Challenge of the Stallions E-Book

Ginger Kathrens

• Herausgeber: CompanionHouse Books
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Seitenzahl: 175

Beschreibung

An extraordinary view of the wild horse bands in the Rockies' Pryor Mountains like you've never seen before, Wild Stallions of the Rockies chronicles the life of the leader stallion, Cloud (1995-2016). This remarkable account details his reign among the wild horse herds in the Rockies, as well as both his immediate family band and rival bands that occupy the same region on the Montana-Wyoming border. You'll see the predators, both human and animal, that challenge the stallions' survival, plus the fighting between bands for power, family, and territory. Phenomenal photography gives you an up close and personal look at the feeding, foaling, and freedom of these wild horses, and interactive QR codes grant you access to exclusive and stunning video from its companion PBS Nature documentary series, Cloud: Challenge of the Stallions. This fascinating standalone book that emphasizes the mission of saving and preserving the wild horse bands in the Rocky Mountains is unlike any other Cloud book available. One-of-a-kind and truly special, Wild Stallions of the Rockies is an absolute must-have for anyone passionate about these stunning wild animals.

Leseprobe

For Raven, who invited me into his mysterious and beautiful world and taught me the value of freedom and family. There will never be another like you.

For Sitka, lead mare extraordinaire who took care of Cloud for as long as she could.

For Dusty, who inspires me every day to prevent the senseless death of any wild horse.

And for all those wild spirits who roam in my memory and my heart.

Challenge of the Stallions

CompanionHouse Books™ is an imprint of Fox Chapel Publishing.

Cloud Foundation Project Team

Editor: Anni Williams

Additional Editorial Consultants: Makendra Silverman, Ann Evans, Christine Ferguson

Designer: Kyla Umemoto Grantham

Fox Chapel Project Team

Managing Editor: Gretchen Bacon

Copy Editor: Sherry Vitolo

Designer: Joe Rasemas

Copyright © 2023 The Cloud Foundation and Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Fox Chapel Publishing, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

ISBN 978-1-63741-273-2

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023937631

Additional photographs reproduced with permission: © Living Images by Carol Walker, pp. cover, 36, 44, 55, 58, 65, 71, 100, 105, 117, 145, 146, 149, 150, 152, 153; Thomas Homburg, p 15; Ann Evans, pp. 15,21, 27, 35-36-37 (BG), 60, 67, 70, 90, 93, 136-140 (BG); © Deb Little, pp. 16, 24, 55, 56-59, 58, 59, 64, 74, 75, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 95, 96, 98, 102, 111, 113, 129, 130, 131; © Pam Nickoles, pp. 106, 129, 134, 137, 141; © Makendra Silverman/The Cloud Foundation, pp. 23, 68, 73, 80, 83-85, 90, 92, 99, 100, 110, 112-114, 116, 118, 120, 122-125, 139, 140, 143-145; Nancy Cerroni/The Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center, p. 29; Tony Wengert, pp. 148, Back Cover “Racing the Wind”; MillersReflections Photography, Back Cover-Ginger, Trace, and Connor.

A Word of Thanks

This book was made possible through the generous help of Front Range Equine Rescue and Marian Jo Souder. Many of the photographs in this book were donated to The Cloud Foundation by these talented individuals who care about preserving wild horses in the wild: Ann Evans, Thomas Homberg, Deb Little, Jody Miller, Pam Nickoles, Makendra Silverman, Carol Walker, and Tony Wengert.

I would like to thank WNET in New York City for funding the Nature series on PBS; and for helping to bring Cloud’s life story to viewers around the world.

Author’s Note:

While a number of my journeys into Cloud’s home were solo adventures, many trips were made with friends and colleagues who have greatly contributed to the making of the Cloud books and films. You know who you are and I hope you know how much I value your dedication, hard work, companionship, counsel, support and love. Happy Trails to you always!

This book has been published with the intent to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter within. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the author and publisher expressly disclaim any responsibility for any errors, omissions, or adverse effects arising from the use or application of the information contained herein.

Fox Chapel Publishing

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We are always looking for talented authors. To submit an idea, please send a brief inquiry to [email protected].

Contents

Introduction

Cloud Family Tree

Maps

Chapter 1: Winning Velvet

Chapter 2: Dancing in the Arrowheads

Chapter 3: Sole Survivor

Chapter 4: Renewal

Chapter 5: Meddling with Nature

Chapter 6: Cycles of Life and Death

Chapter 7: Dusty’s First Day

Chapter 8: The Buckskin Colt

Chapter 9: The Bait Trap

Chapter 10: Winds of Change

Chapter 11: The Hideout

Chapter 12: Flint’s Challenge

Chapter 13: Rain

Chapter 14: After the Storm

Chapter 15: Fathers and Sons

Chapter 16: Courting Firestorm

Chapter 17: The Showdown

Chapter 18: Shadow

Chapter 19: The Winter Search

Chapter 20: The Hell ‘n Gone

Chapter 21: Sykes Discoveries

Chapter 22: A Brief Affair

Chapter 23: Cloud’s Image

Chapter 24: Children of the Wild

Chapter 25: Cloud, the Stallion King

Cast of Characters

Glossary

Introduction

Scan the QR code to see Cloud and the other horses in action and turn to page 154 to find out how you can help The Cloud Foundation.

Author’s Note: This book covers five years (June 2003 to August 2008) in the life of Cloud and the wild horses of the Arrowheads.

It is a sunny morning on May 29, 1995. Movement in the dense firs catches my eye and I pan my camera. The young palomino mare, Phoenix, emerges from the forest—a pale, spindly-legged foal tottering by her side. He is nearly white, and I name him Cloud.

I had no idea then that the trajectory of my life had forever changed. For the two decades since I’ve followed Cloud and the horses of the Arrowheads, bearing witness to their triumphs and tragedies through the seasons of their lives.

In Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies, I watch Cloud grow from a leggy foal to a powerful band stallion. As a precocious colt, Cloud played with yearlings and flirted with the filly foal, Velvet. By the time he was two, his father, Raven, had enough of his outgoing son and kicked Cloud out of the band. The young palomino officially joined the ranks of the rowdy bachelor stallions.

When Cloud turned four, he left his bachelor friends and began to dog the stallion Mateo. Cloud was determined to win one of Mateo’s mares and Mateo was determined to run Cloud off the mountain. In the end, Cloud gave up—lame and bloodied with winter coming on.

I wondered if I would ever see Cloud again. But the following May, I spot him! He looks lean, determined . . . and all grown up. Later in the summer, Cloud does win a mare in a quiet moment. An older female has a sickly foal and Cloud stands by her side. When the foal dies, Cloud stays with the mare. In that moment of stillness, he becomes a band stallion.

Cloud: The Wild Stallion Returns follows Cloud through his life as a young band stallion, determined to add more mares to his family. It also details the birth of a palomino colt that I name Bolder. The colt is born to the black mare in Shaman’s band—he is obviously Cloud’s but will never know Cloud as his father. In yet another remarkable turn of events, Cloud wins Shaman’s lead mare, Sitka. Shortly thereafter, she gives birth to a grullo colt that I name Flint. He is Shaman’s son but will only know Cloud as his father

I look back to that unforgettable day—May 29, 1995—when Raven and his family brought pale newborn Cloud out of the trees and in front of my camera. Many of the events I describe in this tale, Challenge of the Stallions, were set into motion in the year leading up to Cloud’s birth.

That year before, in March of 1994, my sister, Marian, and I got up before dawn to try to find a wild horse band in the Arrowhead Mountains on the Montana and Wyoming border. We were on a location scouting trip for a Wild America film about mustangs, and we had heard about the birth of a new foal in a band led by a black stallion named Raven. Despite our total lack of experience with wild horses and our complete lack of knowledge about the area, we set out to find the foal.

As the sun rose over the Bighorn Mountains, we saw a black stallion eating snow at the base of a red butte. Nearby, a pale gray, newborn foal walked in the sage with his buckskin mother, two other mares, and a yearling. I knew we had found Raven and his family.

In the months that followed, Raven and his beautiful trio of mares opened their world to me. For some strange reason, they allowed me to travel their well-worn horse trails with them and to discover what being a wild horse is all about. I learned that they value their families and their freedom above all else. Like a sponge, I soaked up as much knowledge and understanding of the horses as I could in this one, brief, magical summer.

I also learned how the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages wild horses on our public lands. As a result of a BLM roundup that Fall, two of Raven’s foals died along with wild horses from other family bands. It was hard for me to believe that creatures so beautiful could be treated so cruelly.

The BLM also captured many of the band stallions. They planned to sell them so that younger stallions could participate in the breeding. This, too, boggled my mind. Although I’m not a trained scientist, I understand the skill, courage, intelligence, and physical prowess it takes to become a successful breeder in the wild. Removing the very stallions that had proven their ability to pass on these qualities to the next generation was a terrible idea. Had the BLM never heard of survival of the fittest or natural selection?

With the help of Trish Kerby, a wild horse lover and area resident, we were able to convince the BLM of this error in judgment. They released all the band stallions—all but one that is. The BLM had promised the dun band stallion Shaman to a Wyoming outfitter who planned to use this proud and dominant stallion as a pack animal. BLM called me to ask if I thought Shaman should go to the outfitter.. “It’s your decision,” they said and I replied, “Set him free.” They released Shaman the next morning.

If Shaman had gone to the outfitter rather than back into the wild, the remarkable story that follows, featuring him, Cloud, and the drama of the wild family bands of the Rocky Mountains, would never have happened.

The BLM freeze branded Shaman in preparation for his sale to a Cody, Wyoming outfitter..

Cloud Family Tree

This abridged family tree shows many of the important players in this story. There are many other horses within Cloud’s family band that are not included here, and we encourage you to visit The Cloud Foundation’s website to learn more about Cloud’s family and all the other wild horse family bands of the Rocky Mountains.

Chapter 1

Winning Velvet

The distant, unmistakable screams of wild stallions pierced the fog atop the Arrowhead Mountains … and I followed their haunting calls. Another shriek echoed through the misty pine forest, and I hiked faster. At the edge of ancient limestone cliffs, I looked down through a fast moving veil of clouds into a teacup-shaped meadow. Two horses emerged from the fog.

The wild stallions slid to a stop and faced off against each other, standing upright on their hind legs. Like boxers in a super heavyweight bout, they struck at each other with their front hooves. I recognized both stallions immediately. One was a slender bay bachelor who had broken his pastern (the horse version of our ankle) years ago but learned to run again with barely a limp. The other was a compact red roan band stallion I have known since he was a foal. It was Cloud’s brother, Red Raven, fighting to hold onto his two blue roan mares, Blue Sioux and Adona.

Red Raven lashed out with his front hooves, then swiveled, screamed in anger, and delivered a kick to the ribs of the taller but slower bay. Red Raven’s mares continued grazing, hardly paying any attention, confident that Red Raven had everything under control. The older bay was testing Red Raven and he got his answer. If he wanted to win a mare, it would not be from Red Raven who would fight to the death to hold onto his small family. The bachelor reluctantly backed away.

Mares with newborns were coming into heat.

Red Raven’s family is one of over 30 wild horse families in the Arrowhead Mountains of southern Montana. Each family is also called a band. The male leader of the family is the band stallion, and he has one or more mares as well as their young offspring.

It was early June and the snows had receded on the lower ridges. Many of the bands had traveled uphill, following the greening grass. The first good high elevation grazing is the lovely round teacup bowl surrounded by dramatic snow-rimmed cliffs. Typical of this time of year, mares were foaling and coming into heat, setting off a frenzy of stallion activity. Band stallions were on high alert. At any time, a bachelor or band stallion trying to steal their mares might challenge them.

The fog gradually lifted, and I was excited to discover other horses in the bowl. Near a huge snowdrift below the cliffs, I spotted Cloud’s palomino son, Bolder. He had turned two years old just days before. Bolder sported the last of his dead, whitish winter coat, but I could see his golden color emerging. And he was still with his stepfather Shaman, the mares, and a newborn foal.

Shaman grazed near the mare and their baby. I had admired the mighty dun stallion for nearly a decade. He was fierce in battle, but nurturing with his mares. Three years before, Cloud had stolen a black mare from the injured band stallion Plenty Coups. As an immature five-year-old, he was not yet strong enough or savvy enough to hang onto her when challenged by a dominant male like Shaman who stole the mare. But before Shaman stole her, Cloud bred the mare … and the golden colt in the valley below was the result of that brief encounter. And so, Bolder was born into Shaman’s band and knew no other father than this powerful yet gentle stallion.

As I watched, I noticed Bolder sniffing Shaman’s mare who was with the new foal. The palomino lifted his upper lip and inhaled, a behavior known as flehmen. The mare was in heat and Bolder could smell her intoxicating aroma. Surely, Shaman had seen him too, I thought. I anticipated that he would discipline Bolder. Instead, he turned his head away and yawned. “Strange,” I whispered. When Cloud was not yet two, his father Raven had kicked him out of the family to eliminate any competition for breeding rights. I knew of two sons Shaman had kicked out as two-year-olds. What was so special about Bolder? I wondered why he allowed him to stay, and why Bolder wanted to. At this time in his life, he should be with other bachelor stallions, practicing the fighting skills required to one day win a mare.

Bolder lifted his lip in a behavior known as flehmen.

The sun rose higher over the snow-covered Bighorn Mountains to the east, burning off the last of the fog in the bowl. The sunlight glinted in Shaman’s amber eyes as he looked up. We both heard distant shrieks. Just over the big hill, beyond the bowl, stallions were fighting and the battle sounded serious. I started hiking, excited to find out what was going on.

When I crested the hill, I saw Cloud and his band. The pale palomino I had followed since his birth eight years earlier now grazed beside his blue roan lead mare, Sitka, and her two-year-old son Flint. Sitka had been Shaman’s lead mare in 1994 when I first ventured into their world. In 2000, Cloud somehow stole her from Shaman. I can’t imagine how he pulled this off, but he did. When he won her, the mare was already pregnant. And the following July, Flint was born into Cloud’s little family.

What a strange and surprising turnabout! Cloud and Shaman ended up raising each other’s sons. And how ironic it was that both two-year-old stepsons were still being tolerated in their stepfathers’ bands.

As I moved closer, I saw Cloud staring intently at bachelors circling a family band. Sitka, too, looked up from grazing as if realizing that something ominous was about to happen. Not just one bachelor stallion but six young males pursued the stylish dun stallion, Prince, and his band of three mares, a pair of two-year-old fillies, and a new foal. The aggressive bachelors circled the family like a pack of wolves, testing and assessing the weakness of the stallion. I had never seen this kind of behavior before with so many bachelors appearing to work together to shatter one family band.

Prince looked thin and tired.

Prince dipped his head low to the ground in a behavior called snaking and drove the mares away from the bachelors. Then, whenever Prince turned to fight off one of the bachelors, the others moved in, driving his mares away. Prince would react by racing back to intercept the team of bachelors and recover his mares. I didn’t know how long this contest had been going on, but judging by Prince’s bedraggled appearance, it must have started days before. The lightly built stallion looked thin and tired; yet, he was gallantly hanging onto his family.

Standing with his band in the midst of the melee, Cloud went back to grazing. That the bachelors did not attempt to steal any members of his family told me Cloud had matured enough to discourage potential challengers.

Then, without any warning, Cloud’s head shot up and he galloped off. He had noticed that Prince’s dun mare had moved a few steps from her band, and he charged full speed toward her. Just as he moved in to drive her away, Prince dove at him, biting at his rump. Cloud whirled, kicked at Prince, and then shot out after the rest of Prince’s band. But before he could cut out a mare, a black bachelor jumped him. As Cloud fought off the black, he realized that two other bachelors were making off with his unattended family and he raced back, driving the would-be thieves away. My head was spinning as I tried to keep up with the pace and complexity of the action.

Prince gallantly hangs on to his family as Cloud watches.

Then, without any warning, Cloud’s head shot up and he galloped off.

Cloud and his band settled once more into grazing when I spotted a dun bachelor driving the two-year-old black filly in Prince’s family in the direction of Cloud’s band. Cloud watched the dun and the filly closely. When they raced by, he attacked the terrified bachelor who pivoted, running for his life with Cloud on his heels. With the dun in full retreat, Cloud hurried back to the filly, easing her into his family. The nervous filly whinnied for her mother. I knew the filly’s mother well. She was the blue roan mare in Prince’s band.

Eight years before, a black filly had come to visit Raven and his trio of foals, which included two-week-old Cloud. As the only foal in her small band, the filly may have been lonely and wanted a playmate. She ventured to within a few yards of the band. When little Cloud saw her, he lowered his head and laid his ears flat against his head, imitating the snaking behavior of adult stallions he had been watching so carefully. But instead of leading her closer to him as he expected, he ended up scaring her away. At first, I named the filly Black Velvet. In time, she roaned out … her black body hair mixing with white, giving the coat a bluish appearance. As she developed into a blue roan color, I began calling her just Velvet.

Cloud whirled and kicked out at Prince.

Cloud positioned himself between Velvet and the rest of the band.

Now, I was watching the grown-up Cloud as he focused his attentions on the lovely adult mare Velvet. He had captured her black daughter, and I believed he knew he had a chance to win Velvet, too. After all, she would want to be with her daughter and vice-versa. This might give him the edge he needed.

In a bold move, Cloud left his band and raced toward Prince, surprising him with the speed of his attack. They scuffled briefly before Cloud darted away, positioning himself between Velvet and the rest of the band. He bit at her rear and she burst into a gallop, squirting liquid as she ran. Velvet was in heat.