Finding wild horses can be tough. Consider this: in Sand Wash Basin there are a little more than 250 horses on about 160,000 square acres. In White Mountain and Little Colorado there might be 300 horses left post-roundup (if we’re very, very lucky) on almost a million acres.
It’s challenging, but not impossible. With a good vehicle, advice from friends/locals, and a pair of binoculars, horses invariably will show up. You’ll see juniper horses, rock horses, horse-shaped antelope… but eventually a speck will show up and it will be clear that this time, this time, it really is a horse.
But alas, intrepid readers, the horse finding woes are not over yet. Oh no. From there, one has to find a way to get to those little dark spots sticking out in the sage. I hope you like to hike.
It was a refreshing little walk that led me to my first foal sighting of 2012. I had seen two bands not too far off from where my tent was sitting and I thought “Hmmm. Horses!” Now my father would point out that exact thought goes through my head about 731 times a day… but I digress.
A short walk led to Prince’s band! Prince and his family were all grazing peacefully. Hopscotch, an adorable little medicine hat filly, was a very pleasant surprise.