Sugarfoot

The horses have been elusive during this visit.  Perhaps it is because the mares have yet to foal.  We have found familiar bands, but they remain at a substantial distance. 

Today is our last day at Roosevelt.  To my dismay, we have yet to find what we call the Coal Vein mob, led by the white stallion who was limping so badly last fall.

The majority of the horses that we have seen closest to the road have been one or two young stallions that have banded together.  Last fall, we discovered two of these stallions, the big red stallion with one blue and one brown eye and his sidekick.  During this visit, we have only found the sidekick alone and roaming the park road past the Coal Vein trail turnoff. 

The horse is small in comparison to most of the stallions here and seems very lethargic.  Every time that we have spied him, he keeps his distance, yet remains close to the road.  We have seen him almost every time that we have toured the wildlife loop.  It has felt odd for him to have so little spunk and so small a territory.

Today, he was walking up the pavement as we traveled down it.  For the first time, he didn’t turn off into the brush when David stopped the truck.  I stepped out to photograph him, as always.  He walked right towards me. 

As he neared, I noticed that he was limping on his back left leg.  I lowered the camera to take a closer look.  Immediately, I discovered that his hoof was malformed.  The horse bowed his head, keeping eye contact, almost as if he were trying to explain himself to me.  He veered away from the truck and kept walking along the shoulder.  As he passed, it was obvious that his left hip was also underdeveloped in comparison to his right hip.

We have named him Sugarfoot.  He has survived another winter, an enormous testament to his perseverance in spite of adversity.  Bless you, Sugarfoot, and thank you for telling me your story.