One last “top shots” video recapping my 2020 photo year. Today, I look back at some of the mammals that I photographed. From the tiny American pika to the massive moose, I was fortunate to spend time with some pretty amazing creatures. Two new animals that I had never photographed were highlights including a suburban bobcat family and the wild #horses of Sand Wash Basin. All images taken here in Colorado.
No sharing of the water hole
The stallions at the Sand Wash Basin Herd Management Area in northwestern Colorado don’t always play nice with each other.
On this day, the red mustang had brought his band to a watering hole for some refreshment. All was quiet until the white guy made an appearance, something that did not sit well with the leader of the other band. He quickly chased the interloper off, both thundering right by my wife and I.
It was truly an impressive display and a great demonstration of just how fast and powerful these wild horses are.
Wild horse watering hole reflections
A throwback to the end of May when this pretty mare, her foal and two other horses paid a visit to this watering hole in Sand Wash Basin. She was kind enough to step gently into the water, barely raising a ripple, allowing for a nice reflection to be cast as she started drinking. The water wasn’t calm like this for long as her friends soon joined and then another band came along and chased them off entirely.
Are you ready for some football?
Are you ready for some football? The countdown is on in Broncos Country with kickoff four hours away. Go Denver Broncos! Let’s ride!
Band on the run
If the dust on the horizon hadn’t been a clue as to what was coming toward us, the sound of dozens of thundering wild horse hooves certainly would have been.
Our late May trip to the infamous Sand Wash Basin Herd Management Area was something I was looking forward to and it did not disappoint. These impressive animals have adapted well to the wild over the past few hundred years and are a great photo opportunity.
Here, one of three bands is seen racing toward a watering hole in a very impressive display.
Stallion on the run in black and white
Such an amazingly handsome horse for #WildHorseWednesday.
This is apparently Tuscarora, a gorgeous gray stallion. A couple of years ago he apparently controlled one of the largest bands in the Sand Wash Basin Herd Management Area.
Oh how the mighty have fallen.
During our visit, Tuscarora not only found himself without a band, but he was chased off by three separate bands that wanted nothing to do with him. Here he is seen fleeing from Hurricane, a competing stallion that actually stole away one of Tuscarora’s daughters.
A special note of thanks to Heather Robson for providing all the info about Tuscarora.
Wild horses race for the watering hole
This was part of a band of horses that was racing two others in Sand Wash Basin in northwestern Colorado. My wife and I had spotted a cloud of dust on the horizon and knew that meant horses on the move. We hurried along, working our way to a point to intercept them.
It was awesome watching them thunder across the terrain throwing up dust, their manes flowing in the wind. With so many horses running by on both sides of us, it was hard to know what to try to focus on for pictures.
I opted for the horses that were coming over a slight rise behind us and captured this shot of three adults and a young one. By then the air was already filled with dust from other horses that had raced by but I think it somewhat adds to the image.
Stallion delivers devastating blow to opponent
A fun few images for #WildHorseWednesday.
We were watching a small band of #horses at Sand Wash Basin as they drank from a watering hole. Along came a second stallion, apparently intent on trying to steal away a mare or two. The lead stallion was having no part of that and headed out to meet the challenger on the field of battle.
Heads down, they pounded the ground with their hooves. Wasting no time, the leader turned around and delivered a solid hit to the challenger, lifting it off its front legs and sending it back.
Realizing it wasn’t up to the task, the challenger gave up and the two combatants bowed their heads as if to honor each other’s efforts in battle. A pretty impressive scene and a showcase of the power of these amazing animals.
Wild horse mare leads her foal to the watering hole
That little one may have been smaller in stature than the adults in the band but it did one heck of a job keeping up.
On our last day at Sand Wash Basin, we saw a cloud of dust in the distance and knew it had to be horses on the move. We hurried to get a view and it wasn’t just one band of horses but it was three in a row, all racing to get to a watering hole.
This afforded for some fun captures including this one. Let me tell you, having 40+ horses race by you is a pretty darned thrilling thing to see!
I figured now that I have all these pics, we can call it #WildHorseWednesday. 😉
Mustang stallion surveys its domain
This morning I shared some action with these beautiful wild horses, now let’s look at the calmer side of things. This handsome fellow was out on his own, taking a nice stroll across the northwestern Colorado landscape. This gives you a nice look at the rugged terrain and the vast openness of the land that these horses call home. It was quite beautiful.
