We need the tonic of wildness…At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature. Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or Life in the Woods
The winter of 2022-23, brought conditions that limited trips to the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range. Snow pushes the wild horses off the upper elevations into the vastness of the mid-elevations, largely hidden away from human eyes. This is when Thoreau’s quote becomes appropriate as Pryor wildness becomes truly unfathomable…not truly understood. The lives of many of the Pryor Horses during winter remain mysterious and unexplorable until winter releases its firm grip on the land.
By mid-November 2022, even the lower elevations were covered by a blanket of white. Adventures into these lands were possible through most of the winter. The horses were well prepared with their thick double-layered coats. It is a quiet time, and care is taken not to disturb natural horse behavior and cause undue stress. The horses spend much of their time seeking out food in the desert lands…seeking out shelter from the persistent winds. Treks into the lower areas of the horse range made it possible to explore and learn about many of the bands of horses to see how they were faring during a time of harsh weather.
Going into winter, the Pryor Herd was large with just over 200 horses. Little-by-little, with the passage of time, most of the horses were accounted for with the winter visits of a group of dedicated horse watchers. We work as a team to monitor the horses throughout the year. But for a handful of horses, patience was a necessity as we waited for winter to release its firm grip to allow spring to reveal the secrets of those horses not visible to human eyes. While hard to show every horse, this post will capture the springtime reveals. It will be a growing post so check back as more photographs and information are added.
Demure and Vintage: Demure and her daughter, Vintage, were with Missoula for quite some time. In December 2022, they disappeared from that band and had moved to Banjo Paterson’s band. However, soon they were listed as “in transition” as they disappeared from view. On March 17, Katie and I were intent on getting up Burnt Timber Ridge Road as far as possible. It was then that we saw the challenge for the mare, Demure, and her two-year old daughter, Vintage, by three young bachelor stallions: Sirius, Ryden, and Tapadero. Demure was showing the effects of her age and continued nursing of her daughter. The mother/daughter pair were seen again on May 3 now with Sirius and Ryden…still not sure which stallion was at the helm.
Valentina: What started out to be one of the most poignant stories of the winter of 2022-23 was that of Valentina. The story began with concern for the beautiful smoky black filly, but ended up with a remarkable ending. Valentina was the first daughter of the mare, Prospera, and stallion, Mica/MatoSka. After the birth of her sister, Wind River, Valentina, became somewhat isolated from her mother. It was late fall when Mica’s band was in the lower areas of Sykes Ridge. By then it was noticed that Valentina was not with her band. The word was put out to the Watchers, with no success at finding the young Valentina. Then on April 28, from my vantage point on Cheyenne Flats, I noticed a small, dark horse in a remote area between me and Sykes Ridge. This area, known as Mateo’s Island, is a large grassy land formation between Burnt Timber Ridge and Sykes Ridge. With lots of scoping it was a surprise to see that the horse was Valentina. This little horse all alone in this big land generated lots of questions. The big questions were, “How long had she been there?” and “Had she been alone all this time?”
The next day, Phyllis headed up to Cheyenne Flats. She was able to spot Valentina in the same area that she was in the day before. Phyllis, being quite an adventurer, decided to see if she could hike over to Valentina to get a closer look. This is no easy hike, but Phyllis was successful and soon found the young filly. In her words, Phyllis said, “She actually looks better this spring than she did last spring.” The photograph shows the two-year old has good body condition and is starting to shed her winter coat.
After that Valentina was not spotted on her secluded island. Of course, worry sets in. But, yet another chapter of Valentina’s life was about to begin. Once again, it is Phyllis who provided this report. This time the calendar had shifted to May 20. Seeing Valentina now, in turn, solved another of winter’s mysteries. Valentina was with the veteran stallion, Horizon. He had not been seen since the stallion, Quaid, took his band sometime during the winter. And now, Valentina, is under the protective care of a wise stallion.
Gringo, Juniper & Wonder: These three have been on the radar for much of the winter. It was on February 11, 2023 when Scott first reported that Patriot’s band had expanded to include two more members. He had seen them from a distance and wasn’t sure on the newcomers. On February 17, 2023, Katie and I headed out to check things out at the Admin Pasture and see how far we could get up Burnt Timber. And there, in the Admin Pasture, right near the fence line we found Patriot and his mares, Aurora and Graciana. We could see that Beulah and Galadriel were now with young Patriot. To make things even more interesting, Patriot’s little brother, Rio-Rue, was in pursuit of the band.
This situation brought about yet another winter unknown….where were Gringo, Juniper, and Wonder. It seemed hard to believe that Beulah and Galadriel would leave Gringo. Both had been with Gringo for many years. In fact, Galadriel and Gringo shared the same natal band as their sire was the handsome bay stallion, Duke. So it was a puzzle to think they had moved onto Patriot’s band. Throughout the rest of February, into March, and all through April, eyes were intent on finding Gringo and the beautiful buckskin pair of Juniper and her daughter, Wonder. The fear of losing them just was incomprehensible after the loss of Juniper’s daughter, Talia, and Talia’s foal just a year ago.
And then….on May 19, 2023, I received a text and a photo from Jack…it was Juniper and Wonder! Juniper’s body condition is typical of nursing mares at this time of the year. The good spring grasses will build her up in no time. What’s more, Beulah and Galadriel were back with them. And…Gringo was in the area too. Throughout the rest of the weekend, Jack reported a lot of commotion with the band. Gringo was being challenged with the verdict still out on which challenging stallion had the band at the end of the day. But the good news was, Gringo, Juniper, and Wonder made it through the winter.
PryorWild 