March 12, 2011

Wild Horses

This last week, we made one more trip to the BLM lands around Canyonlands Maze district.  On our way in, just past Sweetwater Reef, we were greeted by these guys:
We knew a wild horse herd was in the area.  They're called the Robber's Roost herd. 
The curious youngsters went up to the horse trailer and looked inside, probably exchanging eager nickers with our guys.
This little filly turned up late.  She must have been caught napping, or rolling in the sand, or la-di-da-ing. 
Noticing she was left alone, she was in a big hurry to catch up with the group. 
Since the wild ones didn't seem afraid, at first we thought they might be ranch horses. The gray latecomer has a mark on her right shoulder in the photo above, but on magnification this appears to be a scar, not a brand.  With no brands and no shoes, we're assuming they were mustangs, about a dozen of them altogether.  Some may have been running through the sand dunes alongside the road and we wouldn't have seen them.
Isn't this black mare a beauty?
I love her long, flowing mane and tail.
In looking up information on the Robber's Roost herd, I found that the BLM limits the herd number to about 25. (Any increase in size results in a roundup, usually every couple of years.  The excess animals are offered for adoption through the BLM Horse and Burro Adoption Program.)  The Robber's Roost herd members are predominately gray, black and roan.  The small size and the general conformation of the group we saw was typical of mustangs.  According to the BLM site, mustangs have been in the area since the early 1800's, with the occasional ranch horse joining the wild ones and diluting the original Spanish barb genetics.
A few minutes after the horses passed us going the opposite direction along the road, we saw a helicopter.  We assume it was a BLM employee, flying low, checking population numbers or herd condition, and that may have sent the horses running along the road and into our path. 
We felt lucky to have seen them.

27 comments:

  1. What a wonderful sight...you were so lucky to see it!
    And yes...that black one is a beauty.

    Maybe I'm naive...but I have always wondered if there were still Wild Horses roaming free. Great captures!

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  2. What a treat! They are magnificent. How did your horses react tho them?

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  3. That was so cool! I would love to see wild horses like that. They are beautiful.

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  4. Janie,
    Gorgeous, such a wonderful experience and grand captures!

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  5. Great sighting and slice of Americana to boot. Interesting that you don't see them more often.

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  6. They are gorgeous, I was especially admiring the black ones in the top pic before you pointed out how beautiful the mare is. I think The Black Stallion biased me to think black horses are prettiest.

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  7. What a wonderful sighting; Black beauty??? Gorgeous. They are all gorgeous. Wild horses...such a wonderful thought. Just don't tell Cocoa and Boss about this. They would not know what to do without YOU!

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  8. Wow - wild horses! How magnificent and free. Lovely lovely pics.

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  9. WOW FANTASTIC...when I see something like this it takes me back to my ancestors, the horse people. Which can apply to anyone who loves horses. :)

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  10. Great photos, beautiful horses.

    The whole subject of mustangs gets my retired Forest Service dad all riled up. He talks about how much damage they do and how many of them are domestic horses gone wild rather than true mustangs.

    I don't know anything about all that but I do know they are beautiful. I would love to see some in the wild one day.

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  11. Hi Janie, How lucky you were to see the mustangs... I have read and heard about them all of my life.... I'm SO glad you saw them and shared pictures with us... WOW!!!! How special.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  12. These are just spectacular! The first and last pictures...I really like. What beautiful animals and to think mustangs are still in existence. We citified types think everything has gone the way of the carrier pigeon. Now I know better....thanks!

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  13. They are beautiful! That most have been so exciting to see them!

    We have had a warm up here the past few days. I'm almost out of my snowing photos! We need more snow soon to make the skiing good through April 3!

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  14. What a lucky sighting! I like that little pinto. I wonder what your horses thought? What does Daisy do - did she bark at them? Could a wild horse actually be tamed to ride?

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  15. Loved your post on wild horses! Neat story, and there is nothing like finding wild horses on a road! Especially when a person loves them as much as I do. I will be back...

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  16. Ah, I think you mentioned not finding the mustangs a few posts back. They must have known you were eager to see them. (Yes, I DO have an active imagination.) I'm glad the BLM is committed to keeping the herd at a manageable size.

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  17. They look in great shape, especially with winter just behind them.

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  18. ahhh - save me one of the black ones. I lust after mustangs.
    We have a small herd about 25 miles from here. Three of us were out riding one day and spotted two bachelor stallions. They didn't come too close (we weren't riding mares!) - but it was so cool seeing them.
    - The Equestrian Vagabond

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  19. Stunning photos ... 'wild horses' creating all sorts of romantic stories for me. I am so happy that you shared, thanks :)

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  20. I wonder if we'll get a chance to see them next month when we will be in the area.

    Your header is magnificent; I hope we get views its equal.

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  21. Awesome pictures! Great shots indeed!

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  22. Oh, what fun for you, Janie, and what great captures! I'm amazed at how wild horses can survive out on the plains.

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  23. These mustangs are beautiful. What a pleasure it must have been to see them in person.

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  24. Its nice to see there are still wild horse and 'Black Beauty' lives free.

    hugs,
    Pam

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  25. How fantastic that you saw wild horses, your images are simply gorgeous!

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  26. Wonderful photos you got of these beauties! I'm so pleased to have discovered your site..after visiting Utah last year, my husband and I fell in love with everything about it. I've done more than a few Utah posts, including two this week!

    Will come back and visit again...

    Lynette
    Imagination Lane

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