Today, Marty and I went to Monument Rock and for a change, we saw horses!! They were in the field before the campground and then next to the rock.  It was three of the bachelors, Whitewash, Mocha and Cimarron. Whitewash is six, Mocha is five and Cimarron is three. Whitewash and Mocha are brothers. I saw Cimarron last year, but have not seen Whitewash and Mocha since 2005!! Sure was good to see them. This was my first trip to the Monument Rock area this year and what a great trip it was. Any time one can see horses in that area is a good day! They are really hard to find over there.

 

We also went to Indian Park today too. Saw several bands. Got to see Phantom for the first time this year. He has lost one of his mares, not sure where she is, but hope to find her soon. Toby is really growing and is quite handsome!

 

Lakota, who will be three in May, is finally on his own. He has been a satellite stallion in his Uncle Chief's band until sometime this winter or spring. He was seen fighting with Silver earlier this week and today he was alone in one of the fields.

 

Atomic had his band in one of the burned out fields. The new foal was running and bucking, just having a grand time! Her big brother, Brownie, was trying to get the whole band to run. What a twit! He actually succeeded a few times, but it didn't last long.

 

It was really windy today and the wind was still just a bit chilly, but it was a good day anyway. Any time we can see horses and get in and out safely is a good day. When you add in seeing horses at Monument Rock, then that just ups the good day level to great!

Tuesday and Wednesday I went to the upper ranges, Tuesday with Marty and Wednesday with Zoe. Both days were fabulous! Tuesday we found two new babies and what lookers they are!! Gunsmoke and Kiva have a grulla filly with a star, snip and 2 front socks. Haven't determined a birthdate yet, but looks to be about 2-3 weeks old. Atomic and Mystery Paint have a bay filly (I think it is a filly, not positive though ,could not get close enough to see) that has a big, wide blaze and two tall rear socks, very bold markings on this one.  She looks to be about 10 days or so old. Again, have not for sure determined a birthdate.

 

Over the two days I managed to see all but three harem bands and four bachelors in Indian Park and North Soda.  I am not counting the ones who winter in the lower canyons, they probably won't come "home" until May.

 

OH!!! the best news is that the black filly, Metate, who was born in 2008 and did not appear in the winter with her band, is NOT dead!! It is very rare that fillies leave their family band before they are 2 or 3 years old, but for some reason Metate did. We saw her with Silver. I would love to know how all that happened. She was only 9 months old when she disappeared, then reappears with another band!  I bet that is some story! But, we were really excited to see that she was alive and well.

 

The other good news is that Concho is with Onyx, we were afraid she was gone too. She disappeared just before we left the upper ranges last fall and we had no clue where she was. We saw her with Onyx though on Wednesday. Phew!  what a relief!

 

All the horses look  pretty good for just coming off of winter.  Of course , the nursing mares look the worst, they always do. The stallions are pretty lean too, but I imagine they will all fatten up pretty fast now with the warmer weather and things are greening up well.  There are actually a few horses that are almost fat!! Can't figure that one out!

 

That is about all the news I have for now. More as it happens.

Today I went up Main Canyon specifically to find the blue roans and I was not disappointed! I found them at Dog Bone and they allowed me to spend about 3 hours with them. It was amazing!! I was able to get to know them a bit better and I love their summer coats! Gideon seems to be more serious and Snoopy Jr. and Inca are like a couple of kids. They played a lot today! Always pushing and shoving, biting and chasing, around and around they went. A couple of times Inca got Gideon to play,but Snoopy Jr. was more apt to play than Gideon was. I enjoyed sitting with them and noticing their differences. The Blues Brothers are indeed brothers and they look a lot alike. Snoopy Jr. has a beautiful face marking and three socks. Gideon is solid, no markings at all. Of course, as roans any scratches show up on them, so their body is constantly changing. Gideon, I think, is just a bit smaller than Snoopy Jr. Gideon also has a darker mane and tail than his brother and they both have that wavy mane. They are both beautiful though in their own, individual way. They are typical bachelors and seem not to be afraid of anything. They didn't seem to mind that I was around and that I followed them when they walked off. Sometimes it almost felt like Gideon was looking for me when I would go out of sight (I was on one side of the creek, they were on the other side). What an absolutely magical day! I really enjoyed watching them and getting to know them a bit better and I loved sitting with them for so long. I need to try that with other bands, it really helps to get to know them. WOW!!! what a day!!!

Yesterday I walked up Coal Canyon to Two Mile Pond to see if there was any water . There is not a drop of water in Two Mile Pond! The only horses I saw in Coal Canyon were Magnum's band and they were just inside the canyon on the hill above the guzzler. Later in the day I looked over into Main Canyon and Magnum had moved over there and Spin and his band were also there. There is plenty of water in Jerry Creek so that is where I assume all the lower canyon horses (except the ones in upper Coal Canyon) are watering. The horses in upper Coal Canyon usually water at the Rock Ponds, the Seep or the Hoodoo pond.

 

Today I went to the upper ranges with Cindy and Bud on their ATV's. It was pretty muddy in spots (most places), dry in others and there is still some snow up there too. I don't think we can get in yet using our trucks. Maybe another week or two if it doesn't storm again.  Despite the mud it was great to be on top again. It was a bit windy, but not cold. Saw a total of 17 horses today. Sir Tristan, Coquette,/ Mystic, Bandit, Cat, One-Eyed Jill, /Challenger, Wild Eyes, Deja Vu, Lance,/ Howdy, Nike, /Chief, Josie, Jolie, Shoshoni /and Ruger. Whew! Now, that is five bands and a bachelor. The bands are separated by a / with the stallion being the first one listed. Lakota used to be with Chief as a satellite bachelor but he was not with them today, I assume he was finally forced to leave and is now a bachelor. Ruger is also a new bachelor, so maybe they will hook up later. All the horses look to be in good condition, none of them look thin at all. Things are starting to green up a bit too. No new foals to report as yet.

 

It was really nice to be up there today in spite of the mud and the fact that we were in a bit of a hurry as storm clouds were moving in. We sure didn't want to be caught in a storm!! I owe Bud and Cindy a big thank you for taking me along with them.