Steens HMA Week " Dibs" Challenge Painting #66

Today's Challenge Painting is of a young Steens bachelor stallion. He was named Dibs by the daughter of this week's guest blogger Tracey Westbury.  



"Dibs"
5 by 7 Watercolor
$45.00
by Linda L Martin Artist
SOLD



" When we made our first trip to the South Steens in the winter of 2008, we encountered the Hollywood Herd, and among them were two pinto colts who appeared to be long yearlings.  Katie stood quietly, and patiently made her way up into their space.  One colt stayed completely relaxed and continued grazing until she was 10-15' from him, at which time he simply turned and walked away.  She was determined to adopt him if he was among those gathered the following year.  She called Dibs.

When the South Steens was gathered in '09, Dibs was among them.  We spotted his photo in a friend's online album about a month after the gather.  We contacted the BLM, knowing that we'd be down for their special adoption event in February, but were told that Dibs was not there.  He was good looking enough, they felt, that he should be returned to the mountain.



Dibs and  Katie
in 2010
photos and references used by permission
copyright2010 Tracey Westbury



Katie was heartsick.  She knows what a rough life it can be for horses out there, and she didn't want to see Dibs hurt in battle, or worse, starving as an old, aged stallion in years to come.  When that day comes, it will be incredibly difficult for her.  But now, in the meantime, she's able to make trips with me to the South Steens to see 'her' wild horse.  In August of 2010 we found Dibs grazing with a bachelor herd.  He was huge...so grown up and filled out!  Katie again quietly made her way toward him, choosing her steps carefully as he grazed.  She'd stop and take a photo or two, then continue to approach.  Eventually, she was there.  The big pinto stood and posed for her, then turned his head to look at her.  As she stood looking into his eyes, he turned and faced up.  It was no more than a moment, and Katie took a step backward, 'releasing' him, and they both walked back into their respective worlds."

Tracey Westbury operates Mustang U, a non-profit for the purpose of helping make older gathered mustangs easier to adopt. You can read more about her work on her blog. http://mustangu.blogspot.com/

You can read more about the Steens on Mustang A Day Challenge News: http://mustangadaychallengenews.blogspot.com/2011/03/south-steens-week-on-mustang-day.html

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Paintings from the Steens HMA Week are available for sale. Each painting will be 5 by 7 inch watercolor offered for $45.00 each. A portion of each sale will go to Mustang U.  If you have a special  Steens horse that you would like to commission for the project please contact me through my facebook page: www.facebook.com/LindaLMartinArtist

Kiowa Bachelor Stallion Sand Wash Basin HMA Colorado MADC Painting# 17



Kiowa Bachelor Stallion

 Sand Wash Basin HMA

Oil on gessoed Matte board
$75.00

By LindaLMartin



Kiowa is a band leader at Sand Wash Basin. This does not mean that Kiowa is a band stallion. His band is  one of bachelors consisting of  4 other stallions in ages ranging from yearlings to adult stallions. However being a band leader doesn’t mean he is the top horse. That honor belongs to the head stallion in the band. Usually an older stallion who has never had a herd or who has lost a herd to other stallions.

In a normal healthy herd of wild mustangs the family band would consist of  mares and their female offspring ranging in age from 3years to new born and their male offspring usually ranging from 18 months to newborn. Generally the males are kicked out of the herd and join other bachelors that band together in a bachelor band. During this time of weaning the young males learn to fight by playing with each other, grow in strength and basically learn to become self-sufficient and also work together as a herd.



Photo Reference by Sally Wright



In a band the pecking order or hierarchy is usually determined by experience, age, temperament and the ability to convince all of the band members that you are to be reckoned with on each and every decision; from eating, to drinking, to where to sleep and all other important variables. The job of lead horse in a band usually goes to the dominant mare in a family. And this lead horse generally decides who stays and who goes, as well as other decisions. She may even decide when its time to move to better grazing. A Stallion with a very good and loyal lead mare will actually be able to go out and fine more mares because no matter who tries to steal his band, his lead mare will always lead the band back to the stallion.



This is surprising team work you can see illustrated in the Ginger Katherine’s series about Cloud seen on PBS.

While horse behavior is often very predictable, there is no such thing as a standard precedence in how relationships will play out. The only constant is that individuals in the herd survive and thrive no matter what because of the independent thinking and ability to adapt to their circumstances in the wild.  Imagine the surprise of the horse watchers at Sand Wash Basin HMA when they discovered Sparrow, the little yearling mare, had been adopted into this band of bachelor Stallions.

Sparrow, as you will remember from previous posts, is the little underdeveloped mare that everyone is concerned may not make it through the winter. Sometimes harsh are the elements that wild Mustangs thrive and face.  Yet in October of 2010 there she was in a video taken by Mustang Watcher Nancy Roberts.  Kiowa leads the heard into view followed by  Moon ,   Willie, Nick and then Sparrow being protected by the current dominant stallion of the band, Roper.

In a normal horse family band the stallion will take up the rear to protect the weakest in the group and make sure they don’t stray while the lead mare leads the family boldly forward. In this great video by Nancy you will see this protection behavior.

Again Kiowa is a major part of this ongoing drama of little Sparrow.

Notice how the two horses with the strongest personalities protect the herd and stand between the photographer ( possible danger) and the weakest member of their band. Had Kiowa been a mare then his foals would have been following right with him: a yearling, weanling and new born.
Special Thanks to Sally Wright for the Reference Photo and to Nancy Roberts for the Video Clip. You can read more about the Sand Wash Basin Wild Horses on  Nancy's Blog: http://sandwashwildhorses.blogspot.com/

Lightning of Sand Wash Basin HMA Mustang A Day Challenge Painting #6

Update 1/13/2015:
News from Sand Wash Basin HMA in Colorado - It was reported today that  a  BLM  representative found  that former band stallion Lightning had passed away on the range. According to The Sand Wash Basin Advocate Team it was believed that Lightning was at or near 30 years old. In the remaining year of his life was photographed  many times by advocates, with Picasso. Even in his remaining months, Lightning remained, as always, a beautiful spirited and free wild horse.

 ~*~*~*~



Lightning
8 by 10
acrylic on canvas board
$265.00
by Linda L Martin (c) 2010
Reference Photography via Nancy Roberts

Lightning is a very flashy black paint horse with  what appears to be a large white dagger on his face in the form of a blaze then a lighting mark on his left side neck and stomach. He has other white markings too. Lighting is a perfect example of the ever changing circumstances of the band Stallions. Last year, according to heard watchers at Sand Wash Basin HMA , he had a small band of mares and foals, however by this summer one by one each mare had been stolen by other stallions until he found himself alone and fighting  stallion after stallion to try to get his mares back, or even trying to gain a mare.



Lighting
detail of Photo by
Nancy Roberts

There are a lot of reasons that a stallion running wild might loose his mares. Sometimes it has to do with age and weakening strength. Other times it has to do with the fact that during breeding season, because there are so many bachelor stallions running together trying to establish their own harem's that a band stallion might be simply overwhelmed with the constant challenges and diversions.

I'm not sure of Lightning's age or how long he was a band stallion but it was surely long enough to have sired foals as several in his small band had not his color but similar markings of white.

By late summer, from document photography I viewed on Face Book, Lightning had worried himself and been fighting so hard for his mares that his condition was not very good going into the Winter. He was thin, an unusual occurrence among the documented horses on that particular HMA.  Finally, right after Thanksgiving this fall, he was spotted with a herd of bachelor stallions. He looked fit, had gained weight and he was sparing playfully with the others. Not only that but he was sporting a nice thick winter coat.

You will notice in the painting I've done for the challenge that Lightning has a lot of battle scars. This is not unusual for wild stallions.

A special thanks to Nancy Roberts for the photography and the link to the video of Lighting of Sand Wash Basin

 Just a side note on the video: This was taken when Lightning still had his band.

The two horses he is confronting are young bachelor stallions who are challenging him but are not up to a fight.