Close Encounters with Ochoco Mustangs, Oregon

In late September of 2012, I found myself with some free time, my plans had changed, and I decided to take off with my pony and spend one night at a horse camp. I went to Allen Creek  in the Ochoco National Forest. When I arrived there were no other horse people there, not surprisingly, it is a free camp, but with no designated trails and at that time the log corrals were all falling over. There were several guys near the creek, who were shooting guns and acting rowdy, I wasn’t very thrilled about that, but I thought I would go on a ride and if they were still there when I got back, I might regroup, and maybe find another place to stay.

I rode in all different directions for awhile, trying to actually get into the Big Summit Prairie area. But I realized quickly that it is all private property and fenced, so no luck there. The ground was very rocky so after awhile I just decided to follow the fence line and at least get a glimpse of the prairie which was host to about a million cows. I also saw a couple of antelope fairly close up, before they high tailed it out of there. Eventually I decided to head back towards camp and set off cross country. I tend to be quite observant when I ride usually spotting deer or other critters before my horse Rina does. Good thing, because I looked back way behind me at one point, and saw a stallion watching me from behind a tree. I stopped Rina and turned her toward him, and I saw that he had four mares with him. They were quite far away and as I stood there, I was cursing myself for forgetting my camera in my truck. I figured they were going to remain off in the distance, and I would get a bad shot with my Iphone of several blobs that I could show later to friends as proof that I did indeed see wild horses. Surprisingly the stallion started to approach me with the mares following. I got off Rina so he could see I was a separate entity. I started taking random pictures with my phone, and as I was doing that the four mares that I now realized were actually young fillies, all suddenly came directly up to me.

The four curious fillies approached me.

The stallion, a gorgeous bay with a star and small strip hung back and watched over all of us.

 The smallest filly wanted to touch noses with Rina so I let her. Then I reached out and touched her on the nose which surprised her, but she didn't run away.

They must have figured this two legged person was okay since I had a horse with me that showed no desire to leave me. The stallion was very mellow, he just stayed in the background, and I watched him to make sure he was okay with everything.

Having Rina with me was great, she did not get stressed that they were there, I didn’t even hold on to her, I just stood between them, so they couldn’t surround us. Plus I knew she had zero interest in running off with a handsome stranger. At one point they tried to get too close and I shooed them off a little, the stallion reacted to that by doing a small half circle run. I thought he was going to herd them away from me, but he still chose not to. So then we all stood and stared at one another for awhile.

The fillies still nearby, the stallion in the background.

I took more pictures, although I didn’t get that many good ones with just having the phone, especially of the stallion. After some time had passed I decided I couldn’t stay there all day, so I started to walk Rina away, they promptly all followed, so I got on her and tried to ride away, they all followed again, and now the stallion was following as well. I made some hand motions and voiced my desire for him to stay put. He got the message, and stopped following me, the fillies stayed with him, and as I rode away, I told him he was a beautiful boy and thanked him for letting me hang out with them. What an amazing experience! I’m the only human to touch that little one’s nose, and if she remains free maybe she will never be touched again.

I got back to camp, realized the gun toting guys had left, and so I decided to stay there after all. An uneventful night passed. The next day I trailered to Douthit Springs to do a ride on my way home. I headed up one of the many dirt roads, and after a couple of hours, lo and behold I ran into yet another band of horses. Have I mentioned that at the time although I had only lived in Central Oregon for a year and a half, I had ridden in the Ochoco’s many times before and had never seen a single wild horse. This time a mare crossed the road in front of me with her foal.
 She didn’t seem to compute that I was human at first so she stared at me for awhile, then suddenly figured it out, put her tail in the air and ran off. I heard some nickering from the hill above me and there was the stallion, he came trotting toward me to see what was going on. I got off Rina again so he could see I was human, and not to come too close.  Rina ate some grass, I had a sandwich, the stallion alternated between watching me and grazing. This was more like the behavior I would think a wild stallion would have, he stayed much farther away, kept his mare behind him and kept an eye on me, but otherwise was not concerned.

I walked around a little bit trying to get some pictures, since this time I had my actual camera, although a not very great camera with no zoom. The stallion was pure black, with no white markings, and he only had the one mare and foal with him. I eventually rode away and let them be.

What a great couple of days! What healthy, beautiful horses they are.

An update: This was written in 2012, and at the time I just wanted to put the experience I had into writing, but it inspired me to start blogging about my camping and trail experiences, and the rest is history. Since then I have seen a lot more wild horses in the Ochoco's, and I have a much better camera!

Allen Creek Horse Camp has also been revamped with brand new shiny corrals. There are eight spots but only four of them have corrals. Several of the sites are plenty big enough for larger rigs. There are two bathrooms, but no garbage, manure bin, or potable water. Allen Creek is available nearby for stock water. It does take some effort to haul the water from the creek, as another option there is a dispersed camping site you could drive to across the road that has easier access to fill water containers. This camp is still free, and still has no developed trails.

Allen Creek Horse Camp.

New corrals at Allen Creek.

I have done subsequent visits into the Ochoco's specifically to see the Mustangs. I know their watering holes and where they tend to hang out. There are several herds that are more standoffish and some that have no issue with my presence. None have approached in quite the way that first herd did in 2012 but those were unique circumstances. Being that I was alone and with a horse that they wanted to see up close, and the fact that they were young and curious.

The following are several pictures of Ochoco Mustangs I have visited in recent years.

GPS COORDINATES TO ALLEN CREEK