Mustang Tough-Cassini's Story

Cassini

We often hear the phrase, Mustang Tough. After spending time in Sand Wash Basin and seeing the wild mustangs in their element, this simple phrase rings true. The magnificent horses that call Sand Wash Basin home are so many forms of tough. The fierce, protective stallions, the strong lead mares, the foals that keep up with their bands, and the injuries these mustangs endure all emphasize just how tough these mustangs are.

There are so many battle worn, scarred stallions that even injured, don't hesitate to advance forward and protect their bands. I always find myself thinking, This is the definition of Mustang Tough, whenever we're lucky enough to see them!

And then, there is Cassini.

Cassini is not the strongest or biggest stallion in Sand Wash. He's far from it. But every time I hear or think, Mustang Tough, my mind always comes back to Cassini.

Rewinding back to 2021: It was June and Disner and I were in the basin. As much as we go to photograph the horses, we also enjoy bouncing through the landscape and exploring the land. Sand Wash Basin is full of treasures, you just have to look! It was June 27th and we were bombing down a two track in the sage when off in the distance, we saw some horses on the move. The two track took us close enough and we were able to see a band of horses thundering through the basin on a horse highway.

We could not believe our eyes when we saw the tiniest little black colt, doing his best to keep up with the band. His mom had slowed down to wait for him, also causing the stallion to slow and keep his place in the back of the band. We could tell they were on their way to a water hole. We snapped a couple of photos then jumped in the truck to head to the water hole. The horse have much more direct highways than we do with roads and two tracks. Your best bet is to locate all the water holes and then when you see horses moving with purpose in that direction, head there yourself.

On this day, we beat the band there and waited eagerly for them to come in. After a while, ears, then heads, then shoulders crested the horizon and the band galloped into the water hole. The tiny black colt jumped the sage and awkwardly galloped along with his band. We weren't completely sure but we thought he was new enough to be unnamed. We snapped a few more photos of them while the band was at the water and then sent them into the Sand Wash Advocate Team to see if he was an undocumented and unnamed foal. Sure enough, he was new and hadn't been named!

The struggle to name this gorgeous little colt began! We ended up sending in several names that were rejected, as they had been used before. SWAT was kind enough to let us know his lineage and that helped us come up with a name. His mom was Sitara, which means "Morning Star". The band was with Pico when we found him but the colt had most likely been sired by Poly, which means "Many". He was a solid black colt, not speck of white on him. Poly and Sitara made us think of the universe, space, planets, and stars. His dark visage made us think of the Cassini Division, which is the black space between Saturn's rings, first discovered in 1675 by Giovanni Domenico Cassini. And with that, the tiny solid black colt was named Cassini.

For those of you who don't know, the horses live on public land and are managed by the Bureau of Land Management. In 2021, the BLM declared the need for an emergency roundup in the basin and it was scheduled to commence on September 1, 2021. I won't get into the politics around this event, other than to say much of what was communicated the public about the need to round up the horses was directly contradicted by being in the basin in person and seeing the conditions. Much of the communication from the BLM to the public was dishonest. Whether everyone agreed if a round up was needed or not, most people agree that the helicopter round ups are inhumane and traumatic to the horses. Not to mention millions of dollars in tax payer money contracting the Cattoor Livestock Roundup Company to conduct these roundups, hardly "management" of the herd. But I digress.

On September 1, 2021, this helicopter roundup commenced. Bands of horses, including pregnant mares and tiny foals, were chased by helicopters for miles in the dry heat across the tough, sandy, and rocky terrain, only to be herded into holding pens to fight and struggle with great chance of injury before being loaded onto trailers and hauled off to holding pens. As you can imagine, not all of the little ones can keep up. Several horses and foals were injured and some died during this event. We later learned that little Cassini, only three months old, had been separated from his mother, Sitara, who ended up in the holding pens in the BLM Canyon City property. A three month old foal on his own had little chance of survival without his mom or his band.

We didn't know of his fate for quite some time but later learned a loan stallion named Motor, came across three month old Cassini and adopted him for that first winter. Time and again, we have either witnessed or heard of stallions showing care and compassion with orphaned foals. During this roundup alone, stallions Merlin, Cognac, and Triumph all were recorded bringing foals that had been left behind during the helicopter chase close to the holding pens, sacrificing their own safety and possible freedom to do so. They know a foal that young need their mother and shouldn't be alone. We don't know when Motor first came across Cassini but we do know they spent that winter together and by some miracle, Cassini was able to make it through, a little rough for the wear but alive! Motor kept him close during those few months.

By the following summer, Cassini was found with stallion Harper and mare Cassidy. We later learned through a Facebook post that someone had actually witnessed an interaction leading into this transition. Motor and Cassini were relatively close to Harper and Cassidy. Cassidy was intently locked onto Cassini, watching him closely, as Harper grazed nearby. Next thing you know, Cassidy took off directly towards Motor and Cassini. A dazed and confused Harper followed her. Motor saw her coming at them fast and nipped Cassini's butt to get him moving, both Motor and Cassini taking off. It was later learned by the author of the post that Cassidy had lost a foal and maybe for a moment, she thought Cassini was hers. Whether he was by blood or not isn't relevant because before you know it, Cassini was officially part of Harper's band, with mare Cassidy keeping close tabs on him. The three of them spent the following summer of 2022 together and it was the first time Disner and I were able to see Cassini again. He was really little, never getting the proper nourishment as a young foal. But now he had a family band. He was accepted and cared for. We witnessed the clear affection that Cassidy had for him and the protective nature of Harper throughout the summer.

We don't know how or why Cassini split from Harper and Cassidy, both of whom are no longer together. Perhaps a band upset happened all at once, we don't know. We do know that Cassini later ended up in another duo family band, Brownie and Sapphire. He spent most of 2023 with these two and we were so happy to see him beginning to grow and thrive. Again, he was fully accepted by both Sapphire and Brownie and stayed with them most of the summer. Towards the end of summer, a two year old Cassini left Brownie and Sapphire to go off with some bachelor buddies. He has spent the winter with a buddy and in April of 2024, we again found him with his buddy and a few other bachelors, one of which is Wizard. We watched them play together over the weekend and at one point, Wizard decided to go for a horseback ride on Cassini! Cassini went round and round, trying to throw Wizard off! He's growing and filling out nicely, actively engaging in the bachelor shenanigans.

Cassini isn't the biggest or the strongest stallion in Sand Wash Basin, far from it actually. But every time we see Cassini and I think of his story, that tiny, three month old foal doing his best to keep up with his band as they were chased by a helicopter, his inability to do so and finding himself alone and scared in a vast basin. His ability to survive and adapt, and his ability to learn from the stallions and bands that ultimately took him in and showed him how to survive, that's when I know the definition of Mustang Tough.

Handsome stallion, Motor, who took Cassini in after he was orphaned at three months old.

Cassini running into the water hole with mare Sapphire and stallion Brownie. These two took good care of Cassini much of last year.

Cassini with his dun bachelor buddy running into the water hole together in August of 2023. Cassini is still hanging with this bachelor, along with a few others.

Bachelor shenanigans include horseback riding and bombing through the basin!