Yesterday I spent a lot of time poring over the Pryor Mountain Field Guide that Denver Daughter sent me.
It's the most recent one in print, and it is organized by color of the horses who were then listed by where they roamed (on the mountain, in the dryhead, on the ridge, etc.)
I am positive that this is Titania, a filly who was born in 2019. Her broad facial blaze was a giveaway. Knowing that she lived in the dryhead, and is "great friends with her brother, Sorcerer" who is also in the dryhead, I felt comfortable narrowing down the identity of the other horses to horses found in that location.
Since this horse was grulla, I looked at grulla horses (mares and stallions) in the dryhead.
I am pretty sure that this is the stallion, Pax, a five year old who did not have a band of mares in 2020. That made me wonder if perhaps I was wrong, but sometimes younger stallions hang out close to herds and are tolerated by the lead stallion. (Irial was my second guess, but he is found in the mountains.)
These two were the hardest to figure out. I am assuming that that is Pax on the left, but who is he grooming? The color is hard to see, but there is a very large and bright marking on the face. I am going to guess that this is Rigell Star, a three year old sorrel mare.
After yesterday's post, reader Wyoming Artwork commented that she knew who they were. Wyoming Art, how'd I do? And if I missed one or to (or three, haha!) please comment again and identify them. Thanks!
Yes, the first one is Titania! She's my special girl because I was the first one to spot her and report her to the Pryor Mountain Mustang Center. :) That was so exciting!
ReplyDeleteThe second one is Titania's Band Stallion, Johnston.
The third picture can be more tricky to tell because these two are getting their winter coats. It changes their colors. The horse on the right is actually Icara. Icara is Sorceror's grandmother and a mare belonging to Johnston, the grulla stallion. The lighting and the winter coat changes her black coat to a sort of red brown. The horse on the left is actually Icara's daughter, Phantom. Once again, that winter coat and the lighting makes the actual coat color hard to tell. :) It's the light patch above her tail that gives her away!
So, all of these horses belong to the same band. :)
I've seen this band a million times, so for me they're easy to tell. I only live thirty minutes away from the range, so my family likes to drive up there and spot horses in the summer. Johnston's band is always hanging out on the flats, so we see them almost every time!