He’s alive!!

Imagine my surprise when I look across a small valley and see a “ghost”.   Well, I thought it must be a ghost and it was Halloween, but he turned out not to be a ghost after all. This horse was last seen at the end of last winter/early spring and he looked bad. It was said that he was painfully thin and did not look well at all. Then, we have not seen him all summer long.  This is a horse that, while not highly visible, is at least seen several times a year. He is alone, which is not good, but he is alive and looking well.  Can you guess who it is? Do you give up? Okay, I will tell you ……….GUNSMOKE!!!

Now, he still looks every one of his 19 years, still a little thin, but does not look bad at all.  He is getting his shaggy winter coat and you can see a few ribs but, all in all, he looks pretty darn good. I was really excited to see him.  There is a tree that he likes to stand under and every time I went by it this year, I would say how sad it was that Gunsmoke wasn’t under his tree.  Then I would wonder who would eventually take his place under that tree.  While, I didn’t find him under that tree, he was close by. He was on the gas pad, which is another place he likes to hang out.

As I said before, he is 19 years old and not sure who his dam was, but pretty sure that Buckskin Jake was his sire.  He is missing the tip of his left ear and his right eye has gotten “cloudy”.  He has a daughter who looks a whole lot like him and he has sired many others through the years. His genes are pretty well represented on the range.  Below are some photos of him and his most recent band that he has lost. One of his favorite mares, Spook, is missing and I would not be surprised to find that they find one another again.

Gunsmoke from a few years ago

Gunsmoke and Spook

Gunsmoke and some of the mares he has had

Gunsmoke surprising us in Main Canyon one winter

Gunsmoke (taken on Halloween)

Gunsmoke now

Josie (on the left) and Jolie(on the right)- Jolie sure looks like Gunsmoke

 

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