Adobe Town Wild Horses

Springtime in Colorado. It’s so unpredictable. Our plans to visit Adobe Town seemed doubtful when the latest road report included chain restrictions over the passes just an hour before we were to head west. Of course, I had my studded snow tires swapped out the weekend before, certain that they were no longer needed. HA! Well, we told ourselves, it’s always an adventure. We decided we were going to give it our best shot and off we went.

Our only real issue was over Rabbit Ears Pass, and it wasn’t bad at all. We took it easy and even had a snowplow escort. No worries. And as usual, it was beautiful with the new snow.

When we arrived in Craig, we met up with photographer Carien Schippers from New York. She was presenting the Equine Photographer’s Network Colorado Cowboys and Great American Horse Drive workshop that would be taking place the following week. Until that began, we were going out to see wild horses – weather permitting.

We got an early start on Saturday and again, things looked doubtful with the wet roads and dark clouds. It’s impossible to drive on those clay roads if they’re not frozen or dry. We’ve been stuck a few times on wet roads, so we’re very cautious about weather in the horse ranges. We decided to make the drive and see what the conditions were before scrapping our adventure.

The lighting was incredible with the clouds and new snow. We were in luck as the temperature was well below freezing at the entry point. That was enough to at least get us started.

As we entered the area, we came across this sheepherder’s camp.

And then, our first wild horse sighting! They were very skittish and didn’t hang around long, but exciting to see regardless.

A view of the landscape. It’s vast and rugged country.

We came upon another group of horses and as Carien and I walked out towards them, this stallion came running up to see who the intruders were as the rest of the horses looked on.

We determined that all three of the adult horses were stallions. I’m not sure about the youngsters (with the interesting colors).

Tom and I always check out a large water hole inside a small canyon (we call it “hoo doo canyon”) as we usually spot horses there. Not today though. Just a very full source of water and lots of sign.

Well, this is something you don’t see often – a wild one laying down even after it sees you. Made us wonder for a minute, but he was fine and pretty quickly went to join the rest of his family.

The gray stallion is pretty battered and bruised, but he has a family and that’s what matters most to these guys.

Carien photographing the gray stallion and his family

Tom and I drove out further on the main road than we ever had that day. While the weather pretty much surrounded us, the road was dry and until we felt a downpour was imminent, we were going to stay out as long as possible.

At the end of this road, we ran into these horses. Again, these looked like all stallions, but I couldn’t be absolutely certain. The chestnut boy seemed to take the leadership role. He’d run up to us, retreat, circle around, run up again, retreat…until they finally decided it was best to put a little distance between us.

The whole family watches us

A final parting shot as they move away from us

It was really starting to get dark as the weather closed in. The wind picked up and we could feel rain drops. We decided we’d better head out to a paved road before we get caught in either rain or snow.

Driving back, we found another small family. The stallion was very curious/cooperative (and we probably stayed a little longer than we should have). It’s hard to pass up an opportunity like these guys gave us though.

This boy hung around for quite a while so we were able to take many photographs

I took so many images of this stallion that I decided to play with a couple

The mare and probably last year’s foal.

The family members

Below is a band we had seen earlier, but they had traveled quite a ways and we just had to stop to grab a few more photos.

As we turned south off Powder Rim towards the paved County Road 4, we spotted this last group of horses. YAY! That dapple gray is one of my favorites. I didn’t find him on our winter trip, so I hadn’t seen him since last July. It was wonderful to see him again…and looking so well.

This is probably my favorite stallion I've seen so far at Adobe Town. I've seen him twice now. So impressive.

I had thought this band had at least one mare, but once I studied the images, I don’t think so. I can verify that three of the four are stallions. The light gray (white) boy appears to be an older, more seasoned gent. He didn’t seem too worried about us at all.

Making a statement at the stud pile

All of the horses we saw that Saturday looked fit and fine coming out of winter and into spring (read an interesting discussion regarding forage and the Mustangs on Joe Camp’s blog: http://thesoulofahorse.com/blog/the-absolute-best-film-about-wild-horses-i-ever-hope-to-see/) however, we didn’t find that many horses and approximately 80% of of what we did see were stallions. There were no babies either. In my opinion and based on my observations over my last few visits (and those from several years prior), I can’t imagine this is a herd area in danger of either starvation or overpopulation. (There is a planned roundup of this HMA near the end of the year).

I hope this wise old boy gets to live out his life in freedom, but unfortunately, it doesn’t look likely at this point.

Please continue to write, call, fax and e-mail asking for an immediate moratorium on all of the planned roundups. The warehousing of these incredible wild horses in government long term holding facilities must end. The continued overuse of PZP (birth control) on the mares in these HMA’s will effectively wipe out future populations. We are losing both our horses and their ranges at an alarming rate. For the sake of our wild ones, please educate yourself about their plight and then become involved on their behalf. Share information with everyone you know. Only through knowledge about the situation can people get on board and help. The wild horses belong to us. Only we can save them. Thank you for caring.

Informative links:
American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign
The Cloud Foundation
American Herds
Humane Observer: Elyse Gardner’s Blog

More information on the planned roundup: http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_9b09aec0-68a9-5261-a23b-79e6545c8d35.html

Related stories:

https://nickolesphotography.wordpress.com/2009/08/01/wild-horse-weekend-july-25-26/

https://nickolesphotography.wordpress.com/2010/01/03/wild-horse-medicine/

(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.)

March For Mustangs

(From The Cloud Foundation)

When: Thursday, March 25th, 2010

Time: 1:00-3:00 PM – Press conference and speakers at 1:30 PM (Filmmaker/Advocate Ginger Kathrens, Author R.T. Fitch and many more- including special guests to be announced)

Where: Lafayette Park (northside of White House, on H Street between 15th and 17th Streets, NW). At 3:00 PM. Protesters will march with signs to the BLM office at 1849 ‘C’ Street.

Plus Mustangs on the Hill II: On Friday morning we’ll meet and brief people on meeting with their Representatives in meetings to save the mustangs. Please schedule an appointment with your Representatives for Thursday morning or Friday.

Why: BLM’s cruel and poor mismanagement is destroying a vital piece of the American west. The American public is standing up for our horses and burros- please join us in a March for Mustangs rally and protest.

Roundups increased significantly in 2000 in the Bush years and they haven’t let up under the Obama administration. 12,000 wild horses and burros are scheduled for removal from our public lands this fiscal year alone. These helicopter roundups come at enormous expense to our wild herds and to the American taxpayer.

Recently, the roundup of 1900 mustangs took place in the Calico mountains of Northwestern Nevada during the dead of winter, ending early in February when BLM realized the herds were far smaller than estimated. To date, 60 horses have died due to this roundup and the death toll continues to climb daily. This does not include the 30 plus mares that have aborted their late-term foals in the feedlot style corrals in Fallon, Nevada where the horses are being held. Two foals had their hooves literally separate from the bone after the helicopters ran their families for miles over rocky and sharp volcanic ground.

Secretary Ken Salazar, who oversees the BLM, has decided there is no room left for our mustangs on their designated lands in the west. The Secretary and has proposed purchasing private land in the East for our Western wild horses. This only adds to the financial and humane train wreck that the Wild Horse and Burro Program has become.

So rather than spending over thirty million dollars this fiscal year to remove our wild horses and burros from the range, let’s protect them on their western lands. The intent of Congress’ 1971 Free-roaming Wild Horses and Burros Act was not to warehouse horses, but allowed them to live in freedom in self-sustaining numbers on western rangelands designated primarily for their survival. Drastic change is needed in the management of wild horses and burros if they are to survive, as wild animals, into the future. Wild horses benefit the land as they evolved in North America and they represent our living history in the west.

Annually we lose $123 million running a taxpayer subsidized grazing program is often referred to as “welfare ranching” due to the small fees charged to livestock permittees. The rate is currently the lowest allowed by law—$1.35 per cow/calf pair per month. This rate needs to be raised to over $9.00 in order for the program to break even. If cows were removed and horses allowed to stay, we’d save even more—including our valued mustangs. Holding the 1900 Calico horses alone in a feedlot style facility amounts to a staggering cost of over $10,000 per day!

But change is on the way for our wild horses and burros! Some 25 protests have been mounted from coast-to-coast including Chicago, LA, NYC, Denver, Las Vegas, Reno, and Sacramento since late December. Thousands of people have braved the cold and come out with their families to hold banners and signs demanding that President Obama react to the hideous mistreatment of our spectacular wild horses and respond to the incredible waste of taxpayer dollars on a broken program that only lines the pockets of powerbrokers and cattle barons. Now is the time to say enough is enough. Open the gates and return our wild horses to their rightful ranges.

Please take action for our wild herds. An immediate moratorium on all roundups is needed! This must be followed by hearings and investigations on BLM mismanagement; accurate and independent assessments of just how many wild horses we have left and the real range conditions. Then we need to develop a sustainable plan for our wild herds on our Western public lands and restore their protections set forth in the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. Moving our wild horses in non-reproducing, broken families to the East is not the answer.

Join us on Thursday, March 25th for a Mustang March on Washington and take action today to save these incredible animals who are currently being managed to extinction.

– Call President Obama 202-456-1111

– Call your Senators 202-224-3121

For more information, go to The Cloud Foundation: http://www.thecloudfoundation.org

You can follow the Calico horses through the Humane Observer, Elyse Gardner’s Blog: http://humaneobserver.blogspot.com

Stay current with Wild Horse News: http://www.nickolesphotography.com/HTML/wildhorseinformation.htm

There are many other informative sites listed under my Links heading on the right.

Adobe Town HMA stallion (Wyoming)

Pryor Mountain Roundup – 9/8/2009

We had been shuttled off the grounds pretty quickly the night before. There was a sense of urgency about it and we all felt uneasy and suspicious of why. At the morning briefing, it was disclosed that Jackson’s mare Brumby had tied up after coming in and Cloud’s daughter Rain had colicked. Sickening, troubling news, but the Vet assured us that both horses were doing fine. We asked for and were granted a walk through of the corrals so we could see the condition of the horses for ourselves.

On the way into the corrals, you pass the youngsters - several of Cloud's family are in this pen and available for adoption including Image, Rain, Arrow, Ember, Summer and Sage. From L-R: Ben Susman, Ginger Kathrens, Carol Walker and a BLM representative.

Little Image looked so sad and lost

Image

Ginger Kathrens peers in at the babies she's known and documented since their births.

Brumby - the mare who tied up

Jackson

Jackson's band

R.T. Fitch, Ginger Kathrens, Elyse Gardner and Terry Fitch at the corrals

Bolder

Bolder's band

Bolder's filly

Cassidy - tagged for adoption

Band stallion Chino - he has gorgeous amber eyes and he's a rare color among the Pryor horses. A beautiful buckskin.

Band stallion Duke

A foal from Duke's band who was very sore

Duke's band

Morning Star's band

Ben Susman, Ginger Kathrens, Carol Walker, Sandy Elmore, R.T. Fitch and Terry Fitch.

Cloud

Later, we were taken over to Greasewood Flats to observe more horses being processed.

Starman in the alley while he waits for other members of his band to be processed

Bolder watches the activities

A lucky group - they all have the blue dots that indicate they will be released

The band stallion Cappuccino bangs his head in the chute in an attempt to escape

And he does get out

He frantically runs up and down the alley way looking for members of his family

Finally, another family member is processed and released into the alley way

Band stallion Mescalero did not want to go into the chute. BLM personnel haze him with plastic bags attached to whips

They actually hit this horse - a member of Mescalero's band

Mescalero released into the alley way

Once the processing was completed, we were allowed back up on the viewing ridge.

Baja's band

Baja's band - Baja's mare Bacardi and another foal were missing as the others were brought in. We were later told that the foal just couldn't keep up so the pilot decided not to pursue them. They were left behind without their family.

The two foals that did come in with the band were very, very footsore. It's inconceivable to me to push any horse, let alone a foal, that hard for that many miles.

(And though I failed to mention it in my earlier posts, if the distance wasn’t enough, these horses were also forced down the mountain in 95+ degree temperatures).

After Baja’s band came in, we were told no more horses would be brought in. The helicopter was finished for the day. It was pretty early yet. Again, we wondered about the motives for this move.

One of Baja's foals that came in so very footsore

Another footsore Baja baby

Tom and I left Britton Springs, Lovell and our fellow observers that afternoon. We had made the difficult decision to move on to the McCullough Peaks HMA to photograph the horses there before the scheduled round up. We had just enough time to capture a few evening light photos before finding a place to stay in Greybull, WY. Though we were exhausted, we both had something nagging at us that we finally discussed before calling it a night. It wasn’t over – we hadn’t seen the conclusion or outcome of this roundup and it didn’t feel right to either of us. We knew we had to go back. We decided to leave Greybull very early and catch some first light photos at McCullough Peaks which would put us back at Britton Springs close to noon. Nothing much (other than the briefings) really went on until then anyway – or so we thought.

(More to follow…)

Stay updated on the latest wild horse news and information available on my website under the Wild Horse Information link: http://www.nickolesphotography.com/HTML/wildhorseinformation.htm