"Peace"
This is also one of Running Bear's mares. I wasn't able to get her identified, so I've just titled the photograph "Peace" because she seems so at peace, even with her ears perked forward and looking at something. It's truly a peaceful feeling to know these wild mustangs live peacefully, protected, and with at least part of their herd from the range where they were rounded up. Bear's herd is from the Sulphur Springs area, which is "one of the few to be able to claim direct Spanish Heritage. The pure Sulphurs are of Spanish origin, based on phenotype and blood-typing. Many have distinctive dorsal and leg striping, and resemble the horses painted on cave walls dating back to 26,000 B.C.E., along with their Portuguese Sorraias, their Spanish cousins (Dr. Sponenberg, Virginia Tech).
These horses received their name for the area where they are found, the Sulphur Springs Herd Management Area in the Needle Mountain Range of Southwestern Utah. Return to Freedom has two family bands in our Sulphur Springs herd. One is led by Chief, a magnificent dun stallion, the other by Bear, a stunning grulla stallion." -- quotes take from Return to Freedom's web site.
This photograph was taken on May 20, 2019 at Return to Freedom's Wild Horse Sanctuary location in Lompc, in California's Central Coast region.
For more information on the Mustangs living in sanctuary, visit the Return to Freedom website.
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