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Tuesday, October 29, 2013
A Gray Colt for Calamity Jane
Martha Jane Canary, "Calamity Jane," lived when the West was still very wild and stories about her -- even the autobiography dictated to a writer of her day -- are probably as much tall tale as truth.We do know that Jane was fearless on horseback. We know she worked as a scout, leading troops of cavalry soldiers across the mountains and the range. We know she used good sense and backwoods medical skills to save an encampment of miners during an epidemic. And, we know where she is buried. Last month, I walked up a hill in Mount Moriah Cemetary in Deadwood, South Dakota and gazed at Calamity Jane's grave and felt a tug at my heart or maybe my imagination. The wild cowgirl who rode "like an Indian" had been without a horse for so long and I had a toy colt in my briefcase. I ran back to the car, found the little gray and sprinted back to Calamity's grave. It wasn't up to me to name the gray colt. I left him for her and hope that someday, someone, will do the same for me. 
Read more about Calamity Jane but remember, legends loom larger than truths about a girl who dared things that females of her time simply did NOT do! Labels: Calamity Jane, Deadwood, grave, gray colt, Mount Moriah Permalink to this blog post Posted by Terri Farley @ 6:19 PM 0 comments  
Monday, October 21, 2013 TEACHERS SHOW MORE BRAVERY THAN LEGISLATORS 
I taught in the Washoe County School
District, a few miles from the school where Michael Landsberry died, but proximity isn't the point. I felt this same rage, sadness and empathy
when teachers died in Sandy Hook.
Don’t tell me Landsberry was in education for extra days
off. A teacher who faces the muzzle of a
gun, arms spread to protect the children at his back, is not thinking of summer
vacation.
Don’t tell
me we should arm teachers. Teachers protect kids ; we don’t shoot them. Witnesses
say Landsberry died as he tried to coax the armed student to talk, not shoot.
Teachers listen, connect and yes,
protect students.
How many more children have to die before
legislators do the same?
Labels: gun control, Michael Landsberry, Nevada, school shooting, Sparks, Sparks Middle School Permalink to this blog post Posted by Terri Farley @ 4:49 PM 0 comments
Thursday, October 17, 2013 Wild Horses: next best thing to freedom 
Dear Readers, I've never touched the three wild horses under my protection. In my dreams, I see them roaming their ancestral lands again, someday and I don't want them to think humans are their friends. It's a far-fetched hope, I know, but they don't need my touch
Here's what we think: http://bit.ly/H0J73w Permalink to this blog post Posted by Terri Farley @ 12:04 PM 0 comments
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!
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 !  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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