy

Tag: Shawn Ivie

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