2021 certainly has been a year for different weather patterns in Alberta. It is now November and we are still waiting for some significant snowfall to arrive. The forests and open hillsides are extremely dry and moisture is desperately needed. However the horses are doing very well and enjoying not having to paw for any feed.
The drought this year has definitely affected the amount of forage available and therefore we are finding that the horses are moving around a lot.
This year’s foals that have survived have grown and are thriving. This beautiful herd is taking advantage of the late fall sunshine. In open areas like this they are still able to find tasty morsels of green grass around the fallen logs.
We found this herd around a natural mineral lick and it was such fun to watch these two youngsters play fighting mimicking some young bachelors that were close by. Meanwhile the other members of this family were trying to rest in the afternoon sun. This went on for quite some time until one of the mares came over to stop this nonsense!
The black mare behind these two has a very distinctive facial marking. It is features such as this that we use to identify individuals and keep track of the different herds.
While all this commotion was going on the stallion patiently stood guard and made sure the bachelor group did not come close to his mares. He is so gorgeous and proud and shows the unique beauty of our Alberta wild horses.
Another beautiful black stallion with a few battle scars, feeds in an open, sunny meadow but is always on alert for possible dangers.
This boy unlike the other stallions has no herd at the moment and had joined up with a younger stallion for company. He is absolutely magnificent and come springtime will be likely looking for some mares of his own.
We have to travel far and wide at this time of year in order to find the different herds we are monitoring. Back in a far valley this herd had found a quiet, undisturbed area to feed in. There is feed to be found even though they are in a clearcut area. They have learned to be very careful, even the young ones, when navigating through these areas.
WHOAS is part of the Alberta government’s Feral Horse Advisory Committee along with HAWS and we are working very hard to assure that scenes such as this will always be for future generations of horse lovers to enjoy.
We are happy to announce that we have now sold out of our fund raising calendars. We wish to thank all of you who have supported the wild horses and WHOAS work to protect them by purchasing a calendar.
