The Horses of Theodore Roosevelt National park

The wild horse herd in Theodore Roosevelt National Park is an older herd, as you can see by the photos below.  We have chosen to list the horses by age to highlight this fact. 

1999 Mare Frosty
currently in Stallion Red Face’s band
2000 Mare Flame
currently in Stallion Red Face’s band
2000 Stallion Circus
former band stallion – currently walking alone as a bachelor

2000 Mare Busy Blue
currently in Stallion Coal’s band
2001 Mare Pale Lady
currently in Stallion Xander’s band
2001 Stallion Red Face
currently a band stallion
2001 Mare Snip’s Gray
currently in Stallion Sidekick’s band
2001 Mare Bella
currently in Stallion Sidekick’s band
2001 Mare Tanker
currently in Stallion Half Moon’s band
2002 Mare Shale
currently in Stallion Georgia’s Boy’s band
2003 Mare Pretty Girl
currently in Stallion Red Face’s band
2004 Mare Winter
currently in Stallion Xander’s band

2004 Stallion Sidekick
currently a band stallion
2004 Stallion Cloud
former band stallion – currently walking alone as a bachelor
2004 Stallion Brutus
currently a band stallion
2004 Mare Little Brother’s Girl
currently in Stallion Arrowhead’s band
2004 Mare Little Gray
currently in Stallion Wild Rye’s band
2004 Mare Freckles
currently in Stallion Ollie Jr’s band
2004 Mare Rosie
currently in Stallion Half Moon’s band
2005 Stallion Coal
currently a band stallion
2005 Stallion Georgia’s Boy
currently a band stallion
2005 Mare Mist
currently in Stallion Sidekick’s band
2005 Mare Twister
currently in Stallion Grady’s band
2005 Mare Sundance
currently in Stallion Gunner’s band
2005 Mare Spotted Blue
currently in Stallion Xander’s band
2005 Mare Blondie
currently in Stallion Grady’s band

2006 Mare Betty Blue
currently in Stallion Coal’s Band
2006 Mare Daisy
currently in Stallion Copper’s band

2006 Mare Diamond
currently in Stallion Arrowhead’s band
2006 Mare Dolly
currently in Stallion Flax’s band
2006 Mare Domino
currently in Stallion Arrowhead’s Band
2006 Mare Ember’s Girl
currently in Stallion Remington’s band
2006 Mare Escape
currently in Stallion Sidekick’s band
2006 Mare Raven
currently in Stallion Gunner’s band
2006 Mare River
currently in Stallion Sidekick’s band
2006 Mare Ruby
currently in Stallion Teton’s band

The horses listed above that were born between 1998-2006.  They are between the ages of 15-23 years of age.  The sad reality is that within the next 5 years, we will say some sad goodbyes to most, if not all of these horses. 

6 of these horses: Stallion Circus, Mare Winter, Stallion Cloud, Mare Twister, Mare Blondie, and Mare Diamond have NO offspring of their own left in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. 

An additional 7 of these horses only have offspring because of Mother Nature: Covid, drought, wildfires, etc., that have held off the usual captures of the young horses from this herd.  Those horses are: Stallion Brutus, Mare Little Gray, Stallion Coal, Stallion Georgia’s Boy, Mare Mist, Mare River and Mare Ember’s Girl.  If the park is allowed to continue to capture all of the horses they can get to between the age of 4 months and 3 years, we fear that we will lose the bloodlines of these 7 horses in addition to the horses listed in the paragraph above. 

2007 Mare Blue
currently in Stallion Arrowhead’s band
2007 Mare Cedar
currently in Stallion Gunner’s band

2007 Mare Crow
currently in Stallion Flash’s band
2007 Mare Firefly
currently in Stallion Frontier’s band
2007 Mare Maddie
currently in Stallion Maverick’s band
2007 Mare Maggie
currently in Stallion Coal’s band
2007 Mare Sapphire
currently in Stallion Ollie Jr’s band
2007 Mare Smokey
currently in Stallion Frontier’s band
2007 Mare Autumn
currently in Stallion Ollie Jr’s band

2007 Mare Angel
currently in Stallion Xander’s band
2009 Mare Goblin
currently in Stallion Teton’s band
2009 Mare Punkin
currently in Stallion Half Moon’s band
2010 Mare Cowgirl
Currently in Stallion Xander’s band
2010 Stallion Half Moon
currently a band stallion
2010 Mare Lakota
currently in Stallion Red Face’s band
2010 Mare Maiden
currently in Stallion Sidekick’s band
2010 Stallion Ollie Jr.
currently a band stallion
2010 Mare Papoose
currently in Stallion Half Moon’s band
2010 Mare Teepee
currently in Stallion Teton’s band
2010 Stallion Teton
currently a band stallion
2010 Mare Whiskey
currently in Stallion Georgia’s Boy’s band
2010 Mare Cassie
currently in Stallion Maverick’s band
2010 Stallion Arrowhead
currently a band stallion
2011 Mare Indian Paint Brush
currently in Stallion Teton’s band
2011 Mare Juniper
currently in Stallion Copper’s band
2011 Mare Sumac
currently in Stallion Half Moon’s band
2011 Stallion Wild Rye
currently a band stallion
2011 Stallion Flax
currently a band stallion

2011 Mare Esprit
currently in Stallion Copper’s Band
2012 Stallion Frontier
currently a band stallion
2013 Mare Eagle
currently in Stallion Remington’s band
2013 Mare Dawn
currently in Stallion Maverick’s band
2013 Mare Holly
currently in Stallion Georgia’s Boy’s band
2013 Stallion Guardian
currently a band stallion
2013 Mare Faith
currently in Stallion Copper’s band
2013 Stallion Trooper
former band stallion currently a bachelor stallion
2013 Mare Mischief
currently in Stallion Flax’s band
2013 Mare Justice
currently in Stallion Arrowhead’s band

The horses listed next represent the largest age population in TRNP. These are the horses that were born in 2014.  The last big round up in TRNP happened in 2013.  Around that time, TRNP also got a new wildlife biologist who has since incorporated the low stress captures being used today as well as targeting all the young horses for removal. 

2014 Mare Penny
currently in Stallion Maverick’s band
2014 Mare Grace
currently in Stallion Copper’s band
2014 Mare Velvet
currently in Stallion Arrowhead’s band
2014 Stallion Xander
currently a band stallion
2014 Mare Skipper
currently in Stallion Maverick’s band
2014 Stallion Flash
currently a band stallion
2014 Mare Dixie
currently in Stallion Coal’s band
2014 Mare Emmylou
currently in Stallion Red Face’s band
2014 Mare Eclipse
currently in Stallion Half Moon’s band

2014 Mare Quinn
currently in Stallion Grady’s band
2014 Stallion Yoakum
currently a bachelor stallion
2014 Stallion Maverick
currently a band stallion

2014 Stallion Remington
currently a band stallion
2014 Mare Opal
currently in Stallion Remington’s band
2014 Mare Lorena
currently in Stallion Wild Rye’s band
2014 Mare Kat
currently in Stallion Flax’s band
2014 Stallion Gunner
currently a band stallion
2014 Mare Paige
currently in Stallion Wild Rye’s band
2014 Stallion Nicols
currently a bachelor stallion
2014 Mare Valentina
currently in Stallion Sidekick’s band
2014 Mare Taylor
currently in Stallion Xander’s band
2014 Mare Paisley
currently in Stallion Maverick’s band
2014 Mare June
currently in Stallion Teton’s band

In 2014, there were no horses captured in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. That changed in 2015.  Every horse born in 2015 was eventually captured and sold, with the exception of one horse – Stallion Grady.  Grady was able to avoid capture because his band’s territory was deep in the center of TRNP.  The terrain of the badlands tends to get more rugged as you venture off the main road.  This makes it hard for the capture team to maneuver through that terrain to capture horses. 

2015 Stallion Grady
currently a band stallion

In 2016, there were 46 live births in TRNP.  Sadly, 4 of those babies did not survive.  Of the 42 horses that thrived that year, only the following 3 were not captured and sold and remain in TRNP today.  They were left, the same as Grady, because the terrain in the area where their bands were in was too rough to attempt their capture. 

2016 Mare Minnie
currently in Stallion Flash’s band
2016 Mare Patches (shown here with her 2021 Filly Poppy) currently in Stallion Brutus’ band
2016 Stallion Illinois
currently a bachelor stallion

30 foals born in 2017. Only 2 that were born in 2017 were not captured and sold.

In 2017, because of the results of mitochondrial DNA research, two fillies born in 2017 were spared from being captured and auctioned off like the rest of their 2017 counterparts : 2017 Filly Perdita (Pretty Girl x Red Face) and 2017 Filly Aurora (Dawn x Brutus). 

The mitochondrial DNA research on these TRNP horses show that they share female ancestry with Asian, middle East, and Italian horse DNA. That sequence follows the migration patterns of humans and animals.

This proves that the starting point for horses is and will always be the North American continent and that proof is right here within the DNA of these two beautiful mares that currently still call TRNP home. 

2017 Mare Perdita
currently in Stallion Gunner’s band
2017 Mare Aurora
currently in Stallion Maverick’s band

TRNP welcomed 28 new foals in 2018. Sadly 8 foals “failed to thrive”.  Of the 20 foals that did thrive, only 2 remain in the park today: Mare Patience and Stallion Cagney.  Patience and Cagney were part of the same band as Grady was in 2015.  The rugged terrain and the location of the band is the only reason that these two were not captured and sold like the rest of the 2018 babies. 

2018 Mare Patience
currently in Stallion Frontier’s band
2018 Stallion Cagney
currently a bachelor stallion

36 babies were born in 2019.  Sadly 10 “failed to thrive”.  In the fall of 2019, 9 babies, age 4 months to 6 months old, were captured and sold.  Because of the COVID pandemic in 2020 and the extreme drought conditions in 2021, no other 2019 babies have been removed – YET.  There are still 17 2019 “babies” currently living in TRNP.  Their fate is still in the hands of TRNP park management and their plans for 2022 when they resume the capture and auction of the TRNP horses. 

2019 Colt Alluvium
currently a bachelor
2019 Filly Almanac
currently in Stallion Flash’s band (natal family)

2019 Colt Aloe
currently with his natal band
2019 Colt Amantes
currently with his natal band
2019 Filly Amargo
currently with her natal band
2019 Colt Amite
currently in Stallion Xander’s band (natal family)
2019 Filly Anisak
currently with her natal band
2019 Colt Anthem
currently a bachelor
2019 Filly Antice
currently in Stallion Guardian’s band
2019 Filly Anuk
currently with her natal band
2019 Colt Anzar
currently with his natal band
2019 Colt Apex
currently with his natal band

2019 Colt Applewood
currently a bachelor
2019 Filly Archer
currently with her natal band
2019 Colt Arcola
currently in Stallion Grady’s band (natal family)
2019 Filly Ardena
currently in Stallion Ollie Jr’s band
2019 Colt Arey
currently in Stallion Maverick’s band (natal family)

In 2020, there were 42 new foals born into the TRNP herd.  Sadly 7 of those foals “failed to thrive”.  There were no round ups in 2020 due to COVID but in the spring of 2021, 4 horses between the ages of 8 months and 1 year old were captured and sold.  Because of the extreme drought conditions in 2021, no other 2020 babies have been removed – YET.  There are still 31 2020 “babies” currently living in TRNP.  Their fate is still in the hands of TRNP park management and their plans for 2022 when they resume the capture and auction of the TRNP horses.

2020 Filly Annabella
currently in Stallion Ollie Jr’s band
2020 Colt Banty
currently with his natal band
2020 Colt Bart
currently a bachelor
2020 Filly Bayou
currently in her natal band
2020 Filly Bea
currently with her natal band
2020 Filly Bee
currently with her natal band

2020 Filly Belle
currently with her natal band
2020 Filly Berkleigh
currently with her natal band
2020 Filly Bess
currently with her natal band
2020 Filly Birch
currently with her natal band
2020 Filly Birdie
currently in Stallion Remington’s band
2020 Colt Blazo
currently in Stallion Grady’s band
2020 Filly Blue Angel
currently in Stallion Xander’s band (natal family)
2020 Filly Bluegrass
currently with her natal band
2020 Filly Bluff
currently with her natal band
2020 Colt Bokel
currently with his natal band
2020 Filly Bonnet
currently with her natal band
2020 Colt Boomer
currently in Stallion Xander’s band (natal family)
2020 Filly Emery
currently in Stallion Remington’s band
2020 Filly Frosted Arrow
currently in Stallion Guardian’s band
2020 Filly Jewel
currently in Stallion Arrowhead’s band
2020 Filly Katie
currently in Stallion Ollie Jr’s band
2020 Filly Lil Mo
currently with her natal band
2020 Filly Lorelye
currently with her natal band
2020 Filly Misty Blue
currently with her natal band
2020 Filly Pippi
currently with her natal band
2020 Filly Pixie
currently in Stallion Guardian’s band
2020 Filly Raven’s Myst
currently in Stallion Gunner’s band (natal family)
2020 Filly Star
currently with her natal band
2020 Filly Little Bear
currently in Stallion Flash’s band (natal family)

2021 has (so far) brought 26 new foals to the TRNP herd. Sadly, 4 of those 26 “failed to thrive”. The fate of the 22 remaining horses is yet to be seen. Captures are expected to resume in the spring of 2022.

2021 Filly Noelle
2021 Filly Mystique
2021 Colt Beau
2021 Colt Finnigan (Finn)
2021 Colt Knight
2021 Colt Chance
2021 Filly Tontee
2021 Colt Blackhawk
2021 Filly Satine
2021 Colt Ace
2021 Colt Cadet
2021 Filly Dominique
2021 Colt Cody
2021 Filly Poppy
2021 Colt Flyer
2021 Colt Sterling
2021 Colt Winchester
2021 Filly Starlet
2021 Filly Tess
2021 Filly Blossom
2021 Filly Gidget
2021 Colt Ryely

2022 has brought 15 new foals to the TRNP herd. Sadly, 5 of those 15 “failed to thrive”.

2022 Colt Titan

2022 Filly Sienna

2022 Colt Creed

2022 Filly Phoenix

2022 Filly Serendipity

2022 Colt Moon Shadow

2022 Colt Kodiak

2022 Colt Noble

2022 Filly Dreamer

2022 Filly Summer