Coming Out Of Winter – Part 2: The Missing/Gone

We are well out of the Winter of 2023. We’ve gone through spring and through much of the summer. It is time to present a list of the horses who are missing or presumed to be gone. It includes adults and young ones. The horses are listed from oldest to youngest.

Adults: Typically the only evidence of the loss of adult horses is they are just not seen. This is true for these adults. They are not listed as officially deceased until they are not seen for a year. These horses are normally seen in the summer. The chances of them remaining hidden in another part of the range are slim. All disappeared during the winter of 2022-23.

• Pococeno: This beautiful mare was born in 1994 and would have been 29 years old this year. She was last with the stallion, Hernando.
• Polaris: Polaris also lived a long life on the Pryors as she was born in 1997. She was last with Okomi’s band, but disappeared in the winter of 2022-23.
• Cappuccino: The handsome dun stallion was born in 2002 and lived a long, successful life. In 2022, he lived a quiet life as a bachelor stallion.
• Cecelia: Cecelia disappeared somewhere between December 14, 2022 and January 6, 2023. She left behind her young daughter, Whisper, who was removed by the BLM and now lives with Steve and Nancy Cerroni. Cecelia was a shy mare who was lived her life in a remote area of the horse range.
• Doc: Doc had quite a reign as a band stallion, but lived his last life as a bachelor. He was born in 2003 and would have turned 20 this year.
• Garay: Born in 2006, Garay would have been 17 this year. He entered the winter of 2022 with the mare, Kohl. She ended up with Naolin sometime during the winter, with no sign of Garay at this point.
• Grijala: Grijala and Garay were half-brothers, born the same year to the stallion, Conquistador. They disappeared the same year as well. Both wintered in a remote area of the range. Grijala had spent the last years of his life as a bachelor stallion. Like his brother, Garay, he has not been seen during 2023.
• Lariat: The lovely, bay mare, Lariat, was born in 2011. As she was in the prime of life at the age of 12, it is a mystery as to why she has not been seen so far in 2023.
• Sorcerer: Sorcerer was only four years old when he was found deceased in the Mustang Flats area. It appeared that he died as a result of injuries received in a stallion fight.

The Young: There has been quite a loss of yearlings and foals this year. The reasons for their disappearances are unknown.

The Yearlings: Three yearlings, foals born in 2022, have disappeared. The three had been seen with their mothers in the first part of 2023, but then they were not seen again.

• Wylie: Wylie born to the young mare, Umatilla. They were with Pax’s band in early 2023, but the colt was not with the band later in the spring.
• Wynonna: Wynonna was the daughter of Sophia and Banjo Paterson. She was last seen in May 2023 with her mother and the stallion, Tex.
• Wonder: Wonder was the buckskin daughter of Juniper. She was last seen in early June 2023.

The Foals: Four 2023 foals were seen, but then not seen with their mothers. It is pretty certain that they are gone as they cannot survive without their mothers at their young ages.

• Xander: Xander was the first foal of 2023. He was first seen on April 28 with his mother, Unity, in Oglala’s band.
• Xyla: Xyla was first seen in early May with her mother, Ukulele Lil, in Jesse James’ band. She was not with her band in early August.
• Xota: Xota was born to the mare, Sophia, in Tex’s band, in mid-June. He was not with his mother a few days later.
• Xanthos: La Nina’s bright colored dun colt was first seen on July 14. Oglala’s large band was seen a couple weeks later without Xanthos.

This is a very difficult post to present, but a necessary one. Many of you have been asking about the missing horses and we do like to keep you updated. There are several causes for the natural loss of horses in the wild. They can succumb to natural mortality due to aging, harsh weather conditions, or predation. Even those of us who watch these horses throughout the year often do not know the reasons for their disappearance. These secrets are held tightly by the wild world.

If by chance any of you have photos or information about these horses, please let me know. If by chance we see any of them, we will let you know immediately.