It is about time to wrap things up on the upper ranges.  Today, when Zoe and I went up we stopped at the Low Gap tank and although it is full, it was completely iced over. The nights are getting colder and the days don't warm up as much. Soon, hopefully, we will have snow and the roads will not be good enough to go up. The horses are getting harder to find, the days are shorter and the roads just seem bumpier this time of year. I think we will go up again on Monday, then that may be about it for this season.  I am used to seeing 40-50 horses whenever I go to the range, but the last few times have been 20 or less. So, it is time to say good-bye to them for a while and time to move to the winter horses. It is hard to say good-bye at the end of the season to the horses. I go away wondering if this is the last time you may see any of them.  I wonder who will be there in the spring and who won't.   But, the lower canyons beckon us in the winter as does the Tellerico Trail. We can go there to find horses and some of them are our friends from the upper ranges. So, a new season begins. The winter season is a little tougher as it can be pretty chilly out there, but the horses have their winter coats on and they look just a bit different than they do in the summer.

 

Today, we saw only 19 horses, 8 on the Indian Park side and 11 at North Soda. It was a beautiful day, with very few clouds, no wind and the sun felt warm.  It only got into the high 40's, but it was nice. Got in a few small hikes, took pictures, and even managed to get 2 fecal samples and noted a band change. Not a bad day... and to think this is actually part of my job! What a tough job, huh!  LOL  It keeps me sane for the real world.  It is so peaceful up there and the scenery is beautiful. Plus, there are horses around you... what better way to spend the day. Leave all your cares behind and just relax with the horses.

 

Well, pretty soon we can all get reacquainted with the lower canyon horses. It will be nice to reconnect with them and get to know them again. I have missed them this summer.

Why is it that at the end of the season, when I am trying to finalize my band count, that the mares all have to shift around. I hate not knowing which bands the mares are in and now I just put three more on the in transit (not sure where they are) list! Hopefully, the weather will hold and I can go back again and get them "settled" in a band for the winter!

 

Will wonders never cease! Boone has finally gotten a mare and kept her for just over a month now! Hooray!! He had a mare this spring for less than a week and then went back to being a bachelor. Now he has the yearling filly Rocket.  They are so cute together. Hope he gets to keep her! He is now seven and that is about prime for getting a mare and starting a band. So... Way to go Boone! Time to settle down and start a family!

 

Gunsmoke only has Spook right now. No clue where Shoshoni, Kiva and her offspring have gotten to! Kiva doesn't usually leave Gunsmoke and Spook and Shoshoni leave him a lot in the summer. But, come winter and they all usually head down to Main Canyon. Last year only Kiva and her offspring (Rocket and Ruger) came down with him initially. However, within a month of when they arrived in the lower canyon, along came Spook and Shoshoni. Guess they couldn't convince their new stallions to follow them, but they are mares that have minds of their own and came down without their stallions to rejoin Gunsmoke. Now, I don't know if it is loyalty or they just know where the better food is!!

 

It will be interesting to see which horses come down to the lower canyons this winter. Nitro usually lives in Coal Canyon in the winter and Conquista doesn't mind going with him either. But, this year he also has Sassy and I don't know if he can convince her to come down or not. Last winter she was on her own with her yearling filly going into winter. I hope she comes with him this year.

 

Onyx is also a lower canyon horse, but I am pretty certain he won't convince his girls to come down! He is still too young and inexperienced to make them come down, but maybe someday he can bring them down. I am proud of him for keeping these mares all summer.  That is quite a feat for a five year old! He has been smart enough to keep them away from the other bands. He has found his own little area that he rarely leaves .  Other bands frequent the same area, but none stay there as much as he does.  He is going to be a great band stallion!

 

All the horses look good going into the winter. There is still grass, but not as much as I would like to see. If we get some moisture, that would help. The Low Gap tank is full, so water seems to be holding up there.  Also, there are tracks going to the Lost Judy, Wild Cow and Bench Camp tanks so looks like water is good so far.  The horses are getting harder to find so they are probably having to go to farther areas that they don't usually use to get good feed.  I think that is one of the amazing things about mustangs. They are so resilient and seem to know where they need to go and what they need to do to survive. They are amazing animals.

 

We are also about finished with gathering fecal samples. It has been more difficult this year. The horses have been harder to find and they are not "giving it up" as easily while we are there either. It has been a challenge! But we still got 30 samples, so not too bad.

 

I was in the lower canyons a week or so ago and saw two of the three bands that stayed for the summer. They look great too and will soon have to share their area with the ones that will be heading down. 

That is about all the news I have for now.