Monthly Highlights
Volunteer Highlight
This month we chatted with volunteer documenter for the AWHC fertility control program, Matthew Bailey.
Tell us how you got involved in wild horses?
I started photographing the wild horses after first observing them while hiking in the Virginia Range just west of Fernley. My original intent while hiking was to capture the landscape of the range. Once I saw the first wild stallion on a hillside looking at me as I wandered by and my intentions changed quickly.
What is your favorite part of volunteering?
Learning about the bands is the most interesting part of volunteering. Even though I have been photographing the wild horses in the Virginia Range since 2006, I wasn't aware of the volunteer program with the AWHC until last year. Prior to becoming acquainted with the WHIMS database my knowledge of the various colors and the names of the facial features was practically non-existent.
Why are wild horses special to you? What do they represent to you?
The wild horses fascinate me due to the hardships they encounter. Their efforts to endure the extreme weather they encounter, as well as the distances they continually travel to locate water is amazing.
What is/was your day job?
I retired on April Fools Day. Prior to that I watched paint dry while working in the quality department of a paint manufacturer. The best part of the job was looking out the windows of our facility and observing the bands wandering in the USA Parkway area.
Do you have a favorite memory from the range that you can share with us?
My favorite memory was watching Smokey's band evolve over the years. I first saw his band by the gas station on USA Parkway in 2009. Shortly thereafter his band stayed along the Truckee River between McCarran Ranch and Ranch 102. I believe he had eight horses in his band when I first saw them. Years later it was close to double that. After his band split I would periodically spot him and a few others.
What other animals have you seen on the range?
I have seen pronghorn antelope and bighorn sheep during my time on the range.
Okay, aside from horses, what is your favorite animal?
Other than the wild horse my favorite animal on the range is the bighorn sheep. They are fascinating animals to observe.
If a theme song played every time you go out on the range, what would your theme song be?
All These Things That I've Done by The Killers is a song that constantly plays in my mind. It tends to creep into my mind several times a month while I am out and about.
If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?
BBQ Tri-tip would be a meal that I could savor everyday. My cardiologist would have other thoughts about that choice though. I have had to change my diet a bit since I had a double bypass in 2010.
What’s the next place on your travel bucket list?
North Cascades National Park is our next destination. We will visit there when my youngest step son gets married in Bellingham in July. After that our next choice is Morocco.
Matt attending a legislative hearing (and Wild Horse Connection volunteer LIsa) and his trusty Jeep that gets him out to the range.
Always together - Bonded Mares
By Deborah Sutherland
Since their band stallion died from an injury, mares Ainsley and her daughter Tahula along with Genevieve manage to stay together no matter which band stallion they are with. And they’ve been with a few as they came into a new area to them as the “new girls” in town. During the springtime band shuffles this year, they have been the most fought over mares on the range!
When I first met these three mares it was early winter and they were traveling with their bay roan stallion Frost. The four of them were walking down a dirt road and I didn’t recognize them because Frost had changed colors during the cold winter months and looked like a plain bay instead of a bay roan. I had only seen Frost a few times last year but I was able to identify him by his right hind sock. I learned that Frost had acquired Ainsley, Tahula and Genevieve last fall from another stallion and that the mares had been with several other stallions before Frost took them. I thought his three mares were very beautiful and I watched them for a while as they headed for a higher part of the range and hoped that I would see them again soon.
However, I was informed a few weeks later that Frost had shown up on a different part of the range and that he was pretty beat up and had lost his “girls”. We wondered which stallion had taken them this time and to our surprise a few days later, we found the girls were with Nate! Nate is an appaloosa who was severely injured last summer stealing another stallion’s mares, but he soon lost them due to his injuries. Many months later Nate had healed and was on a mission to get a band of his own again. After Nate stole the girls from Frost, he was seen for several weeks “snaking” Genevieve, Ainsley and her daughter Tahula in order to keep them as there were other stallions on the range who were also trying to steal them.
Nate did his best to keep the girls, but just a few weeks later I saw Ainsley, Tahula and Genevieve with the young bay bachelor Turkish! I watched Turkish as he snaked them around for a few weeks trying to keep them away from Nate and other stallions who were also after them. It amazed me that the three girls were still together after so many stallion changes.
Just a few weeks after Turkish won Ainsley, Tahula and Genevieve the girls changed stallions again! I saw the handsome chestnut stallion Samwise, who already had a band of his own, parade them across the field soon after he stole them from Turkish. Again the three mares managed to stay together! They seemed to be accepted by Samwise’s mare Oro and her few month old filly.
However, we all wonder if Ainsley, Tahula and Genevieve will manage to stay with the older and more experienced band stallion Samwise or if they will soon be stolen by another stallion.
A few weeks after Samwise acquired the three girls I found them resting under the shade of big trees with Samwise standing guard over his band. Within just a few months of knowing Ainsley, Tahula and Genevieve they have changed band stallions four times but they have always managed to stay together.
Will Samwise keep them? Stay tuned! The three are still highly sought after and as we go to publication, the pursuit continues. There may be more twists and turns in store to share next month!
In Memory of Firecracker
By Deborah Sutherland
To know Firecracker was to love him, he was a survivor. He started out in life with several obstacles but managed to survive them all and lived a happy healthy life, wild and free.
He was born in July of 2018 to Excaliber Momma but a few months later she died leaving Firecracker orphaned. (AKA Little Orphaned Andy by the locals). He was born a very small pinto with the most unique markings and he didn’t get much bigger even though he was almost five years old and ran with a band of bachelors on the Virginia Range.
At the time of Firecrackers birth, he and his dam were in Goldie’s band who also traveled with Flashy’s family. Both of these stallions and family members took very good care of Firecracker when he was growing up. He was usually seen bringing up the rear of the family line as they traveled. Since he was small he walked slower than the rest of his family and his usual position was in front of Goldie or Flashy at the end of their line where they could help him if needed. In the canyon I often saw Flashy or Goldie give Firecracker a nudge as they walked up the mountain when he couldn’t quite make it on his own. Even though he needed a little extra help sometimes if he lagged behind Firecracker would always catch up. He was very much a part of these two family bands. One day I even saw Firecracker running around calling out for them when he lost sight of the bands but they called back and he finally caught up.
In August of 2019, I was so surprised when I saw little Firecracker standing in a field all alone and his bands were nowhere to be seen! I’m not sure how or why he was alone but I know that they weren’t separated by choice. Something must have unexpectedly happened and he was orphaned again.
This part of the range is right against a rural area with small ranches. Even the locals who can regularly see the horses out on the hills, and learn to recognize family bands, were cheering little Firecracker on. He was the underdog everyone was rooting for.
A few days after that, I saw some horses on a hill fighting, which was several miles from the empty field where I saw little Firecracker standing alone. I watched a fight between a mare and a stallion and saw that Firecracker had made it all the way to that hill and the stallion was trying to “adopt” him but the mare didn’t like that one bit! The stallion continued kicking the mare trying to keep Firecracker and shortly the stallion was successful and Firecracker was then part of their little family of four. I later learned that the stallion was Long Hair and his mare was Hidden Marble who had a filly, Val. Long Hair went on to gather more family members over the years and Firecracker remained with them until he finally became a handsome bachelor who was often seen with two other bachelors, Waco and Holden. Holden was also in Long Hair’s band at the time Firecracker was and I was very happy to see them together again.
Sadly on May 31, 2023 Firecracker was found on the range with an injury that he could not recover from and he had to be humanely put down. His life was a story of survival, overcoming the odds and living wild and free on the range. He and the family bands who cared for him over the years are an inspiration to all of us who knew and loved him. Rest in peace “Little Firecracker”, we will miss you.
