For the first 12 years of my life, I was obsessed with horses…almost to the point of mania. My obsession was so intense, that I often acted like a horse (and sometimes almost believed that I was a horse) much to the cringing embarrassment of my parents. The only thing that cured me of this affliction was actually getting a horse of my own–my headstrong and highly intelligent mare, Spring. Spring graced my life for 30 years–from 1979 until 2009 when old age got the best of her and I had to have her euthanized. She was 35 years old when I got to hold her venerable old face in my lap, as she breathed out her last breath in one final, mighty whoosh.
Although the childish crazy obsession faded many decades ago, I still feel a surge of inexplicably intense, throat-tightening emotion every time I see a beautiful horse. No other animal, not even cats (which I especially adore), seem to inspire such intense emotion in me. Is it the exhilarating combination of exquisite beauty and majestic power that I find so captivating? I’m not entirely certain. But, I do know that no other horse so fully embodies these qualities than the wild mustangs of the American west. I’ve always dreamed that perhaps one day, I’d get the chance to see a band of mustangs, but somehow that always seemed like a nearly impossible fantasy. I’m still pinching myself that last week, as part of our 2,000 mile trek through Wyoming and Montana, this seemingly impossible dream finally came true.
In all, we encountered three different bands of wild mustangs in two different regions of Wyoming and Montana. The very first band we encountered was absolutely by accident. In fact, it took us a while before we fully realized that these were indeed WILD horses! On Monday, July 25th, we were nearing the end of the first full day of our 11-day trip. While driving on the remote Wyoming Highway 287 north from Rawlins, on our way to Lander, we stopped at the Split Rock Historic Site pullout so that Kevin could take a few pictures of the famous landmark used by indigenous peoples, trappers, and emigrants on the Oregon Trail. While pulling out of the interpretive site, we noticed some horses across the road–five adults and one foal. They were all so beautiful, with such refined faces that it seemed impossible that these could be anything but intentionally-bred, domesticated ranch stock. Upon closer inspection, however, we soon realized that one was a stallion! And this was no ordinary stallion. He was magnificent! A striking bay pinto with a graceful arching neck and powerful, rippling muscles. On horse farms and ranches, stallions, which can be dangerous and unpredictable, are always kept separate from mares and foals…always. That’s when we realized that these were indeed wild mustangs. They were absolutely breathtaking.
Later on, after having the chance to do a little research, I learned that Highway 287 is the northeastern boundary of the U.S. Government Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Green Mountain Herd Management Area. I eventually found out that two of these horses had been previously documented by mustang advocates! The beautiful pinto stallion is well known in the area. His name is DaVinci and he is at least 20 years old.
This past spring DaVinci had actually lost his previous band of mares, who had been with him for nearly a decade, to another, younger stallion. Somehow, miraculously, DaVinci soon acquired a new band of mares and only one of them has been identified: the chestnut mare Ahyoka, with her lovely (unnamed) three-month-old sorrel filly (who is not DaVinci’s daughter). What makes our sighting of this gorgeous band of horses so special is that during the summertime, the mustangs of the Green Mountain HMA spend most of their time on the mountain, so it was highly unusual to see them down on the plains, miles away from their preferred summertime alpine habitat.
Our second wild mustang encounter was a more planned venture, but we did not in any way expect that we would be fortunate enough to actually see any wild mustangs. On Wednesday, July 27th, we had initially (and over ambitiously) planned to visit the Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument in Montana, but upon more careful consideration we decided to take the less ambitious route and drive on to the much closer Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range, which straddles the Wyoming-Montana border.
Established in 1968 by U. S. Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall, the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range was the very first range dedicated entirely to wild mustangs. Although the Bureau of Land Management manages wild horses and burros in 177 herd management areas (HMAs) across 10 western states (click here for more info), there are only three other areas like the Pryor Mountain range that are dedicated to no other uses but the protection and preservation of wild mustangs. In other words, the 100+ other HMAs function to protect wild mustangs, but they are also managed for other uses such as timbering and cattle grazing–a mission that is not always compatible with truly protecting wild mustangs.
In 1988, a group of wild mustang advocates incorporated a non-profit group which established the Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center in Lovell, Wyoming, which is just a few miles south of the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range. We stopped at the Center before venturing into the range and were delighted to meet such kind, friendly, and highly knowledgeable staff. They provided us with maps, as well as an updated spreadsheet on the current mustang band groupings (they often change as stallions constantly compete for mares), their names and lineage, as well as where they might likely be found. I also decided to purchase their 2022 edition of the Field Guide to Pryor Mountain Wild Horses, which is filled with gorgeous images and detailed histories of each of the 190+ wild mustangs who inhabit the range. The horse bands exist in one of two habitats–the upper elevations of the mountains or the lower elevations of the drier plains.
So off we went, into the hot desert sun, guidebook and maps in hand, feeling somewhat hopeful that we might get a glimpse of the mustangs first made famous by the poignantly beautiful PBS Nature Series Documentary, Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies, which first aired in November 2001. We parked our car near the first cattle guard and made our way across the trail, hoping to catch a glimpse of the stallion, Hickok and his band. We were not disappointed! As we made our way to the edge of the bluff, we spotted him down below, resting peacefully on the ground with his mares standing around him. Known as the “Gate Keeper” of the range, due to his usual proximity to the entrance, Hickok is a splendidly muscular 15 year-old red bay (reddish brown with black points) stallion. I felt a little guilty about disturbing this serene little family scene, as Hickok did stand up when he became aware of us; but, our presence did not seem to further disrupt his state of mind, as he and his mares continued to calmly stand together in the hot sun, tails swishing, and heads nodding companionably.
Kitalpha, is the grulla mare (tan-gray or mouse-colored with black points and dorsal stripe), second horse from the left (next to the stallion, Hickok). She is 12 years old and has an amazing story of early survival because back in 2010, when she was just a few months old, her mother, Buffalo Girl, died. It is astonishing that such a young foal was able to survive the loss of her mother and it also reveals the profound importance of strong social relationships that are critical to wild mustang survival. Kitalpha has reportedly been a devoted companion to Hickok for many years. Their two year-old daughter, Ursula, is the grulla filly on the far right side of the above photo. Ursula has been well cared for by both her parents, as well as the dun (golden tan with black points and dorsal stripe) mare to her left, Seneca, who is 23 years old. Seneca has had her own recent challenges as she had to endure the ordeal of having barbed wire wrapped around a hind leg during the winter of 2020-21. She looks very healthy and seems to have recovered from what could have been a fatal circumstance. After taking dozens of photographs, we quietly walked back along the trail to our car, leaving this beautifully resilient little family to the peaceful beauty of the sunny blonde sand and pungent blue sagebrush.
Now feeling lucky and quite content with our two sightings of wild mustangs, we continued on through the Pryor Mountain, making a few stops along the road, and taking in the jaw-dropping scenic vista at Devil Canyon Overlook on the Bighorn River.
As we were approaching the edge of the range boundary and leaving behind any chances of seeing more horses, we came upon a car pulled off the side of the road. Sure enough, a mere 20 yards away, was yet a third wild mustang band! A strikingly handsome red dun stallion accompanied by a glowing apricot dun mare and her creamy pale foal.
I later learned that this stallion was Parry, a seven year-old who like most stallions his age, had spent most of his young adult life hanging out with other young bachelor stallions, as by the time most males reach sexual maturity, they leave their mothers/band to venture off and try to win their own band of mares. Given that being a successful band stallion requires great physical strength, intelligence, and years of experience, most unattached young stallions form bachelor groups in which they keep each other company, spar, and keep an eye out for any opportunity to lure mares away from their band stallions.
Titania, the lovely apricot dun three year-old mare with Parry, was most recently with the the black stallion, Hawk’s band, and she even had her three month-old colt (fathered by Hawk) with her, the fuzzy-haired, blaze-faced red dun, Wizard.
Since our encounter with Parry and his new little band back on July 27, 2022, it has been reported that Titania has moved on to join another stallion’s band, that of the formidable and much more experienced 17 year-old blue roan, Fool’s Crow. Such changes are common and actually critical to wild mustang survival, as they ensure genetic diversity, prevent inbreeding, and also keep mares and foals as protected as possible by only the strongest and most experienced stallions.
Through his brief tenure as Titania and Wizard’s protector, the battle-scarred Parry has gained invaluable experience in being more fully prepared to take on the responsibility of any future mares he may win over. I’m so dearly grateful that we got to witness some of his very first moments of serious adult stallion responsibility. Undoubtedly, Parry has many more battles to fight and hopefully, many more mares to win over, with possibly many future foals to sire. Just seeing the exquisite sculpted beauty of his face gives me so much hope for the future of these cherished wild mustangs. Though at first glance, the wild mustangs of the American west seem to be such fiercely wild exemplars of freedom and independence; in reality, they are profoundly dependent upon each other (and upon us), for their continued survival. We have much yet to learn from them.
WRITTEN BY STACEY. ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY EITHER KEVIN OR STACEY (EXCEPT AS NOTED).
Be sure to check out all of the other great stories from On The Road at Catbirdlife.com. Click HERE to subscribe or you may follow us on Instagram.
