“The Dead of Winter”
A January Trip to the Pryor Wild Horse Range, 2023
Kerry and I find a small dead bird beside our car on one of the first days we spend searching for Encore and her little daughter, WindsongThe beautiful bird is a Bohemian Waxwing, a bird rarely seen in my experience. They sweep through in flocks feasting on insects and berries.
Females and males are identical, so it is impossible to know the sex of this perfect jewel in the ice. I wonder how the below-zero temperatures that likely claimed the life of the bird had impacted the wild horses of the Pryor Mountains.
The focus of our search for wild horses centers on Cloud’s look-alike daughter, Encore. It takes us days to get our first, faraway view of the pale palomino mare. Encore shines brightly near a ribbon of snow below the dragon-like crest of rugged Sykes Ridge. Getting closer to Encore will require driving down the narrow, steep ribbon of dirt road that clings to the side of a mountain. That is only the beginning. Once down, we must climb back up the equally snowy dirt path known as the “high road.”
On a far (far!!!) mountainside, Encore forages with young Windsong. Photo - @TheCloudFoundation
The next morning, we decide to give it a go. Eagle-Eye Kerry finds Encore through her binoculars once again. Encore and little Windsong along with the young stallion Ukiah, are lower than the day before. They forage near a scary cliff edge that dives down toward the Bighorn Canyon. I peek timidly over the edge and then back up when I feel my legs getting shaky.
We locate Joseph some distance away from Encore. The big black stallion deposed Encore’s savior, the gentle stallion, Knight, over a year ago. Joseph claimed Encore.
The next day, we found Encore lower down the mountain. We decided to brave the snowy roads to get a better view!
I have no doubt that Joseph is the father of WindSong. But true to form, Joseph has failed to keep his small family together. His petite, quiet mare, Pilar, along with her foal, is with another stallion -- perhaps Stillwater, a flashy young red dun from the low country. Stillwater claimed them when Pilar’s filly foal was only a day old. Joseph made no move to stop him that we could see.
Tall, powerful, handsome Joseph is unlike any band stallion I have known. But perhaps Encore’s steady, quietly forceful personality may reform the handsome black? We watch Windsong nurse with Pilar and Joseph’s son, Ukiah, standing quietly nearby. Then we hike back to the car. We are being watched. A small group of mule deer takes time out from foraging to stare warily at us.
A mule deer watches our progress with great interest. Photo - @TheCloudFoundation
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In the morning, we head back to Colorado. But before we leave, I carefully release the beautiful bird from the ice and place it in a soft bag. Even in death, it is perfect. As a child, I wondered how wildlife could possibly survive the cold of winter. I still wonder and hope for the best.
Happy Trails Everyone!
Ginger