October foal

I had noted in the last post about a young foal that we had found that had been born on October 14, 2011.  In its first day of life it had got into difficulty and if not for some human intervention it may have perished.  I had decided to go back out this past Tuesday to check on the little filly.  As I travelled into the area where I had last seen it, there was no sign of the herd it belongs to.  This concerned me because when I had first seen it, the young thing was very fragile and seemed to be in difficulty.

I started to travel around on some of the trails in the area looking for “Little Wonder”.  As I went up one road I saw some horses in the trees and became excited that it would be the herd I was looking for.  I got out of the vehicle and started to approach on foot.  I got another big and pleasant surprise, for there feeding in this small forest glade was “Socks.”  I had not seen him since he had lost his herd to a more dominant stallion, late last summer.  At that time he was beaten up and in my mind looked very forlorn.  He had been a favorite wild horse stallion of mine, that I loved to photograph.  Upon seeing him like he was, tough old me, cried tears of sorrow for him.  I had searched for him all winter and over the spring and summer of this year.  I feared that he may have perished over the winter.

Socks looked fine and he had another young  three year old stud as his companion.  As I photographed them they showed no fear of me and it seemed that he recognized me as his friend.  This was a thrill for me.

"Socks"

I continued to travel around the hills taking photographs of several herds of horses that I came across.  The wild horses are in excellent shape.  The foals, yearlings, mares and stallions all have glossy and ever thickening coats as they get ready for the winter to come.  In wild horse country the grass is still tall and plentiful and thus if the winter does get as bad as some are forecasting, then most of the wild horses should survive.

Looking good

After a time I headed back into the area where I had last seen Little Wonder’s herd a few days before.  Rounding a bend on the trail, there they were.  The foal’s mother is just a young mare, but I could tell right away that she had now accepted it and had become quite protective.  She started to lead it away from the human danger.  The herd mare did not like this and tried to stop her.  This did not bode well with the herd stallion, “Wastoh”, as he called her back.  She would have none of this and whinied at the foal’s mare to come back into the herd.  The stallion then allowed me another thrill then by doing what we call snaking his head and body in order to chase the rest of the herd to where Little Wonder had sought refuge.

The snake

It was an end to another great day in wild horse country.

Please remember our 2012 calendars are available online and we can ship anywhere in time for Christmas if ordered soon.

Bob.

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The colors of fall

Fall is upon us and it has been a glorious one in the foothills of Alberta that the wild horses call home.  The grass is golden and abundant, which adds to the scenic beauty of this range.  It can make for some wonderful photographs for those of us that love this time of year.

For the wild horses it is a blessing as they are able to build up their fat reserves for the winter yet to come.  All the horses that I have come across and photographed are in excellent shape with their coats thickening up quickly.  In some of the meadows I have ridden through the grass is still up to the bellies of my horses.  This is excellent as it will able the wild horses and wildlife that rely on the meadows to find forage over the winter months.  With forcaster’s calling for the coldest and worst winter in years to come, all of mother nature’s creatures will need a good food source.

I know who the mom is!

The wild horses are starting to come into their wintering areas and there you can find two or three herds living in close proximity to each other.  The stallions of a herd will tolerate this closeness only as long as the undefined boundary is kept.

As I have travelled along on the horse trails this fall, I have started to come across some of the herds that had found refuge from the bugs, heat and extra traffic that occurs in the summer months.

Deep in the grass

In these travels we have noted that this spring’s foals are doing extremely well and hopefully will be able  to survive the hardships yet to come in their lives.  Yet every once in a while we come across late born foals in a herd.  This causes me to worry about their welfare and ability to survive from both the cold and also the predators that prey upon the horses.

Such is the case this past weekend when we went out for another ride on our horses.  Here I met up with some old friends from Grand Prairie, Al and Bunny, who were also down for a week of riding in wild horse country.  They told of a foal that had just been born on Friday, October 14, to a mare in a herd we know quite well.  They had watched it the first day as the mare tried to move it along.  The little thing tripped going over some deadfall and became entrapped in the branches and twigs.  It could not get up and the mare and the herd started to move off.  Al and Bunny intervened, walked up to it and untangled it.  Once on it’s feet it tried to attach itself to Bunny, but being wise in the way of horses, they both backed off slowly.  The herd came back and the young thing joined back up with them.

This Sunday after a glorious ride exploring some new trails I found the foal close to the area they had found it in.  There it was, still a little wobbly on it’s legs at three days but being able to keep up to the herd.

New born

I managed to see that it was able to suckle on the mare for a short time, which is good because we had been worried it may not be getting enough milk.  Mom, however, is in excellent shape and the other mares are very watchfull of it.

Mom is on the far side

I am going to travel out west Tuesday to make sure it is still okay.  It is in an area that will easily allow me to keep a check on it’s growth.

Bob.

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WHOAS Booth

In September at the Spruce Meadows Equi-Fair, during the Master’s event, WHOAS had an educational booth set up to inform the public that attended, about the wild horses of Alberta.  In addition to our new informational brochures, we had frig magnets with our contact and website information on them to hand out.  Thanks to some local artists, we also were able to sell wild horse ceramics, exclusive wild horse paintings as well as some of my framed photographs to raise funds.

All of us that attended to the booth on behalf of WHOAS were quite pleased by the reception from those that dropped by for a visit.  Lots of questions were asked and the video that we played was well received and watched by everyone.  We truly believe that it had a positive impact in favor of the wild horses.

WHOAS at Spruce Meadows

We will also have a similar booth during the Spruce Meadows Christmas Market, November 18-20 and November 25-27, 2011.  This is to allow us to spread the word about our wild horses to a different audience.  At this though we will also be able to sell our fund raising 2012 calendars.

2012 Calendar

Calendars are now available for $25.00 which includes postage and handling and can be ordered by writing to WHOAS, Box 70022, Olds, AB., T4H 0A3.

Bob.

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WHOAS is happy to announce that the 2012 calendar is now available.  This year we have added pictures and pages for November and December 2011, in order that they can be hung on the walls right away.  The calendar features 14 photographs along with a narrative about what was happening when each photograph was taken.

Attached are some of the featured photographs.

The calendars will be at the same cost as in previous years; $25.00, which includes postage and handling.  To order your copy please send your cheque or money order to WHOAS, Box 70022, Olds, AB., T4H 0A3.   

Bob

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