WILD BACHELOR STALLIONS OCHOCO FOREST by Judy L Neill

These wild bachelor stallions were playing in the Ochoco Forest just out of Prineville, Or. and we spotted them running around. They stopped and posed for us for the longest time. They were all so beautiful. There are several groups of bachelor bands in every area of wild horses. When stallions reach a certain age, they are usually kicked out of their natal band. They roam around alone until they either find several other bachelors or until they encounter full-fledged horse herds. Then, they try to "Woo" that herd's mares and convince them to leave the herd and join them instead. Which 99 % of the time the stallion of the band fights him and chases him away. A lot of stallions in a band with mares have a "Lieutenant" which is sort of a body guard and helps the stallion to protect the mares and foals in these situations. The Lieutenant acts as second in command and will often be the first to defend the mares. I suppose sort of like teenage boys when puberty hits. "Big Summit Wild Horse Territory" Prineville, Oregon, August of 2022