Patrón and company

Patrón is a 6 year old light chestnut sabino stallion who currently has 2 mares and a yearling filly. They reside in the North Soda area of the range. He has Miss Kitty, a 22 year old sorrel mare, Chablis a 14 year old grulla mare and her yearling filly Cinnabar; red dun in color. They took themselves off the range last winter and finally returned a month (or so) ago. Several attempts were made to bring them back on but they finally just left the gate open and set out some water. They came back home on their own. Silly horses!

Patrón is a product of one of our homegrown stallions and a mare that was transplanted from another range. That makes him truly special, besides being a suave, debonair, man about town kind of guy. Did I mention handsome…..he is definitely that and what a great demeanor too. He is a calm, laid back stallion but will fight fiercely when protecting his mares!

Miss Kitty has given us four foals through the years and two of them still remain on the range. Chablis has produced six foals and four remain on the range. Cinnabar is a beautiful little filly and will no doubt produce some gorgeous foals when it is time.

Patrón

Miss Kitty

Chablis and Cinnabar

Lance

Lance is a 15 year old bay stallion. He is a loner most of the time. He has had a band of mares a couple times but can’t seem to manage to hang on to them for more than a year. He rarely hangs out with other bachelors when he doesn’t have a band either. He is just destined to be alone. He will hang out in the same area as other horses, but rarely engages with them. Horses are social animals but I think Lance didn’t get that memo!

Pistol

Pistol has been following a band off and on for a couple years now. He used to have his own band but got them all stolen. Just recently he picked up a mare and her colt. This mare is not from the band he was following. I guess he gave that up as a lost cause! Anyway, here is his new to him mare and colt. These horses reside in the lower canyons.

Pistol 10 year old dun stallion

Woodstock – 2022 black colt and Pixie 3 year old black mare

Legacy

I decided to feature this band because it is about to break up. Already two of the mares have left the band and a young stallion (Kokomo) has been relentlessly hounding Legacy trying to steal the rest of the mares. I am certain the new young stallion will manage to steal some if not all of them very soon.

Legacy is a 14 year old dark sooty buckskin. He looks brown at a distance but up close you can see the difference. He had 6 mares and a new foal (not his) but Chardonnay, Chantilly and her foal Nakita were not seen with the band recently (when all the fighting started). Mariah, a 20 year old gray, almost white, mare, Wild Eyes a 22 year old bay mare, Coquette a 21 year old grulla mare and Mystic a 15 year old grulla mare- daughter of Coquette – round out the rest of Legacy’s band.

Recent photos (from a friend) show that Legacy is getting pretty beat up by the new young stallion. However, Legacy is holding his own and the youngster is looking a little worse for wear as well. I am anxious to see how things turned out for this band. Did Legacy manage to hang on to some or all of his mares? Did Kokomo succeed in stealing them from him? If Kokomo did steal mares did he stay in North Soda or did he hightail it back to Indian Park. So many unanswered questions. Never ending drama on the horse range!

Kokomo is only 5 which is about the time they really start trying to get a mare, but still a bit inexperienced. But he sure is determined!

Legacy

Legacy’s band – the two on the far left of the photo have already left the band.

Kokomo – the young upstart. He is a 5 year old deep chestnut

Banjo’s Band

Still staying in the North Soda area of the range, let me introduce you to Banjo and his ladies.

Banjo is a 12 year old buckskin stallion who currently has three mares. Illusion, a 28 year old buckskin, is his lead mare. Lambruska is Illusion’s granddaughter and is an 11 year old pinto (minimal white) mare. Last, but certainly not least, is Latte. She is Lambruska’s 2021 buckskin filly.

Banjo’s band – Illusion in the lead, followed by Latte, Lambruska and Banjo bringing up the rear

Banjo- 12 year old band stallion

Illusion – 28 year old lead mare

Lambruska – 11 year old mare

Latte – yearling filly

Correction

I need to confess to a huge mistake. A couple posts ago I presented Boone as the oldest band stallion and Nitro as the oldest stallion on the range. I completely overlooked one of the subpopulations on the range. I rarely see any of the Monument Rock horses so don’t talk much about them. I failed to check that area when I was looking at ages. SO……let me present to you the oldest band stallion who also is the oldest stallion on the range. He lives in the Upper Coal Canyon/ Monument Rock area of the horse range. The horses in this area are very wild and seldom seen. The area is not easy to access or to find horses once there. If you do find them they almost immediately run. The photo I have is not a recent one but one of the best hikers I know goes to this area often, has seen him and his band and has photos, so I know that he still looks fantastic! Isn’t he a handsome devil. He currently has three mares and a new foal in his band. Go Briscoe!

Briscoe

Bacardi’s Band

Bacardi is a 6 year old bay band stallion who resides in the North Soda area of the horse range. He currently has 3 mares in his band. Jessie is a 22 year old buckskin mare, Cat is a 19 year old bay mare and Tahlequah is a 3 year old bay pinto (minimal white). This band has only been together since this spring. These mares used to be with Lance but Bacardi took them. However, in the process he lost his other mare and her foal and they eventually ended up with Legacy. So much on the range drama in the spring!

Bacardi

Tahlequah with Jessie and Cat behind her

Bacardi’s band.

Brother Band

These two brothers have been together most of their lives. There was a short period when they went their separate ways but it didn’t last long. Even as bachelors they tended to hang out together. When they each got their first band they parted ways but that soon changed. They are together……but separate bands. They travel and graze together, they help each other repel those pesky bachelors, their mares intermingle. However, they do have boundaries. Lakota can’t get too close, especially with intent if you know what I mean, before Brownie snakes his mare away or pushes Lakota away, and the same for Brownie with Lakota’s mares.

Lakota is the older brother and has looked out for Brownie since he was a baby. I was observing the band one day when Brownie was a new foal and Lakota was a yearling. I couldn’t find Brownie anywhere. I looked and looked, nothing. I thought the worst. Then, at Lakota’s feet I saw something move. It was Brownie and Lakota was standing over him while he slept. That is how these two have been throughout their life.

Now they keep their bands together. Safety in numbers I guess. Lakota, 16, has three mares, 14 year old Metate, 13 year old Ember and newly acquired 4 year old mare Tahoe. Brownie, 15, has 22 year old Rowdy’s Girlfriend.

If you come across them you would assume they are one band with two stallions, but just sit back and watch them for a bit and you can see the dynamics.

This is not the first brother bands we have had and I am sure it won’t be the last.

Lakota

Metate

Ember

Tahoe

Brownie

Rowdy’s Girlfriend

The Old Man

Nitro holds the title for the oldest stallion on the range. He is a handsome chestnut stallion. He is starting to look a little rough and showing his age. I always called him the “hippy boy”. His mane looked like he had just rolled out of bed after a hard night partying, kind of wild and unruly. He is a gentle soul and was a great band stallion.

When he was younger he got a deep wound on his hip. It was about the size of a baseball and just as deep. I wondered if it would get infected but it never did. It never seemed to slow him down a bit and it healed just fine.

He no longer has a band and is living out his final time as a bachelor. Sometimes he is alone and sometimes he finds a buddy to hang out with.

He does still have a few offspring on the range to carry on his genes. It will be a sad day when he disappears, but he will have lived and died free

I have not seen him since last year, but others have seen him this year. He is still going strong!

Nitro in 2016

Nitro in 2011

Nitro in 2017

Nitro in 2020

Age is just a number

Boone and Sweetheart are two of the oldest horses on the range. Boone is the oldest band stallion and the second oldest stallion. Sweetheart took over the title of oldest horse, and oldest mare, on the range when Becky died during the winter. Both are beautiful black horses and look really good for their age too! These two have gathered quite a following here in our area. One of the more popular hikes is the Mt. Garfield trail. It is a 3.4 mile, 2053 feet ascent climb. Well, these two go up and down this trail all winter and early spring. So many people see them, ask about them and are always thrilled that they got to see wild horses! Even out of state travelers have stopped along the interstate to see these two. They go down the trail and wander around in the desert until it is time to head back up, usually to find water. Are they supposed to go down the trail and into the desert….well no, but YOU just try to tell them that!

Sweetheart is starting to get gray in the face, showing her age. Boone still looks like a young horse. Aren’t they amazing!

The locals are beginning to know their names, one of the radio stations have talked about them on their Facebook page many times.

Given the age of these two I don’t know how many more winters they will be doing this. Boone is 21 and Sweetheart is 29. That is old for wild horses. So, if you happen to see them, just give them a little space and wish them well.

Boone (photo taken in 2018)

Sweetheart (photo taken in 2011)

Boone and Sweetheart (photo taken in 2022) Thanks to Rene Edel for letting me use this photo