Squaw Butte Back Country Horsemen May 2007 by Robbin Schindele There are approximately 640 wild saddled up ready to go. Mike The morning of Saturday May 5 th horses and burros in Idaho. Idaho's Becker was saddling up. Pulling in was sunny with a light wind wild horses are descendants of right behind me was Erica and blowing as we loaded our horses. domestic horses that escaped to or Cally Webb and after them a rig The wind and temperature made were turned out on the public lands with two women familiar we you glad for a jacket and wool shirt prior to passage of the Horse and hadn’t ridden with before. So those with a wild rag and gloves covering Burro Act in 1971. During the Great astride stood chatting while the the gaps. The smell of coffee filled Depression in the 1930's, many remainder saddled their animals. the truck cab as we headed north farmers and ranchers released their All horses today, not a mule in out of Emmett on van Dusen Road. animals onto public lands because sight. We were headed for wild horse they couldn't afford to feed them. We were in the bottom land but the country, specifically the Four Mile So Sally and I and a few other wind was picking up and Herd Management Area. SBBCH riders were going to go see occasional gusts made the willows some of these wild horses and and Aspens sound off. I waited for report to the BLM wild horse Sally to get on first, sometimes her specialists what we saw and where gelding can get a little rowdy if he we saw them. Simple task but thinks he’s being left behind. The success was far from certain. With four women were still saddling up a ratio of land to horses at one as I rode around the trailer to join horse every 273 acres we might the bunch. From the snatches of miss’em all together. conversation I heard no one knew The meeting place was the bridge quite where to go. Mike Becker across Big Willow Creek. Big The four mile is one of the six herd Willow is a year round creek with management areas in Idaho. It has plenty of grass along its edges and 18, 032 acres: approximately15K parking for probably twenty rigs. federal, 1100 State and 1500 private. The camping is good there and it is The appropriate management level a very popular spot come hunting (number of healthy animals the land season. can sustain) of this acreage is 60 BY the time we got there Rob head. The current herd estimate is The Bobs Howard Adams, Terry McDonald the Bobs 66 animals. Howard and the Buthmans were Squaw Butte Back Country Horsemen May 2007 This spot is a junction of Four Mile open so we left it that way and us. There was enough wind and Big Willow roads, Four Mile started climbing into the hills. though. People were holding onto and Big Willow Creeks. Big Willow The country was still spring green, their hats and shivering in the goes north, Four Mile west. I had the bunch grass healthy and fresh. strong breeze. The horses were all driven both roads but never ridden Able to see the hillsides back turning so their backs were to it. here before. The consensus was towards Big Willow now they The Howard’s took off leading us north, so I rode off that ways. looked positively lush. As we all towards the horses. We Everyone was onboard now and climbed the wind continued too as dropped into a draw out of the they followed Poncho and I from a well. It was strong and harsh, horses sight and kept traveling up. ways back. We didn’t go far before slicing through every tiny crevice The draw provided a little I knew it was the wrong way. Big and slit in your clothing. As we protection from the wind so that Willow road follows the creek reached a small flat we bunched was a plus. We wound around the bottom, on the left there is nothing up. People’s faces were pink with side of the hill about a half mile and but steep hills with the occasional wind chill, Erica Webb had covered stopped again. There above us steep sided, tree and shrub clogged her ears, Calli was shivering in her about 3oo yards were more wild ravine cutting through them. NO quilted jacket and I saw old Bob horses. way to get higher. Howard shrugged down into his It was a small band, we saw five coat, holding his hat on his saddle adults horses. They saw us and horn for fear of losing it. Everyone started up the hill. Seemingly out of grabbed their hat at some point that nowhere up jumps a foal. The day. trailing horse stopped and waited We were about half way. We as it caught up , nuzzled it on the started out and spread out people neck and sprinted away to catch the picking their own way up the steep others, the foal following, kicking hillside. Some on “a kind of a trail,” up its heels and running in spurts. others just meandering through the They soon disappeared over the hill sagebrush. Most of us were top. Erica Webb working our way up by switch- Four Mile follows road follows its backing what looked like the creek bottom too but the land to the easiest grade, Rob Adams was north opens up with far less steep going straight up in a deep draw hills, easier climbs. So I turned with a well defined trail. The Bobs around, said what I knew to the were well out ahead of the group group and they turned too. We cut and as the reached the crest of this up and over as soon as we could. hill they stopped looking off to the With Sally the two new women I northeast. went back to Four Mile road the When we caught up they pointed rest of the group stayed high on the off to a ridge top there was a band The Buthmans hillside all of us heading west. I of horses silhouetted against the We knew that bunch wasn’t the knew there was a fence that ran blue sky. They were higher than we band we had seen earlier so we along the north side of the road and were and about a mile off. continued up the draw towards the the creek, now to the south would Binoculars came out of saddle bags hill top. We had just about reached soon be on the north, so just before and we all stood and watched the top when around the hill they it crossed we headed off the road them. They were grazing came running right towards us. and started side-hilling west. It was peacefully, we were to far away to When they saw us they stopped about a half mile to the gate. It was be a threat and they hadn’t winded dead. Hesitated for the slightest Squaw Butte Back Country Horsemen May 2007 moment then wheeled and sped off real trails, just suggestions in the horses but very disinclined to make in the other direction. Taking our grass and sage brush that another the acquaintance of the creatures on time we continued the 100 yards to creature has passed this way before their backs. He galloped off over the hill top and rode in the you. You and your horse wander the top of the hill. direction they had. Soon we were along, each in turn making We rode on as well splitting into looking down the other side of the suggestions on the correct and different groups as we made our hill and they were nowhere to be safest path down the steep hill side. separate ways back to the road. seen. We were about half way down, Once there we again became a Everyone was talking and laughing side-hilling, our line strung out single group and rode back to the now, the wind forgotten for a bit. over a quarter mile, when, over the trailers. We unsaddled, broke out All of us excited at seeing these top, came a lone horse at a dead sandwiches and such, and stood wild and beautiful creatures. There run. He was upwind of us so it around talking about what we had was plenty of forage and they had must have been the sound of our done and seen. A good ride, all looked healthy, their coats shiny, animals hooves that attracted him. healthy strong looking wild horses flashing in the sun. It warmed us It was maybe a two year old sorrel in our own backyard and pretty all. stallion. He charged on ‘til he was country green with spring. It was enough, we stood around for about fifty yards away then stopped. He scanned the line a while scanning the hills below and then someone started down on started towards us again, then a cow, or horse, trail going the turned back up the hill, ran a little a b c d direction we had come. It is fun ways and stopped to look us over riding in those hills. There are no again. He was interested in the The Wild Horse Gang PleaPleaPleasePlea se support the local merchants that support SBBCHSBBCH Squaw Butte Back Country Horsemen May 2007 By Shannon Shantz Editor’s Note: As many of you know risen lord in a place of worship this day and age.