Onaqui Herd 050414

This is such a beautiful colt. She's so fluffy, and spunky. She kept jumping at her mom's face, and trying to bite it. Playful little thing.

Here are 3 of the dozen new colts in the herd so far. The 2 red ones are "brothers from another mother." They are so fun to watch. I only saw one other mare that seemed to still be pregnant. So I'll look forward to seeing one more little one soon.

On the move toward a watering hole.

These colts were so funny. They went at it for quite sometime, mimicking the fighting they must see around them everyday. 

Half-siblings.

This is one of the biggest stallions out there. And man has he been fighting. He's so scarred. There is breeding going on, and the stallions are all on edge. And they're lucky if they don't get injured by another male, or kicked in the head by a mare.

This is often how a fight breaks out. More than one stallion approaches a dung pile. They start to sniff it, and maybe...uh...contribute some of their own to the pile. It's all about marking territory, and displaying dominance. The stallions can be very ornery around these piles, posturing to one another, or fighting and doling out punishment.

I need to name this little colt. It's just so fluffy and cute, and has such a distinct face. I look forward to watching it grow up and establish it's own place in the herd and within its own band.

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In this spot, there was this big bare circle of just dirt and dust. Many of the horses took a roll in it. We were often shooting through clouds of dust, which sometimes looks cool, and adds something to a shot, or sometimes it ruins it. I like how this one turned out.

An intense fight breaks out between two stallions.

These colts are pretty amazing, rising to their wobbly hooves just minutes or maybe hours after birth. And before you know it, they're running with the herd.

Two of the most dominant stallions in the herd. The white one is a recently rising star. I've seen him running the entire herd around. He might be royalty out there, and I assume he is one of Gandolf's offspring. The buckskin on the right is one of my favorites. He displays more mustang genetics than most of them. I love his mask, and he is producing some great looking colts. These two got into a good chase and some fighting yesterday. I was actually surprised to see the white one making such a challenge on the buckskin. I wonder how long before he'll either overtake that harem, or round up his own.

This was just as we were leaving. The herd decided to head for another round of water at the watering hole.