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Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Calico filly's adventure: where was Sage?
Here's what probably happened next according to Dianne Nelson and Jill Broughton of Wild Horse SanctuaryWhen Ghost Dancer Sage were released together, we assumed they “headed for the hills”. It isn’t uncommon for them to head out and not look back – especially if they haven’t had much human contact and/or the contact has been traumatic.
Because I assumed that the mares would stay together, I
always kept my eye out for both of them with more emphasis placed on spotting
Ghost Dancer because her coloring makes her more identifiable.
We have a stallion we RARELY see. He’s a dark bay from the
Sheldon Hart Wildlife Refuge and aside from Phantom has been the most
elusive. I’ve been a regular at the WHS
for almost 8 years and just saw him for the first time last winter. I think I
mentioned that we were too far away and I didn’t have a camera but I thought I
saw a mare with coloring similar to Ghost. What I didn’t see was a sorrel mare.
Last summer I saw our older red roan stallions with his 2
grey girls and a sorrel mare. We were closer to the western boundary of the
property and the four of them were just hanging out under some shade trees. Because
they were just relaxing I left them be and didn’t approach.
Again, it didn’t occur to me that the sorrel was Sage because:
1. No Ghost with her 2. That stud had a sorrel mare before. I did note that
day, that the sorrel looked to be younger
That particular day we had gone off our normal trail ride
route and had stopped for lunch in a different location than usual. Since I’ve
been helping at the WHS, I’ve noted that he’s had a smaller harem than most of
the other stallions and he doesn’t come around very often. I recall feeling
happy to have found his hang out and that his girls looked good.
Without realizing it, I’d already found Sage.
Because of lighter rain fall this past winter and spring,
much of the natural grasses that are available in t remote parts of the
property have been consumed, forcing some of the bands that don’t usually come to the feed ground to come in.
So, now that I know who she is with, I can continue to
follow /track her. That is as long as they continue to come into the areas we
feed or ride through.
AND, that stud is older… not sure how old. It will be
interesting to see what happens – will another stud try to take the girls from
the “old man”? Who will Sage end up with if he passes away?
I do know she hasn’t foaled since she’s been at the WHS. I’m
involved in the sorting and during our first sort, mom’s and babies stay
together.
If her family didn’t come in at all in the past few years,
she/they would very likely have a yearling or a 2 year old with the family and
they don’t - just one pinto foal born this year that belongs to one of the
greys.
I believe there is a good chance Ghost is with that dark bay
guy from Sheldon. They are just terribly difficult to find. Dianne (Nelson) said
she just stumbles upon them once in awhile and although she knows the general
area in which he resides with his harem, they don’t have a set location where
we can count on finding them. I will keep looking for her!
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click the link below for
Margaret's photos of Sage & Ghost Dancer on their independence dayLabels: ghost dancer, Sage, Wild Horse Sanctuary Permalink to this blog post Posted by Terri Farley @ 11:16 PM 0 comments  
Monday, October 14, 2013 Elusive Calico Filly Found ! .jpg) Dear Readers, Do you remember Sage, the sorrel filly I adopted from BLM's disastrous 2010 round-up? She was part of the herd I observed to write my Phantom Stallion books. Sage was two years old when I loosed her and Ghost Dancer into the 5,000 fenced acres of the Wild Horse Sanctuary in Shingletown, California. Both mares seemed to disappear. Until now.... Subject: Sage???Hi Terri,Could this be Sage? I compared these to a photo you sent me. That pic doesn't show her legs so I'm not sure she has any white on her legs...but this resembles her very much, I think.The way her forelock "parts" in the middle" and the way the blaze closest to the forelock is shaped. It's difficult to tell for certain, tho. I noted that in the pics I've attached the part of her blaze closest to the muzzle/nostrils "comes in/narrows" more than it appears to in your photo.What do you think?Jill Broughton
Wild Horse Sanctuary, Volunteer Coordinator
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| photo of SAGE by Cat Kindsfather |
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| photo of GHOST DANCER & me before she left BLM's corrals, by Cat Kindsfather |
Holiday Hugs to you,
Sage, Ghost Dancer &Terri
* from my notes:
Seth Ely – paralegal, long braid and glasses is going to college at Great Basin College studying tribal law
Labels: ghost dancer, Phantom Stallion novella, Phantom the Protector, Sage
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 8:54 AM 0 comments
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Mustangs, wild horse helpers & VOTE on your favorite cover
Dear Readers, I hope you feel the September newsletter was worth the wait! My poor website designer was very patient while I kept adding things and disappearing out on the range between edits!
In this edition you'll see
>photos of Ghost Dancer & Sage tasting freedom for the first time since they were captured almost a year ago
>an interview with MAKENDRA SILVERMAN of the Cloud Foundation and find out why going to college really does prepare you for a life with wild horses!
>VOTE on your favorite of three PHANTOM STALLION covers
>visit wild Nevada & California through new web cam links
>ENCORE edition of Sam's blog!
COME VISIT, HERE: SEPT newsletter
Hugs to you and those you love,
Terri
Labels: Cloud Foundation, ghost dancer, Makendra, phantom stallion, Sage
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 8:27 AM 2 comments
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
From a friend of wild horses
Dear Readers,
I hope you'll enjoy the photos and notes from Margaret, a wild horse advocate from the San Francisco, California area.
Best,
Terri
Hi Everyone
I had the most fabulous weekend with Terri and her horses. Watching Ghost Dancer and Sage regain what was taken from them last winter was an awesome experience. To see Dancer and Sage turned loose in a 5000 acre field was inspiring.
I'm not sure what Dancer and Sage thought. They walked out and trotted a few steps. They sniffed and looked around together. Could it be because they thought we humans had another awful trick up our sleeves? Were we going to turn them loose just to bring them back in?
These two mares hung together not because they were tethered together but
for safety. There really is safety in numbers. Sage needed Dancer to tell her that it was okay.
Thankfully Terri was able to find a mare from the same HMA as Dancer who
actually was caught the same day. Could it be that they are mother and
daughter? I don't know. What I do know is they hung out because they knew
they could rely on one another. I wonder what that says about us humans? Wild horses can teach us so much if we just allow ourselves a chance to open up and listen to the still quiet voice.
For instance, about 20 minutes after they were turned loose, Dancer and Sage started back towards the pen they had just come from. Here they were out in the middle of a huge field and they came within 15 feet of me on their own! I was overwhelmed with gradititude that I was there much less a part of this big huge day for them.
I want Dancer and Sage to move on to having other horsie friends. To not need us. To be wanted needed and loved by their own. I hope that whatever stallion takes one will take the other. I hope for them long days with peaceful grazing, babies if and when that time comes. I want them to know that the other friends they make will never cause me to betray the love and compassion I feel for them.
Labels: ghost dancer, Sage, Wild Horse Sanctuary
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 3:50 AM 3 comments
Sunday, August 08, 2010
We're Going Where?
Dear Readers,
These two mares, born in the wild Calico Mountains, have traveled a long, sometimes sad road. They've run the range, drinking the scents of sagebrush and cool water of desert springs. They've fled helicopters, watched as their families were torn apart and listened as some died. They've been shuttled from corral to corral, from a Fallon feedlot to the Palomino Valley wild horse center and their photographs have been on the Internet in hundreds of countries.
This time tomorrow, they'll no longer wear red cords and tags around their necks and be known by numbers. Sage and Ghost Dancer will move to their new home at the Wild Horse Sanctuary and meet other wild horses.
The real Phantom Stallion lives there, hidden from human eyes, but I like to imagine them meeting him. Maybe they'll snort, flicked their ears and roll their eyes as they discuss the odd two-legged who got them there.
People have asked if the horses need financial help. YES, any donations would be most appreciated.
The Wild Horse Sanctuary has a button you can click here CALICO HORSES specifically for Sage and Ghost Dancer.
Or make a donation (both are tax deductible) to Wild Horse Mentors of Stagecoach, Nevada, the organization which will be gently trailering the Calico Mountain mares to their new homeWILD HORSE MENTORS
Most of all, we'd appreciate your thoughts and prayers for the safety of our wild horse journey.
Best,
Terri
p.s. if all goes as planned, photographer CAT KINDSFATHER, who took these photos last week, will be coming along to document the Calico gals' moving day!
Labels: Calico mountain horses, ghost dancer, Sage, wild horse mentors, Wild Horse Sanctuary
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 10:40 AM 4 comments
Friday, July 30, 2010
Auction Day: Calico Mountain Mustangs
Dear Readers,
Ghost Dancer will be traveling with me to the Wild Horse Sanctuary in California.
Shell Flower won't.
I'd never been part of ANY kind of auction, before (except fictional ones!), let alone an EBay style Internet auction, but my friend Anne advised me to hang back.
I made initial bids on Ghost Dancer and Shell Flower to make sure my computer worked on the Auction website, then waited 'til the last minutes of the auction to bid again.
That doesn't mean I wasn't WATCHING from the minute my eyes opened Wednesday, and I noticed (so did lots of you!) that a Texas bidder -- if you're reading, wow, you have fast fingers! -- had replace me as high-bidder on both horses.
My hands were shaking. My neck got stiff. I spoke harshly to Sherlock the cat when he sat on my lap and tapped the computer keyboard with a gentle gray paw.
And I worried. It wasn't likely, but what if the other bidder had Bad Intentions? I decided I had to make GHOST DANCER my first priority. At fifteen years old, she was listed as a sale authority horse. BLM discourages bidders from selling such horses for "commercial purposes" but she could legally be headed for out-of-the-country slaughter as soon as she was in the wrong hands.
BLM, in theory at least, is supposed to keep an eye on adoption horses like SHELL for a year.
But Ghost Dancer won't be traveling to California alone :) !
At the advice of a nice woman in BLM's Eastern States office, I picked a "safety net" horse.
I narrowed my choices down to mares no one had bid on.
Among them, I searched for one captured on the same day, in the same place as Ghost Dancer. I found her!
Little sorrel #0795, is now named Sage.
Hug your horses,
Terri
p.s. GHOST is 15 and SAGE is 2.
Who knows? They might even be mother and daughter.
Labels: Calico mountains, ghost dancer, Internet auction, mustangs, Sage, Shell Flower
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 5:09 PM 5 comments
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