Wild Horses: Finding the Adobe Town Family Members at the Rock Springs Corrals
March 5, 2015Wild Horses: A New Adobe Town Arrival at Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary
April 6, 2015
Bronze Warrior and his mares
In September last year when I first saw a noble older wild stallion with spectacular spots leading his family in Adobe Town, my heart broke because I knew what was going to happen to them in a matter of days – they would be separated from each other and lose their home in Adobe Town and their freedom forever. When I called Manada Kalimian of the Cana Project, I was hopeful she could save a few of these horses from living out their days in holding pens or an even more uncertain future.
Snowfall at Sunrise
Snowfall and Bronze Warrior
A week and a half ago, six wild horses from Adobe Town that were rounded up in the Checkerboard Roundup and were held in Rock Springs, Wyoming arrived at Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, and families were reunited as they joined the four Adobe Town horses that had come from Canon City, Colorado in January.
Snowfall, Theodore and Diamond Girl
We arrived as the sun had just disappeared and needed headlights to make sure the gate to the corral was secured before unloading the six wild horses into the corral next to their family members. All of them got out of the trailer and walked into the corral, and with hay and water ready for them, I felt sure that they would be fine overnight, and I headed to the cabin.
The new arrivals just before dawn
Sabrina reassures Flurry
Just before dawn I was out to their corral, and I saw them standing together at the highest point, looking over the fence toward Bronze Warrior and the other three. Suddenly I saw Bronze Warrior’s head over the corral, and heard him calling softly to his mares. This is the first time he had seen them since October 1 when they were rounded up by helicopter and separated in the short term corrals. There was Gwendolyn, the 16 year old mare who had lost her baby just days before, her 3 year old daughter Flurry, and Sabrina the 16 year old chestnut mare. Although Bronze Warrior had been sent to a facility in another state, with amazing luck, the three of them ended up in the same pen at Rock Springs, and so at least they had had each other.
Bronze Warrior calls to his mares
Flurry and her mother Gwendolyn
Bronze Warrior looking over the fence at Flurry
Sabrina, one of Bronze Warrior’s mares
Storm and Aurora
Storm is a striking grey pinto mare who was either a sister or daughter of Theodore, Aurora is a gentle 15 year old Appaloosa mare who looks so much like Bronze Warrior that she has to be his daughter, and then there was the lone gelding, Sundance whose striking coat proclaimed him another Bronze Warrior offspring. He was 8 and so had been on his own for a while.
Bronze Warrior and Snowfall run as the mares enter the big corral
Stunning Sundance
Sundance tries to hold onto all 5 mares
I watched the horses for several hours that morning, and Sundance was trying to assert himself as the leader of the entire group of 5 mares. No doubt after riding in the trailer with them for 8 hours, he decided they were all his, and he was determined to keep them. He had been gelded about 4 weeks ago, but the testosterone clearly was still at work. It was an unruly group however, with Bronze Warrior’s mares eager to be with him, not this young upstart. We wondered if they would settle down if they could go into the much bigger corral with the other four.
Sabrina, Gwendolyn and Flurry
Sundance remained determined to keep all of the mares, despite their reluctance. Storm and Aurora had bonded together and seemed to content to let Sundance drive them around, but Gwendolyn, Flurry and Sabrina were having none of it, and kicked at Sundance and each other in frustration. They kept trying to sneak off when an opportunity presented itself while Sundance was eating hay.
The mares try to sneak away
Trying again to get away
Then Bronze Warrior approached them, and Sundance and he faced off, with some sparring. Bronze Warrior, at 22 was a veteran of many fights, and knew when to retreat and wait for another opportunity. The worst insult to Sundance was when Bronze Warrior walked away yawning, seemingly bored with the whole thing.
Sundance and Bronze Warrior face off
The challenge
The two stallions
Theodore had no interest in sparring with Sundance, and was simply intent of keeping Diamond Girl away from him. Snowfall, who is definitely a lover and not a fighter had no interest in conflict either.
Theodore keeping Diamond Girl away from Sundance
Theodore arches his neck as Sundance approaches
Snowfall has no interest in conflict
Snowfall tries to avoid Sundance
As things did not seem like they were going to settle down between the horses any time soon, I was concerned about Bronze Warrior and did not want him to get hurt by the much younger, but very determined Sundance. Susan Watt, the director of the Sanctuary had been having the very same thoughts, and she decided to see if they could split the group, leaving Sundance with Storm and Aurora, and allowing Sabrina, Gwendolyn and Flurry to remain with Bronze Warrior. As I headed out that afternoon, I was confident that Susan would make sure that everything would work out between the horses.
The original four together
Sundance, Storm and Aurora
Sabrina, Flurry, Gwendolyn and Bronze Warrior, finally reunited
I knew that I would be returning in a few weeks to witness the Adobe Town horses being turned out into one of the many huge pastures at the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary where they would be able to live freely with the other horses at the sanctuary.
Related Posts in this Story:
Part 1:
https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/blog/wild-horses-a-new-beginning-for-older-wild-horses-from-adobe-town
Part 2:
Part 3:
Manda Kalimian’s Cana Project:
The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, where you can visit the 10 Adobe Appys:
#AdobeAppys
19 Comments
I am SO glad to see them together again. Why is it so difficult for the people at BLM to understand that these older horses deserve to live & be free? Certainly is obvious that there is no attempt at doing whats best for the horses! At least these few can live out their lives in peace & have a place called home.
OMG—-This is Incredible.. Such Magestic wild horses!!! they deserve better!!
THIS makes me so HAPPY!!! Mu Heart is smiling… <3 🙂
Carol, I can’t thank you enough for all you do, and then to share the stories with those of us who only follow you. My heart breaks for these horses and I am so happy that the fight for their freedom goes on.
So grateful for beautiful people like you and for your dedication to these beauties. Greatly enjoyed seeing the pictures with your captions. It is a love story. Thank you for sharing!
My heart is tenderly touched by this update…so relieved to see these beauties free to a loving home. Leave it to God’s Nature to produce such beautiful and dramatic species…thank you so much for this wonderful journal and to the charitable hard working folks making it happen. God bless you!
THANK YOU!!! Your photos and determination give us hope.
Thank you so much for saving the Bronze Warrior and reuniting him with his family:-)
I love your photography and thank you for sharing it with all of us!
~Peace, Love, Light, & Abundance
Kelli Angel & Ceilidh
I had two horse when I was younger and when my husband got sick, it broke my heart to have to part with them since I had them from the time they were 10 month old. I made sure they went to a good home. I loved this story about your horse and pray for all the wild horse to be free as God intended. God Bless you and your work. I’ll be praying for you always. Rose
What a beautiful story. I love when the horses have happy endings or beginnings! And it is possible because of the selfless dedication of people like you. Thank you so much for your perseverance and love
Just….thank you….so much. for everything you’re doing for these beautiful, special & amazing horses. I’m still waiting to see Rocky again……someday…..i know he’s out there somewhere.
Thank YOU for ALL that you do and have Done!!
Your Photo’s are Beautiful & Beyond …..
Blessings as You Continue your Wonderful Work 🙂 🙂
Thank you so much! Ive read this story 10 times!
Bravo! Your photographs are beautiful, as are these horses. Thank you for all the hard work that went into saving them.
I really enjoyed the way you explained the dynamics of these family units otherwise I wouldn’t have known about their struggles and preferences, and what they might be thinking but knowing each one, and the struggle that you all had to face trying to reunite each of these horses back into a family unit, it made my heart so glad, and we who care are hoping for more of this, that at least these animals may live out their lives and stay with their loved ones, and life long friends, that they may have grown up with, thank you for a tremendous job, that sound like it was pretty darn challenging. You will be truly blessed as well, I am sure, as these animals are without a gift from God.
Thank you ,
again & best wishes,
Tricia
Thank you for these beaufiful photos and for letting me know the stories behind them I am so grateful for your work.
Thank you for taking care of these horses, spreading the word and sharing your photos and insight. It seems you found your place as a good steward of the wild horses on our earth. Blessings to you!
So Happy to see the pics of Bronze Warrior reunited with his family! The trauma the destruction of family bonds and the ripping apart of their deeply ingrained survival connections with each other that our government does to these sentient beings is atrocious and has to stop! So thankful that these wonderful wise and wild animals will move past the recent traumas of being chased by loud frightening sounds of a helicopter, wrangled and pushed around by scarey humans, torn from their families and kept in dirty unnatural disease infested metal bars. They all have lived through so very very much. I bet they stay very close to one another now that they are together again! Thank you for All the hard work that went into this. May many many more wild equine families be reunited or never turn apart by humans.
they are in good hands at the wild horse sanctuary,Thanks,Dayton for taking in these beautiful animals.>The sanctuary is a great place,been there several times.
Amazing,beautiful,touching. Thank you for your work regarding these noble horses.