Last year I was so blessed to have one of my most amazing adventures ever. I was able to spend the day in the semi-remote Northern California/Northern Nevada high desert to try to find one of the most distinctive wild horse herds in America, the Carter Reservoir Mustangs.
Past Alturas on Highway 395 and then East on 299 past Cedarville lies the beginning of the Carter Reservoir Herd Management Area (HMA) controlled by the Bureau of Land Management.
Before we get started on this adventure, I want to drop some important links regarding these beautiful and amazing vestiges of the Old West.
The 100% most knowledgeable person/entity is Darice Massey and her non-profit, Carter Reservoir Mustangs, Inc. Please visit, like, and support her pages to benefit the preservation and documentation of these icons of American history:
You can also get some information - especially on wild horse and burro adoption - from the
And now, on with the adventure!
Most, if not all, of the roads here are just dirt - and the terrain requires high-clearance vehicles and often 4-wheel drive which Darice had. You can't just drive any old Honda Accord out here like I've done on other adventures onto dirt roads.
So I'm so thankful to Darice for driving and taking me around this beautiful, rugged country.
It was really an amazing day and so many things just fell into place. For instance, we went to our first spot where the horses frequently water and there were no horses to be seen. We did a little walk up to a ridge to overlook a valley with a watering hole, and...nada.
So we went back to a more main road and took another route. After driving down the new road for about 3 minutes, we see a herd right there!
The horse before in the center is known as the "Branded Mare" and this is her band. As you can see, she has a freeze brand on her neck which means that she had been captured by BLM and then somehow released back onto the HMA.
Somewhat evident in this photo are the unique markings that these horses still carry from their ancestors. Because this herd is located in such a remote area, some of their genetics can be traced back to the Iberian horses brought over by the Spaniards in the 16th century.
Some of the distinctive markings can be seen on the mares in the photo above. The Branded Mare is showing off her shoulder cape and the mare on the right has shoulder stripes.
All of these are from the "dun factor" which is in their genetic coding. But not all of the horses are duns. This dark baby is the Branded Mare's 2017 foal. Several months after our visit, this little filly was found on the range with a lariat around her neck. These beautiful horses are supposed to be protected and it is illegal to trap or harass them, but that doesn't stop some stupid humans.
Darice had told me about this gorgeous boy with a very unusual mane. Words couldn't really get across how very beautiful and unique this guy's coloring is! It's a cross between blue steel and the light green sagebrush of the range.
What a beauty! Darice named him "Blue Steel" and it's quite fitting for this supermodel mustang.
Another gorgeous chestnut but with a chestnut mane this time.
Unfortunately, life can be hard on the range and this beautiful mare had a colt in 2017 that didn't make it.
According to the BLM, the mustangs in this herd are a little taller than your normal mustangs - reaching 15-16 hands. They have such gorgeous lines!
And next we have a study on the beautiful dun markings on these amazing creatures.
Look at the babies!
More babies...
But unfortunately, it's not all sunshine and happiness.
The government wants you to believe that there are too many horses for the rangeland. That's because they want to keep on good terms with the ranchers who pay a piddling amount to use these public lands that are supposed to be set aside for these wild horses.
In addition to rounding them up and sending wild horses to slaughter in other countries, they keep shrinking the land that comprises the Herd Management Areas, causing hardship on the horses.
They say they breed like rabbits, but what they don't tell you is that many don't make it.
Take this handsome colt. Such a gorgeous Iberian face and strong dun markings. What a throwback to his Spanish ancestors! And yet he went missing just months after we took this picture and hasn't been seen since.
We as Americans should value our public lands and the animals on them more. Instead we let cattle ranchers claim the land and often they don't even pay the small amount they are supposed to. So the public lands are only for the ranchers and cattle...not the horses for which they are intended.
Sad.
Well, let's move on to our last equine model of this post - the band stallion! What an amazing creature this guy is! He was watching us closely and obviously deemed us to be little threat.
He slowly meandered towards the road, letting us get some fantastic photos!
He was so comfortable with us (because we were respectful and didn't get too close to the horses...I was shooting with a 300 lens and Darice has a 600 I believe) that he would stop to grab a bite to eat before continuing to walk towards the road.
When he did finally cross in front of where we were parked (at a comfortable distance so as not to stress him and the others), he was in no hurry.
This guy was a pro model. Stopping perfectly above a clump of yellow flowers for his closeup!
And with one last glance back at us, they were off to the ridgeline.
What a beginning to our day! And much more excitement was yet to come.
While you're waiting for the next post, feel free to look at the sites listed at the top of this one for more info on these animals and how you can help them. Carter Reservoir Mustangs, Inc. has so much information and interesting history about this herd. It's a fun rabbit hole to go down!
And, you can also check out my other wild horse adventures in Nevada last year by clicking the links below:
Enjoy!
xoxo
