Wild Horse Sanctuary

We tried to get into the Park for a Horseback ride but they were pretty booked so we decided to go down to the Wild Horse Sanctuary and take the tour

The Sanctuary was started by Dayton O Hyde.  He took unadoptable wild horses from the BLM and gave them a home on a 18,000 acres in South Dakota. 

A couple of mares and their colts.  Apparently there is a rogue Stallion running around out there.  They used to let the horses reproduce and sold the foals to help support the sanctuary but the bottom has fallen out of the Horse market -- it used to cost $2-$3,000 for a good horse but now they are being sold for under $1,000 or given away. 

The Bus takes you out to where the herds are roaming 

There is a Sun Dance Ceremonial place on the ranch as it is a spot where the Cheyenne rive flows in all 4 directions, North, South, East and West which the Lakota consider a spiritual place.  The sun dance involves 4 days of fasting and dancing sunrise to sunset attached to a pole by a rope connected to your chest by a sharp bone pierced thru your skin.  It is held at the time of the Summer Equinox and was the Lakota's way of thanking the Spirits for the Buffalo who give up their flesh for the Indian's survival 

We get to see Champagne and her foal (that darn mystery Stallion again).  Champagne was an orphan whose mother had been killed by a mountain lion.  She was light yellow with green eyes.  They brought her into the corrals where they had a wild mare who had lost her foal.  Champagne quickly found the source of milk and ignored the mares kicks until she finally gave up and let her suck.  Usually they let wild horses be wild but Champagnes color made her a genetic rarity.

But what beauties 

We stop and visit the wild Mustangs.  They used to be the American Mustangs from the others but someone left the gate open 

There is even a petroglyph site 

The horses seem to appreciate them 

The next spot we stopped at one of the mares came strolling over for some love and attention 

This one came up to me but wouldn't let me go so far as to pet him 

A couple of the horses seemed enamoured of the Bus, but I guess the diesel odor deters the flies and gives them some relief 

A beautiful day spent with beautiful animals.  We head back to Custer and find the usual traffic. 

Suddenly we lose our sunshine and we find ourselves in the middle of a Hail storm

When we reach the Park the sun comes back out so we attempt the Grace Coolidge Walk in trail which leads to Center Lake.  We manage to cross 3 streams but the 4th one is impassible so we head back home. 

There is a family reunion of 150 at the Lodge and they have set a large tent up across from our site, so we head into Town for a couple of beers at Pizza Works and listen to the live music at the 1880 Courthouse Lawn 

We get back home to find a bunch of kids under our awning rolling around on our Patio - I find it hard to believe how people have no respect for other people's space.  Glad we are off again tomorrow!

Till Later

Meanwhile we keep on Trek'n

Melissa and Gary