We are definitely in the middle of foaling season right now. I have seen at least one new foal on each of my trips to the Range recently. I’ve found 21 foals so far, but I’m sure there will be a few more when I next go up. I’ve had some questions about what these new foals look like, so I thought I’d put up a few photos of them today.
I first saw Firestorm’s foal when she was about a week old. She’s a really pretty color. I’m wondering if she’ll turn out to be a coyote dun like her likely sire Jackson.
Earlier this spring, I had a photo up of Gaelic Princess looking very pregnant. She foaled during the end of April, but I’ve only seen the foal with my spotting scope. This week I saw it up close for my first time.
Last Thursday, I was up on Sykes Ridge when I got a phone call from Jared, the wild horse specialist here. He was out doing some work and came across a mare that was alone and looking very close to foaling. The mare he was describing was Guinevere. I went to Burnt Timber, but I didn’t see her where Jared had last seen her. My dad went up on the Range the next day to see her, and he indeed found that she’d had a new foal. I was able to go up that afternoon to see him. He is likely Cappuchino’s foal, and it will be the first foal we know of out of Cappuchino. He definitely resembles his likely sire! I also think it is interesting that this foal was born to 20-year-old Guinevere.
Though I didn’t see Guinevere last Thursday, I did see a lot of other horses. One of the harems I saw was that of Blue Moon’s (AKA Flint). At that time, he didn’t have a foal. On Friday afternoon, though, I found that his young mare Havana had a very tiny foal. I guess she and Guinevere foaled around the same time. Though this foal was born in Blue Moon’s harem, she likely isn’t his daughter. It’s actually difficult to know who the most probable sire of this foal could be, but this is often the case of these young mares.
As I mentioned in post earlier this week, the Dryhead mare Sacajawea has a foal. He’s one of the earlier born foals and is a pretty little dun with a star.
I like Sequoyah’s new colt a lot as he is a really good combination of his parents. He has his black coat from his likely sire Two Boots and his pretty face marking from his dam. I think Two Boots is definitely an impressive stallion; it isn’t exactly common here to see a 21-year-old stallion reproducing still.
This week, Blue Moon had another foal born to his harem. This one belongs to his other mare, Feldspar. This filly has a pretty face marking that it is very similar to Jupiter, Blue Moon and Feldspar’s yearling colt.
The above photos are again of 1/3 of the foals I’ve found. Based on the way things look out there, we aren’t too close to the end of foaling season. I’ll be sure to post more information and photos of the foals as they come this year.
PryorWild 
That is how it should be left. Beautiful pictures.
Such wonderful pictures and beautiful babies! Makes me want to grab one and just “Hug It”! I know, dream on, but that is just how cute I think they are. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Shi
Guinevere, you go girl! I had my two-legged colt when I was 41. Some may call us “old”, but I prefer “well-seasoned”.
Magnificent little creatures. I always said Nature is the best designer and isn’t that the truth!!!!
So nice to see this years babies, thanks for the photo’s and update
Such fine, lovable looking foals! And I agree with Shireen on the hugging—or maybe at least having my hand nuzzled by one of them. And it’s a beautiful dream. There’s NOTHING SOFTER than a foal’s muzzle.
Let’s hope every one of these beautiful little critters has a happy life there on the Range. Looking forward to lots more pics, and enlightening info.
I will, of course, be especially curious about Firestorm’s baby by Jackson. Gaelic Princess’s is certainly a beauty, too, but then so are ALL the others!
Thanks again to all who are looking out for the horses.
Hi Matt –
Please forgive my lack of education on this subject but, it’s my understanding that you, along with your really great relationship with BLM would be using PZP in this HMA. I’m kinda concerned that a mare as old as Guinevere would be *allowed* to foal at 20+ years old. Can you help me understand WHY a mare that old would not be a candidate for treatment? The foal is BEAUTIFUL but, isn’t it time for *G* to retire from foaling???
Lynn,
This is a good question. Many mares have been treated with PZP now, including Guinevere. Why did she foal this year? She hadn’t been treated since 2007, and so she was able to get pregnant again. Typically, the older mares will be treated to prevent this. Because she was in good shape due to her lack of a foal in five years, she was able to foal as a 20 year old mare. This all shows a reason why I like PZP – It is reversible. Despite research to the contrary, this is a concept that many people still dispute; but cases like this just show that it really can wear off. Due to a few things that happened, the Pryor’s PZP program went away there for a couple years. However, we are hoping that the program can pick up again in the future.
Hope this helps answer your question!
Matt