“White Dream”
January 29, 2011
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It is the hope of both the artist and myself that the “White Dream” painting will come to benefit our wild horses and also be informative. Thank you Gates for your honesty and willingness to share your talent for the wild ones.
An older post about the awesome band stallion Major from McCullough Peaks:
http://nickolesphotography.wordpress.com/2009/03/10/major-mccullough-peaks-wy-stallion/
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(Photos are for viewing purposes only. Images are copyright protected and owned solely by Pam Nickoles Photography. No reproduction or downloading permitted. Feel free to share the link, not the images. To share, click on the blog entry title. The permanent link will be displayed in your browser’s address bar. Copy this address to share.)
Wild horse prints and other products are available on my website: www.NickolesPhotography.com
Photo Of The Week – 01/25/11
January 26, 2011
McCullough Peaks family. The band stallion is on the far right – his name is Handsome. Very appropriate don’t you think?
I just received a letter from the United States Department of the Interior (Bureau of Land Management) regarding the proposed implementation of a fertility control field darting program for the McCullough Peaks HMA. The EA (Environmental Assessment) is available to read online at: McCullough Peaks Herd Management Area.
Reviewers of the EA have 30 days to comment. Comments should be addressed to Patricia L. Hatle, BLM-CYFO, 1002 Blackburn Ave., Cody, WY 82414 and postmarked no later than February 22, 2011. Comments can also be e-mailed no later than close of business on February 22, 2011, to: Cody_wymail@blm.gov
Just a little bit of information that I can offer regarding the information above. Field darting means the use of the one year version of the fertility control drug, PZP. The 2-year PZP requires putting horses into chutes for application and has been shown to have very unpredictable results. I know there is a lot of opposition to the use of PZP in any form, but let me offer these thoughts to consider – and this is addressing just this particular herd and is just my personal opinion.
The McCullough Peaks HMA has boundaries. The horses are no longer free roaming so realistically, some form of management must be implemented. I’ve been out to this HMA many times and I’ve spoken at length with the Range Specialist (Tricia Hatle). I’ve been told that the horses cannot be managed successfully by predation (a viable option for say, the Pryor Mtn HMA if mountain lions were no longer hunted there). There is no prey base. There is only a very small population of deer and research has indicated that the area is also too open to attract predatory animals such as wolves (who do occassionally pass through) or mountain lions.
So, if this is the case, it seems to me that the least invasive and more humane management program is field darting. If successful, (dare we dream) helicopter roundups may eventually become unnecessary for this HMA. And should the horse population exceed the AML at some point, bait trapping for adoptable candidates could be employed. To me, this is a much better alternative to the ripping apart of family bands as they try to escape a helicopter and the indiscriminate removal of unadoptable, long-term holding bound, sale authority aged horses – the leaders and teachers of the young. Just some food for thought. I encourage everyone to do their own research into the issue. Here is a link to another post about PZP that offers even more information: http://springcreekwild.wordpress.com/2011/01/30/love-triangle/
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(Photos are for viewing purposes only. Images are copyright protected and owned solely by Pam Nickoles Photography. No reproduction or downloading permitted. Feel free to share the link, not the images. To share, click on the blog entry title. The permanent link will be displayed in your browser’s address bar. Copy this address to share.)
Wild horse prints and other products are available on my website: www.NickolesPhotography.com
Divide Basin Bachelors
January 22, 2011
It seemed like we were driving forever before we finally spotted some horses. I got out of the Jeep and peered through my lens. Looked like a group of bachelor stallions. What a sight they were against the mountains in all their wildness.
I walked towards them. As with most bachelor bands I’ve run across, they’re the most curious and these guys were no exception. They started towards me as well.
The big bay is trying to catch my scent.
I admit it - I have a thing for the palominos. This boy just shimmered in the sunlight. What a gorgeous animal.
Buddies
As I was admiring the boys, something spooked them. Look at those quick, cutting horse moves to get out of harm's way. Amazing.
They bunched up and took off. I never figured out what set them off.
Taking another look
You are a beautiful, beautiful horse!
Putting on a show for me by running back and forth as I stand still and watch
Before I made them too uncomfortable, I decided to back away and leave them alone. As soon as I did, they quit moving and stood for this parting photo.
Always such a privilege to spend time with the wild ones…
(September, 2010)
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Though we had trouble finding horses in this area (only 4 bands after a full day of searching), there is a roundup scheduled for this herd management area next year:
http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_b2c60626-5049-521b-ae90-4eca3ee230d3.html
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(Photos are for viewing purposes only. Images are copyright protected and owned solely by Pam Nickoles Photography. No reproduction or downloading permitted. Feel free to share the link, not the images. To share, click on the blog entry title. The permanent link will be displayed in your browser’s address bar. Copy this address to share.)
Wild horse prints and other products are available on my website: www.NickolesPhotography.com
Photo Of The Week – 1/19/11
January 19, 2011
Just a little taste? Pryor Mountain HMA (Montana) foals exhibit primitive coloring and distinctive leg barring which are some of the unique characteristics of this particular herd.
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(Photos are for viewing purposes only. Images are copyright protected and owned solely by Pam Nickoles Photography. No reproduction or downloading permitted. Feel free to share the link, not the images. To share, click on the blog entry title. The permanent link will be displayed in your browser’s address bar. Copy this address to share.)
Wild horse prints and other products are available on my website: www.NickolesPhotography.com
Photo Of The Week – 1/12/11
January 12, 2011
The gorgeous band stallion Corona from the Sand Wash Basin HMA, Colorado.
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The “Email Subscription” link automatically alerts you to new posts. Stay updated and subscribe today!
(Photos are for viewing purposes only. Images are copyright protected and owned solely by Pam Nickoles Photography. No reproduction or downloading permitted. Feel free to share the link, not the images. To share, click on the blog entry title. The permanent link will be displayed in your browser’s address bar. Copy this address to share.)
Wild horse prints and other products are available on my website: www.NickolesPhotography.com
