Lakna's Liberty - Choctaw Pony

Today we got some new photos of my little "sister" Liberty. If you don't know who Liberty is you need to read my earlier post Choctaw Baby Born on the 4th of July.

Lakna's Liberty - Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary

She looks in fine fettle and growing like a weed.

Next one the little gal is taking a siesta.

Lakna's Liberty - Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary

We'll be headed down to the sanctuary in September to meet Liberty in person. We can hardly wait!

If you love horses we encourage you to check out the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary. There's nothing else quite like it. And, if you can, sponsor or adopt a slice of American history, freedom and liberty. Or just donate what you can to keep this wonderful dream alive.

Our thanks to Cori Clements, Director of Tourism at the Sanctuary for the photos.

Ciao for now!
Molly Montana

©Kinsey Barnard

CHOCTAW BABY BORN ON THE 4TH OF JULY

Regular readers may recall our visit in May to the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary and that Kinsey had asked to sponsor the foal of Choctaw mare named Pearl and Choctaw stud named Lakna (Lakna is Choctaw for Yellow Sky Horse). Pearl was very pregnant when we were there on May 26th. We thought she would be giving birth anytime. But, we were very wrong. It took so long we were starting to really worry. I'm sure the Sanctuary was getting tired of Kinsey checking all the time. You would have thought she was an expectant grandmother. Turned out we had been home for a month before the blessed occasion.

Choctaw Mare Pearl-Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary

For those who may not know, there are only about 300 Choctaw Ponies left. The US government in their infinite wisdom and in the spirit of their limitless greed decided the best way to control the Indians was to take their horses away so they slaughtered them. Thanks to the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary the number is growing. In fact this summer the number grew by three thanks to the Sanctuary.

Chocktaw Stud Lakna-Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary

We just kept waiting and waiting until we got to July and Kinsey starting hoping the foal would be born on the 4th of July and that's exactly what happened.

When you sponsor a young horse you usually get to name it. Kinsey had been thinking about all sorts of names but when the blessed event happened on the 4th of July the only name that would do for this little filly was "Liberty". Liberty aka freedom is the essence of the sanctuary and, well, the 4th of July. So without further ado I would like to introduce you to Choctaw filly little miss "Lakna's Liberty". I'll be thinking of her as my little sister. Her formal name will be Lakna's Liberty in honor of her daddy.

Choctaw Filly Lakna's Liberty-Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary

We could not be more thrilled. Kinsey is already working on plans to go back to the Sanctuary to meet this very special girl in the fall. I don't think Kinsey has been this excited or inspired by anything as much as this birth in a very long time. We'll keep you posted.

If you love horses we encourage you to check out the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary. There's nothing else quite like it. And, if you can, sponsor or adopt a slice of American history, freedom and liberty. Or just donate what you can to keep this wonderful dream alive.

Ciao for now,

Molly Montana

@Kinsey Barnard

JOURNEY TO THE BLACK HILLS DAY 10 - BLACK HILLS WILD HORSE SANCTUARY

Well, would not you know it? We wake up this morning to sunny skies and we are pulling up stakes for Hot Springs. Bah humbug!

Hot Springs is only about 100 miles from Spearfish. We went around the Black Hills to get down here taking 90 east and then 79 south. All along our trip we have tried to take the little green dot roads and highways. The green dots indicate scenic routes. Well, here's a tip. In our opinion 79 from Rapid City to Hot Springs is the most beautiful route we have driven since leaving home some 1,000 miles ago. This road has nary a green dot.

As we got closer to Hot Springs it got darker and darker with clouds and we thought "Oh, no!". We pulled into the KOA campground around eleven am. Not usually a KOA fan we think this one is nice. We like our spot and we can get good internet connectivity. Which is very handy when trying to write my daily blogs.

When Kinsey was in the information place at Deadwood she happened to see a brochure for a wild horse sanctuary near Hot Springs. She snapped up the info cuz she is a horse lover. When we checked-in we learned the sanctuary was only about 20 miles away so we decided to make that our first order of business after lunch.

Driving south out of Hot Springs on 71 it got brighter and brighter. The landscape was crowned by bright blue skies and fluffy white clouds. They looked a lot like those clouds we love so much in Montana. You can't miss the turn off 71, there's a large monument. It's a well maintained dirt road and heads west into a canyon with the Cheyenne River running through it. The road dead ends at the sanctuary.

Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary

What an absolutely gorgeous location for mustangs to run free. The sanctuary is over 14,000 acres and has about 600 mustangs. I've also read 11,000 acres and 500 mustangs. Which ever it's a bunch of both. I'm not going to go into all the details if you're interested just Google The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary or better yet check them out on Facebook.

Kinsey went dippy for this photo because she saw it as symbolizing what the Black Hills Wild horse Sanctuary is all about FREEDOM

They took pity on this poor doggie and let Kinsey pull up under a tree whilst she wandered. Mercifully she did not take the two hour bus tour they offer. On her wander she saw this little pinto pony that was closely watching three mares across the way. One who already had a foal and two others that looked that were very pregnant. The pony was friendly and gentle and Kinsey liked him right away. I'm sure this is because he let her love on him.

Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary

She eventually ended up in the old homestead which has been converted into an information center, gift shop and restaurant. As usual, Kinsey got to jaw boning and before she knew it Cori offered to take her on a tour of the grounds. Turned out that sweet paint pony was a stud and those mares were his harem.  She also learned they were Choctaw ponies which were all but exterminated by the US government. The wisdom of our government being, take away the horses, take away the Indian spirit. There are less than 300 in existence I'll leave it to Kinsey to tell the whole story on her blog The Liberated Photographer. At the end of the walkabout Cory let Kinsey know about the sponsoring programs they have for the horses. If you sponsor one young enough you get to name it. Cory sent Kinsey off to look a group of yearlings that needed sponsoring. Whilst she was looking she thought about those Choctaw mares about to foal and she knew what she wanted to do.

Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary

Kinsey went back to the center and asked if she could sponsor the foal of the Choctaw paint. Kinsey chose the bay and white paint named Pearl. Pearl was Kinsey's paternal grandmother's name. She died before Kinsey was born. So, now we are kind of expectant parents. And, the gods willing, we will have a Choctaw Pony in our family for the rest of our lives. Kinsey will get to name it and the pony will live free at the sanctuary, we will provide for it every year. We say for the rest of our lives because there is one of the original mustangs still alive and she is in her thirties. Neither Kinsey nor I are likely to out live it. Maybe Kinsey will make a provision in her will that funds be set aside to take care of it for the rest of its life. But, that's getting ahead of ourselves. First we have to focus on Pearl having a successful delivery.

Choctaw Pony Pearl

WOW! What a day!

PS: We visited The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary on May 26, 2015. As far as we know, Pearl still has not given birth. We continue to send out good vibes that she will produce a happy, healthy baby.

Ciao for now,
#MollyMontana

©Kinsey Barnard

JOURNEY TO THE BLACK HILLS DAY 4 - GLASGOW TO ROOSEVELT NATIONAL PARK

We pulled out of Glasgow, Montana bright and early and, once again, headed into the sun. We headed out on Hwy 2 until we reached Wolf Point. Wolf Point is the birthplace of one of Kinsey's childhood heroes, Monty Montana. Monty Montana was a trick rider and roper. He could do things with a rope that would make your head spin. The first time she ever saw him was at her grammar school when she was about nine. Over the years they rode in many of the same California parades. She really really loved that guy. His smile was quick, his face full character and his hair black as shiny coal. We just drove through but we did see a small sculpture honoring him.

Montie Montana

The road continued to be pretty dull. Just more wide open space interrupted by a grain elevator or a ranch every now and again. Kinsey says it would take a certain kind of person to live out there and she wasn't that type. Not only is it isolated but the winters are incredibly harsh. Most of the time the snowfalls horizontal the wind blows so hard. We never saw a river or creek that wasn't muddy. We must have crossed over the Milk River a half dozen times and every time Kinsey said, "They shoulda named it Chocolate Milk River." Nope, weeze mountain girls. That's for certain.

Our destination was Medora, North Dakota. It was really amazing when we crossed into North Dakota the landscape instantly went from boring to interesting just like magic. We arrived in Medora about 1:30pm. Stayed at a campground called Red Trail. It's conveniently located to the park. I think it may be the only private rv park, Medora is a fairly small town.

The Landscape became interesting the moment we crossed into North Dakota

We had lunch and headed over to Roosevelt National Park. The park entrance isn't manned yet so you are supposed to check-in at the visitor center. Kinsey must have had some kind of brain flatulence because she just blew right through without stopping. She wasn't trying to get away without paying. She's of an age she has a lifetime pass. The thing is, if you don't stop you don't get a map. By the time "the brain" figured this out we were too far in to go back. She decided we couldn't get into too much trouble if we just followed the loop. That's what we did.

Roosevelt National Park

A few miles in we encountered a prairie dog colony. WOW! They were so cool!

Prairie Dogs

 I'm quite proud of myself though. I wanted to chase those critters but remained relatively calm in the face of incredible stimulus. Not only were they running all about begging to be chased but they chattered the whole time.

Oh, what I wouldn't give to get out of this car. Maybe I should just drive off and leave her?

Our next encounter was with a great big bull buffalo. I mean this dude was a bruiser and he nearly walked right over Shadow. Honestly, I think he was bigger than Shadow! Once again I was pretty darned good. I never once tried to go through the windshield. Kinsey is quite proud of me. I got a lot of "Good girls". I'm very pleased with myself. Despite what Kinsey may think, I don't try to chase things to annoy her. It's my nature. It's also in my nature to want to please her. I think eventually we are going to find our balance.

Buffalo-Roosevelt National Park

Next we came across some horses lolly gagging in the road. Once again, I sat at attention but didn't make a fuss. I don't know if these were wild horses or not. Thanks to you know who I have no information. (We found out later they were wild horses) A funny thing happened with these horses. There was a white mare with a gray yearly leading the little band. As we drew up on them the mare led them across the road to the shoulder. No sooner did she reach the shoulder than she started back across the road so we couldn't pass. They zig zagged back and forth three times before a car came from the opposite direction and they stopped on the shoulder. It was the darnedest thing.

Wild Horses in Roosevelt National Park

Then there was the landscape, quite beautiful in a lonely sort of way. Old Teddy sure knew how to pick his spots.

Roosevelt National Park

Roosevelt National Park

If you haven't already, you can read the story of why we ventured to the Black Hills here.

Ciao for now,
Molly Montana

©Kinsey Barnard