In a couple of previous posts I have mentioned about looking for some horses that I thought may have been hurt and that I could not find. The first was the Denmark herd, which inhabited a valley which a tornado had destroyed earlier in the summer. Several trips out there, looking for them revealed nothing. I feared that they may have been trapped and killed in the storm. However in a recent trip out there, I found them again, safe and all members of the herd were accounted for. It made my heart feel so good, as I had worried about them for such a long period of time. The herd can be quite picturesque, with their different coat coloring and distinctive facial blazes.
The other blog I had submitted was in regards to a young foal that was reported in distress to me in September, by Bunny and Al, from Grand Prairie. I had made several trips out to the area looking for it, again with no success. Then on October 17, 2010, I had taken another photographer out to show her the wild horses and we came across a small herd of five . In the bunch was this scruffy looking sorrel foal, which I managed to photograph.
After I got home later that evening, I received another call from Bunny. She was concerned about the foal and my luck in trying to find it. I told her that I had not found it as of yet. She then offered to e-mail me a picture that her and Al had taken of the foal when they first saw it. Bunny had to go to a neighbors in order to get the photograph e-mailed. About an hour later, there on my computer screen was the same foal that I had photographed earlier in the day. I was so elated.
The foal was with four horses now, two mature studs and two yearling studs. I recognized these two younger boys as being from Sock’s herd. In an earlier blog I had documented that he had just recently lost his herd to another stallion and was pretty beaten up as a result of the fight for domination.
What occurs in the hierarcy of the wild horse herds is that the new stallion will chase off some of the offspring of the stallion he had just beaten. This is to assure that his genes will now be the dominant ones in his new charges. I would presume that this younger foal was also orphaned as a result of this struggle as well as the two yearlings being kicked out.
I promised Bunny that I would have another check on the foal. On Thursday, October 21, I loaded up my trusty Warzone and headed back into the area. I had my lariat with me just in case I did have to rescue the foal. Now knowing who I was looking for, I easily found the foal. As I watched her I could see that in the company of the four other horses, she was doing fine. The two older studs would protect her from any predators and show her the skills she needed to survive in the harshness of the oncoming winter. At that point I decided to let her be for now. I will continue to observe her and will only intervene if there is no other choice. I feel much better about her chances now. Always when I am able to witness things like this I always feel so good deep down inside my soul. I so love the wild horses and the spirit of freedom they represent to me.
Thanks to all that supported me through my efforts to locate her to assure her safety.
Bob.
