Horses

I know, I post lots of pictures of horses.....so, here are a couple more.   They aren't pictures of the fancy, pampered, well fed, oiled and painted Arabians of a few weeks ago.  They're wild and free.

a new foal and its ma

We had a few more errands to take care of today, both were in Fountain Hills so we took the beautiful route instead of the freeway.     We took Usery Pass Road to the Bush Highway, past Saguaro Lake.    I was hoping to catch a view of the wild horses that live in this area and also check out a few small roads running down to the river.

not all are beautiful.....

We hit the jackpot, at least the jackpot in my book.    We turned off the Bush Highway onto Butcher Jones Road heading toward what I hoped was the lake or the river.

The road ended at a lovely swim beach and then back around a shady, grassy picnic area.

Our last day here is tomorrow so, if its still in the high 80's, we'll be back for lunch and perhaps a swim.

a yearling, deep in sleep

A small herd of yearlings and mares were taking a siesta right in the midst of the picnickers.    The horses seemed oblivious to us talking and laughing and photographing their afternoon rest.   They appeared to be in good shape, the land is apparently doing a good job of supporting their numbers.

These horses are owned by no one.   There are about 100 of them in the entire Salt and Verde River valleys and, as you might imagine, are the source of much controversy.

 The powers that be say they are a danger to the motorists, they are disrupting the natural riparian habitat, etc. etc. and had planned a round up and removal.    Due to a groundswell of negative public opinion that "solution" has been tabled for the time being.

Another group proposed "darting" of the mares with a birth control chemical to reduce their numbers.

I'm not sure what the future holds for these beauties, but I hope they are still here,  grazing peacefully,  next year when we return.