PIGNON-CAMARGUE-PIGNON-MUSTANG....MUSTANG SALLY - CHRIS NORMAN

LOVE THE WHOLE THING, BUT ESPECIALLY THE FAST GALLOPP ACROSS THE BEACH WITH THE OTHER HORSES FOLLOWING.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL WILD HORSES AND WILD HORSE LOVERS.....

This is Breyer's JAILBIRD ANDREW under the WING of the lute-playing ANGEL

Merry Merry Merry MERRY FROHE WEIHNACHTEN STILLE MACHT HEILIGE SACHT,OH TANNENNBAUUM GLUECKLICH SIND DEINE BLAETTER WIE GRUEN UND DOCH ...RIDE AND RIDE AND RIDE ALL DAY, MAKE THE SORROW GO AWAY...

Mustang Stallion Padre' Dressage at Devon 2010 Stallion Championship

Wild Horse Paintings by Melody Perez at Loveland Cherry Blossom Gallery

Five Mustangs got their bio and bodies on display today at the opening of the show of Oils by Melody Perez. Painting with a Purpose had led her to choosing individuals from the Sandwash Basin Herd and Nancy Roberts and John Wagner provided her with photos, stories and video of her models.

Picasso band stallion, his son P.J., Ranger and Cheyenne and Destiny....are already on display and in calendar format. A bachelor gathering and and other paintings will follow to complete a series with an all mustang calendar next year. Prints and calendars and originals are available.

Running Free - Animated Stereogram 3d crosseyed virtuality

For those of us who indulge in food for the eye, this will be a poor replacement for the 3 dimension of wild horses on the range....and food for thought ....

and always back to the source...

 Whenever the amount of input gets to be too much, we have to turn out and either ride, walk or get in touch some other way. To live close to a wild horse area allows for daily visits, photo safaris, or other outings to search for and witness the wild horses. Ecotourism will be invigorated as individuals venture out and seek out the tracks and traces of wild horses...on foot or on horseback. For now the BLM still allows horsecamping in wildhorse areas, but that might be coming to an end, as the public is less appreciated on wild horse land....

some of the individuals of the sandwash Basin

ADOPT A HERD - SANDWASH BASIN WILD HORSES

The Girl And the Horse

The Cayuse Ranch in Oshoto is an example of an early Wild Horse Preserve.

In 1957 Bob Brislawn land surveyer for the Geologcial Survey, recognized the radical extermination of the Mustang.  He wanted to preserve the Horse and collected a founding stock for the Spanish Mustang Registry, that till today live on the Cayuse Ranch in Oshoto. As we consider Alternatives to BLM managed mustangs on Public Lands, this is one example that weathered many decades.

For more information, www.cayuseranch.com and www.neilblathreula1.com (Starflower Ranch)

An exercise in patience and balance and hand/eye coordination....

This was a little item, I found in a store, took apart and revamped into a drawing of my beloved mustang Aragon V. I think it turned out nice and is a constant reminder of the importance of patience, balance and hand/eye coordination....

Redfeather Library Mustang photograph exhibition

NEXT STOP: JB-ANDREW the black Frisian, that was a BLM mustang...

Give him a big hand, he has carried the torch for more than a decade and he is also a LOVABLE LOCAL.

He was born on the public lands and rounded up as a youngster, brought to Canon City and eventually his training began. He then was adopted by Ginger and started a career as dressage horse. He proved to have talent and aptitude and is till today the only MUSTANG that has reached FEI dressage levels.. There is a breyer model horse, that calls him a Frisian and indeed that is what he looks like but only to those, who have preconceived ideas about what a mustang should or could represent.

 For more info visit: www.classicalequestrian.com

  

There is nothing like digging deep into a horses' mane and neck....

Ginger Kathrens visiting with Escalante, photo by Krisztina Gaylor

Rusty, Chisel, Veedawoo and Escalante ...where is the grass

Veedawoo, the little black one, comes from the Chocktaw horses in the Kiamichi mountains SE Oklahoma, 6 years old. Escalante, the grulla white on the right, comes from Oshoto Wyoming (www.cayuseranch.com , his father is Grey Eagle) 8 years old. Silver Chisel is 4 months old and comes from Redfeather Lakes and so does 1 1/2 year old Rusty. The IRON MUSTANGS will be travelling on the Flatbed, the other ones have to stand in the trailer.

For this event they all came out together to greet the audience and give a bit of HANDS ON THICK MANE....

http-::collegian.com:index.php:article:2010:11:111110_horsetalk 2

Here is the link to the full article, that drew over 150 people at the Behavioral Sciences at CSU for a presentation by Ginger Kathrens (www.thecloudfoundation.org) about the
"REAL NATURE OF WILD HORSES" on November 10th.
Present were also several local mustang-Advocacy groups:
The Winddancer Foundation (Michael Golembeski) :www.wind-dancer.org
Mustang Eco Tours (Gabriele Moritz) :www.mustangecotours.blogspot.com
Mustang Meet-up Group of Ft.Collins: www.meet-up.com (mustang-meet-up ft.collins)
Sandwash Basin Wild Horses (Nancy Roberts): www.sandwashwildhorses.blogspot.com
Lourie Zipf Photography: www.louriezipfphotography.com
Iron Mustang Artist Dwayne Cranford: metal2sculpture.com
Mustang Adventure Rider Guenter Wamser: www.abenteuerreiter.de

Escalante greets the audience at Behavioral Sciences...Iron Mustang in the background

Escalante and Veedawoo at the CSU Behavioral Sciences event

Two of MustangEcoTours members got to go to the event at the Behavioral Sciences of CSU on Nov 10. Here depicte Escalante, as he greets the audience with the beautiful sculptures of Rusty and Chisel by Dwayne Cranford in the background. For more info, go to www.collegian.com and search: Ginger Kathrens (Nov 10th)

Rusty and Chisel will join Ginger Kathrens at Behavioral Sciences Ft. Collins

Rusty and Chisel, two over life-size sculptures by local Redfeather Lakes Artist Wayne Cranford will be joining the life mustangs during the presentation of Ginger Kathrens at the University of Colorado on Nov.10th. Cranford, who has been travelling the country with the two animated mustangs, will have them on display before they return to their winter pasture along the rock outcroppings of the artists home. You will be able to see them from the road (74E) travelling towards Redfeather Lakes on the left side past gate 6 on Glacier View Meadows or go to : www.metal2sculpture.com

ANNIVERSARY OF CITIZEN INITIATIVE "Ft.Collins Mustang Meet-up"

About a year ago, 5 of us joined forces to start "Ft.Collins Mustang-Meetup" a citizen initiative for the preservation of the American Mustang. Most of us had been involved with one aspect or another of the mustang issue and felt it was time to organize, update and illuminate the current controversy.

We studied the issue, interviewed the US Geologcial Survey, participated in a letter writing campaign, organized protests and travelled for a summit to Washington. We witnessed several round-ups, joined other mustang volunteer organizsation that monitor and improve the WildHorseRange, we visited the Canon City Correctional Facility WHIP (wildhorseinmateprogram).

We participated in the MustangHeritageFoundation Extreme Mustang Makeover, launched a MustangEcoTourism project and several associated educational websites and blogs. (Winddancer Foundation).
In the spring we followed a call for help in the Blackjack Mountain (Kiamichi) SE Oklahoma, and then wittnessed the atrocities of the Nebraska 3 Strikes Ranch Mustang Killing.

With the focus on our Local Colorado Herds, the Little Bookcliffs, the Sandwash Basin, we established Standing by visiting, wittnessing and claiming these horses for our individual lives and recreation. Under the Title "HERDWATCH" the public gained  insight and access to its natural resource. Radio interviews  and artistic events increased awareness and shed light on the educational and emotional potential of a "No child left inside" curriculum.

Nonetheless the aggressive Round-ups continued and thousands and thousands of Mustangs were added to the 35 000 already in permanent feed-lots. Senseless death and injury to the animals. The demand for disclosure and transparency continues.

The voices grow louder and with todays event we reach out and hope to increase interest and awareness in our work.

...to get carried away...

...the story goes, that women love to get carried away and therefore they worship horses....to be carried away to a far away place, where there is no away, yet a way to delay might be the reason. Now this would apply to girls too, and if so, where does this yearning stem from. Mythology and history tend to support the theory and yet it does not explain why the path leads to the horse...

INTRODUCING THE BITTLESS BRIDLE

With advances in training and technology, we are looking at different approaches to our relationship and work with the horse. Several issues need revisiting: HORSE SHOES - BRIDLES - SADDLES - general equipment and training styles. Also the conditions in which we keep our horses on a daily basis.

DON'T TURN YOUR BACK - THEY CAN SMELL YOUR FEAR...

Sensual acuity and self preservation, sound mind and body, PRESENCE. Being present. In the present... Mustang lore tells of horses, conditioned by the life in the Wild, that accomplished great feats against all odds and far beyond imagination...Let's give them a chance to display these wonderful traits.

THE ONE-TIME RIDE ON THE BEACH

Uncountable times I have heard girls and women utter the words: ONCE TO RIDE A HORSE ON THE BEACH ---don't they know you loose 180 degrees of riding at the ocean? There seems to be a magnetic attraction to the combination of SURF and GALLOPP, because of the quality of footing, the muffled sounds of the hoofs, the spring in the step, the closeness to the element that give birth to the unicorn.
The Once-in-a-great-Ocean-horse, the horse of the sea, swept away and washed ashore . Seashells abound, you can find some mustangs on some coastlines...where horses once have been and will be again.

MustangEcoTours and the Strawbale House...

When I lay my head to rest I want to be able to say: "In my life I have done right by ONE DOG, ONE CAT, ONE MAN and SEVEN HORSES..." If that does not sound like a good goal, let me in on the ones you have set surrounding your passion of riding horses and nature. They say: The world is full of venues and venues want to be travelled. We are so owned by what we own and the need to maintain overtakes the opportunities to enjoy the path...

RIDING WITH THE STARS UNDER THE STARS....

The extreme mustang makeover is followed by the supreme mustang makeover and now
"RIDING WITH THE STARS..." it could take on any shape or form:
1) Farmous Movie star riders participate in mustang trips
2) Knowledgeable horsetrainers work with mustang owners
3) Professional mustang trainers get paired up with amateurs to present a horse.
4)....Please fill in your idea.
It could be a televised event or a joint venture of both private and government organizations.

EXTREME MUSTANG MAKEOVER

The Mustang Heritage Foundation had their first 3 day Mustang Makeover in Colorado. The 40 horses and their trainers had been working together for 90 days, after coming out of Canon City Holding. They were 4 year olds, rounded up from different Herd Management Areas of the Country over the last 4 years. Some of them had been in Holding for years, some only months.
They 40 contestants were split into two groups with individual coaches. They competed in Trail, Cattle work and general basic training. The 12 Finalists had a chance to perform a freestyle. The criteria were technique, horsemanship and Artistic expression.
On the 3rd day all horses were auctioned off and all of them found a buyer. (Often the trainer him/herself)
For more detail, visit the http://www.mustangheritagefoundation.org/
http://www.blm.gov/
How does this event compare to visiting a wild horse area like the sandwashbasin or the Little Bookcliffs and see the horses in the Wild. Well, first not everyone can attend either or both events and for city people it is easier to go to an arena event. Then we see the horses interacting with their trainers and other people and that is a special experience. We see how versatile they are, how beautiful, we can touch them and many a girls dream came true this weekend, when they took THEIR FIRST MUSTANG home.
It will not be easy for them. And there will be disappointments and frustration, but that should not discourage you to think about the great opportunity to make a mustang you partner and friend.

EMMETT BRISLAWN/ one of the last stockmen

Here we are in Oshoto, Wyoming, birthplace of the Spanish Mustang Registry. Emmett Brislawn, whose father Bob Brislawn, a close friend of Marguerite Henry and many wild horse advocates of the 50, was a surveyor for the railroad and realized the value of the little horses that roamed Utah, Oregon, Nevada during those early years. In addition to the BLM mustangs, there are also numerous Mustang registries in the country, private breeding enterprizes, that  specialize or concentrate on a particular geography, geno-type, conformation, or characteristic of horse. Neil UiBreaslain , also a son of Bob once said, that indeed it was a competition for recognition to be the most primitive type horse. One differentiates between Spanish Mustang, Sorraia, Wilbur Cruce, Kiger, Cerbat, Colonial, Sulphur Springs, Choctaw, just to name a few...like Ian Tyson says in his song: LA PRIMERA:

"and he became an outlaw and his blood was watered some, but the flame still burns into the new millennium"

JUNE - Month of the Shining Horses

Horses In Art article pg. one

There are many talented photographers, artists and writers, that make their work about mustangs available in form of books, seminars and workshops. The photos in this article are by my friend Lourie Zipf, who accompanied me on several visits to Oshoto and other mustang ranges. For enthusiasts of wildlife and nature experiences, these are great opportunities to experience, observe and put under scrutiny the laws of  sustainability ....

Horses In Art article pg. two

MUSTANG MUSTS - THE WAILING WALL

It is important to LAMENT, to mourn and suffer loss. For every horse that suffers in captivity, another endures the hardships of nature. The Wild is not kind. Once we interfere, we take on a responsibility, but even before we are accountable for the conditions under which our creatures exist. A law, a law of protection, if not enforced by the citizens, it empowers, will have no longterm consequences. The morality of water is to seek wet places, to fill in any depression not to avoid any precipice.

FORGED IN FIRE - Managed in the WILD

Revisit the idea of WILD HORSES in Captivity. It has been proposed to have Sanctuaries, in which castrated, sterilized and disassociated mustangs are kept to be viewed by tourists. Undoubtedly those horses will have an agreeable life, but they will bequite different from what the original thought of protecting them in the Wild intended.

Der Schimmelreiter - zum Himmel schreit er

MONEY TRAIL

People say there is a money trail. "Follow the MONEY TRAIL". And you will find answers. Is this like Haensel and Gretel, who would drop bread crumps on their way out into the wilderness, so that they would find their way back in case they got lost? OR is it actual money interest that conflicts with the life of the horses out on the range? Who pays for the horses and who is responsible for their well-being?

GOLDESEL STRECK DICH...

IF the Burros and Mustangs on the range would have these great Stud Piles made of Gold, we would be out there collecting and gathering. But they are indeed of Gold, we just haven't looked close enough.

HORSEFEATHERS....

Sometimes we are wandering about the landscape and we stumble upon a horsefeather. "Now how did that get here" we think, and what about the strange tracks on the ground. We try to put two and two together but we just don't have the skills of the old trackers anylonger who were able to determine, who was there, when and maybe for how long and why. We take for granted what we hear and rarely do we do our own research, and yet that is exactly what makes for a wise decision at the end of a trial.

Take another look 3D - Gain perspective and trade familiarity

Let's look at other countries, maybe there are examples that can also apply to our land. Mongolia has some of the last horse based societies. Germany has a small herd of Duelmener Wildpferde in a heavily restricted and controlled environment. England has enclaves of Konik .Italy has a small area on the Coast north of Rome, the Marremma, Spain has a more diverse group of areas that still house feral horses. France has the Camargue horses in the south. Namibia has horses gone Wild, Australia has the Brombies, Canada has sections of feral horses. Mexico Argentina and Peru have probably the most original predecessors of our mustangs here. Comparisons are valid. Lessons can be applied.

Take a Moment - Have Sympathy

Assume that whatever is close to your heart, is not necessarily important to someone else. But just as you would request sympathy for your cause, you shall have the capacity to argue the OTHER SIDE....Argue the OTHER SIDE now...

Thinking outside the BOX...

Thinking outside the box requires imagination. To be part of the solution we will have to change with changing circumstances. Some are acceptable, others are not. The Horses belong into the WILD WEST, but are there any other considerations....We look at places where horses once had been and would be again.

3 strikes and you are out - HOLDING

The majority of mustangs are not out on the range but instead live their lives "IN HOLDING". That means they have been rounded up, processed, gone to 3 adoption events and then become a "3 Strikes Horse" . They get a U branded on their flank , that means Unadoptable, and get shipped to the east to short and long term holding facilities. Many foals are born and live their entire life in HOLDING.

HERD YOUR HORSES

Play a popular board game, in which the wild ones have to overcome obstacles to reach the greener pastures on the other side. They have to avoid mountain lion and bear, stormy weather and avoid being captured by the ranchers or through a roundup.. They also have to increase their family numbers and keep the other competing stallions away.

Bogs and holes in the path and lack of water and forage test their survival skills. 

A HORSE for every day of the Calendar

...There is no child left inside? Well, where are they. They are outside. Is the OUTSIDE where the healthy children are? Little Anna lived in the City, she loved horses but had only seen the ones in Central Park. Then she was able to adopt a virtual horse - a Mustang from the High Plateau of Wyoming. She carried his picture and learned about the band he belonged to. He was a 4 year old bachelor stallion, who had been raised by his sire and a group of 5 mares. He, his half brothers and sisters had learned all the things nature has to provide. Over a period of time he found himself less and less dependent on the band and then "He opened his mouth too much" and his father sent him on to fend for himself and carve out a life. That's when he joined the bachelors and that's when his picture reached little Anna . With it she received a calendar, on which she noted daily activities of the young stud as they were related to her through the internet. Then she learned that the horse was not virtual but actually existed, and that her pictures came from a person watching the herd. In the summer she decided to visit her Mustang and her family pulled the camper for a vacation to the Wild Horse Range. They set up camp and within hours she was out hiking looking for her bay stallion with the white blaze. No luck the first day. The next day she was guided to a waterhole and there she saw a small group of horses and amongst those was her...boy.

Pieces of the Puzzle - Emotion vs Science

In the eternal temporarity of the issue, who are the stake holders in the fate of the Wild Horses.

TRAVEL BY ALL MEANS -

You can do anything you want !!!!

Follow your dream. And figure out which dream belongs into the dream world - -which dream can be assimilated into a piece of art or writing and which dream you actually have to put your foot in. So if you want to be involved with wild horses and cannot train or ride or find  time to visit them on the range, maybe you can become involved by implementing them into your life through art, imagination or any other way. Some of my friends want to slow down their life and escape the city for a nature adventure or a way of life altogether. They ride the Continental Divide with 4 mustangs from Canon City, that are now already on the trail for the last 3 years. This young man rode on the predecessors of the mustangs from Patagonia to Mexico, then continued on american mustangs from New Mexico to the Border of Canada. Now, joined by his friend and partner, they will continue into Canada and to Alaska, where the might trade for Sled-dogs to continue. If you want to learn more, go to http://www.abenteuerreiter.de/

Other friends have found their passion in photographing wild horses in the designated wild horse areas around the country. It is a challenge and adventure just to find these horses, let alone, get close enough to photograph them. For more information go http://www.pamnickolesphotography.com/ or http://www.louriezipfphotography.com/ or visit the website for the bureau of Landmanagement http://www.blm.gov/ There are also friends who just love to document and visit with the horses and form groups to take care of them http://www.friendsofthemustangs.org/ and http://www.sandwashwildhorses.blogspot.com/

The Mustang LEDGERS

Late 2008 I started the Mustang Ledgers, travelling with mustangs around the country visiting Wild Horse Ranges, Sanctuaries, Individuals with mustangs, Prison facilities with Mustang training programs and also registries. I hosted the http://www.abenteuerreiter.de/ Guenter Wamser in his preparation for the ride of the Continental Divide on 4 mustangs with his partner Sonja Endlweber. The horses always evoke a sense of adventure and periphery and that is part of their attraction and capacity.

Here in the photo with me is Aragon, a spanish mustang, who has been my trusted steed for many years now.

If wishes were Horses - Beggars would Ride

In a perfect world, there would be enough room for all living beings and they would live in suitable conditions. A Wild Horse is not for Profit. No harvest, no Hunt, no exploit, no slaughter. After the round-up there are 4 places to go: Adoption, Holding, Correctional Facility and Mustang Makeover Competition.
Some mares do get to go back after being treated with fertility control. If wishes were beggars, horses would ...

Aggressive Measures

We can only improve, what we can measure

You are at a market in Australia: The bill is 29.75 Australians have long done away with their pennies, they are expensive to produce, they have little value and clutter the purse. So the bill is 29.75. They ROUND UP to 30. You pay 30. Next time when the bill is 29.49, you pay 29. Fair
BEFORE YOU ROUND UP OR DOWN YOU HAVE TO HAVE A NUMBER.
There are many scheduled WILD HORSE ROUND UPS (with consequent removal)-Yet we do not know the numbers.
And when we know the numbers we have to come to an agreement for improvement.

Until then and actually to facilitate a way of census and counting,  we shall take the promise that Wild Horse Annie made to the Wild Horses in 1971 and fullfill our obligation to go out and WATCH the HERDS -  be touched by the life of these horses.

Recently I noticed, that the horse is for the birds...precisely a bird of a different color. The blackbird hangs with the Whites, the blue-jay with the Roan, the Redtail with the other roan...? no the raptors are not part of the game.THE Grullas LOVE THE DOVE...

Ride and Ride and Ride all Day...

Ride and Ride and Ride all Day, make the sorrow go away, swallow bitter-sweet maroon, lay my head to rest, then soon, awake aware alert repose - what I have is what I chose / need to face what facing needs, and what needs facing burns and bleeds. can't ignore your call to arm, harm the fear and fear the harm
ride and ride and in one sweep..

fell the heated brain and sleep............

Dangerous on both ends-Rough in the middle

There are Long-riders and Short-riders, long-legged eventers and adventure striders... we've browsed and bred horses for any imagineable desire, specifically conformed for the task.
Can a mustang jump, does he have cow-sense, are his feet right to run endurance. Can he do dressage, pull a cart and work at liberty. The answer is YES, " born with what's needed" a friend once said and Will James called his mustang "Big enough". The answer is YES, Yes yes... so,  why do we breed, if nature provides us with the genetics and free upbringing of a sustainable versatile and very trainable horse, that indeed often is a natural ambler and most comfortable..

"MY WOUND IS GEOGRAPHY"

"My wound is Geography" Marlet said, as she swung on her coyote dun to take it down to the waterhole. We've come to love this land and we claim it for mind and body and we take with it the Fauna and Flora, the Wild and Feral. The senses don't worry about periodic tables, and the waters stayed, they hated stairs...I find a little black filly, a looking glass into the inner workings of this world...I call her silhouette, she has not much to say, but when I try to hold my breath she takes my breath away. What if things come to an end, the Mustangs get thinned out so they deteriorate and slowly decay and disappear? Will the children cry virtue or virtuality...

PRAISE THE TALL but saddle the small....

Once upon a time there were millions of mustangs roaming the lands of the Great Americas.

They had come from the Geography of the Old Country by way of Explorers and also seemed to relate to the primitive horses of Mongolia and landscapes alike. Tarpan, Przewalki, Huzul and Konik...just to mention some of the many names these horses wore along the way....Sorraia, Galician, Maremmana, Camargue, Duelmener- all gold berg variations of the same theme: ........fill in the blanks.
Historic chapters ago...Human migrations with people of all color and culture moving along Inter Continental Trails Camino Reals , taking along those prized animals and goods.