Impulsive Moment...

Call it an impulse buy...call it a reflex...call it an accidental bid. All are true! In fact, they are so true that the Kiger community have begun calling her Impulse.

City Boy seems to be somewhat smitten with her. She's no Lefty, of course (no one ever will be), but there is something to her, something that gives a hint to a sweet lady who'll take you down the trail without complaint. It will be fun to see how she progresses.

We had one more day in Burns; a day without Kigers or wild horse corrals. We were heading up to the mountain again in search of more wild ponies. This time, rather than heading down past the water hole, I pointed toward Burnt Car Rd (so named for the burnt car at the end of it), and City Boy turned the Dodge to the right and headed up the hill.

Burnt Car is where Darling and I first met the love of her equine life...Dibs. My, how long ago that seems! It's where we met and named Honor, Sox, and Darling Calls Dibs. Who else was there then? Cascade was there; so was Golden Boy. Bird, Gunner and Raven, all later gathered and adopted out. Last Cry was there...we hadn't known it would be the only time we'd see him. A friend photographed him last year and he was a walking skeleton...so sad. But mostly our memories of that hill are good ones.

But as we drove, I think the others had their doubts about this new direction. Up on the horizon, though...what was that shape I saw? I studied, quietly from the back seat, not saying anything until I knew for sure. Horse on the horizon!

She? He? I haven't a clue. It stood like a sentry overlooking the valleys on both sides. We climbed slowly over the knoll, and up ahead we spotted our friends Cortez, Noelle and Holly walking up from the shaded region below. Yet off to the left is where my attention was diverted. Horses I'd not met before, though at least one who's been spotted by a couple other photographers now and again. The elusive silver bay...

He is not one known to tolerate company. He has charged a photographer. He runs his herd off. And he is definitely not one to be spotted with the rest of our well known cast of characters. But on this day, he didn't charge, and while they didn't stick around long, it was long enough to get some lovely shots of him and his band.

Another sentry, posted at the opposite end. A black horse reminding me so much of Sox on my first visit...young, not quite enough seniority to join the band. He paced the ridge, looking down below, sensing and seeing danger approaching...

But the danger he saw was not us. It was Cortez, the lovable rascal who's always in scrapes and fights with every stallion he comes across. The elusive Silver Bay and the rest of his band moved silently out beyond the tall grasses and disappeared from sight. Cortez and his ladies, however, did not seem the least bit fazed by the goings on of the horses on the ridge. They simply marched on up the hill, pausing to look at us, then continuing on their journey.

I told you they paused to look! Holly stopped at stared at my father for the longest time before following her mother and stallion up the hill. It's so hard to believe that Holly is just 18 months old. Look how tall that girl is! I swear she's at least 15 hands already. And pregnant...she looks very pregnant.

Down below to our right we could see more horses, so we trekked the half mile or so across the desert and got some good shots of some dear friends, including a mare who's stolen my wild side heart...Delight! And look at that new baby of hers! Delight lost her foal last year. We don't know what happened to it, but after a couple of months, it disappeared. We sure hope that doesn't happen again. Delight is in Golden Boy's band still, and there are a few pinto babies...but Delight's by far is the cutest!

We walked back to the road (well...gravel excuse for one) and started back the way we came, very happy with finding such a nice couple of bands. That's when I spotted more ears. Majesty, One Eared Jack, and their band were quickly spotted, and we made one more stop to snap a few more photos. We'd seen these horses two days before, but one can never have too many wild horse close encounters, can one? Another vehicle had stopped to talk to us when we pulled over, saying that Cortez had been by and fought a bit with Jack. When I started looking at photos once we were home, I thought Jack's eye looked a bit odd. I blew it up to get a better look.

Well, this is definitely not right. There'd been no trouble with it two days ago, so this was likely from his close encounter with Cortez. The other stallions do not like Cortez, but Jack is the most willing to engage in battle with him, it appears. And this time he seems to have come up short. The injured eye is normally blue. Not sure when I'll be back down to see if that eye heals up or not. If it doesn't, he'll not only be one eared Jack, but One Eyed Jack, as well.

Poor Jack...