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Spirit of the wild Photo by Jim Craven Rick and Suellen Ireland tend to 45 wild horses on a leased Ashland hillside. The horses, bought by Rick's father, were starving in their New Mexico home; now they're thriving, thanks to the Greensprings couple. Rescued horses thrive Starving six months ago, 45 wild horses rescued from a drought in New Mexico have found health and freedom in the hills of Ashland By PAUL FATTIG ASHLAND -- They call her the Hill Witch. Rick and Suellen Ireland don't see much of the elusive wild gray mare. The only hint of her presence this day was a distant whinny and the sound of hooves galloping down the grassy hillside out of the mountain fog. But it was enough to cause the ears of the 10 horses nervously feeding on hay along the dirt road to leap forward, straining to catch the sound of their leader. Another whinny broke through the fog, and then, silence. "Out with these wild horses, the Hill Witch is exactly the kind of horse we need to have," Suellen Ireland said. "She is really maternal. She protects her foal. And she runs the others, getting them to food and water." "Yeah, she pretty much runs the whole show," her husband added. "She'll back up at 90 miles an hour to kick at another horse. She's not very big, about 14 hands. But she has a lot of spirit." The spirit of the wild still kicks up its heels in the herd of largely wild horses the Irelands bought last June. The herd was part of one believed to be from the drought-stricken Navajo Indian Reservation, that Ashland resident Richard Ireland, Rick's father, purchased while on a cattle-buying trip in California. The cattle price was down a bit, and the horses needed a helping hand, Rick Ireland, 29, explained. "We take kindly to horses," he said. "They needed to be put on some grass. We had some extra grass. "When we first got them, you could see a lot of ribs," he added. "They could barely travel." Although three of the 48 malnourished horses they purchased died, 45 have come back strong to roam the 2,000-acre parcel the Irelands lease on the hills just north of Ashland. Rick and his wife live in the Greensprings. "The herd has come around real well," he said. Now their muscles ripple. Their coats are sleek. They are quick to run and kick up their heels. "They have room to stretch their legs out here," he said of the fenced but wide-open area. "We've been letting them run in the hills. We go out and throw out some hay here and there, trying to `gentle' them down." Yet most of the herd keeps its distance, coming down for hay only after the Irelands have retreated. "They aren't as spooky as they were," he said. "When we'd first drive out to see them, all of them would run straight to the top of the hill like a herd of elk. They haven't been around people a whole lot." "We still have about 25 that run for the hills when they see the truck coming," his wife added. Invariably leading the thundering herd away from the truck is the high-spirited Hill Witch. But over the summer, Rick Ireland was able to catch a half-dozen of the tamer horses. The Irelands are going to train a few of the younger adults. "Some of the bigger, flashier horses might make good saddle horses," he said. "We may also hold back a few more to use for breeding with the right stallion. They (offspring) would make good, sound horses." Many of the horses are mares about to foal. "We're going to have to sell some of these horses -- we can't hang on to all of them," he said. "And, with these horses being kind of wild, they have go to people who are used to being around horses. They aren't meant for a novice to try to train." One little gray mare which no longer resists the halter has caught the Irelands' eye. "We'll probably save her for our kids," he said of the horse they have turned out with their saddle horses. The Irelands have two children, Kelly, 4, and Justin, 2, who are already showing an interest in equines. Another horse that will remain is the handsome colt foaled by the Hill Witch. "She's got one of the best colts, a strawberry roan," he said. "We're definitely going to keep him and put some time in on him." Plans call for keeping the entire herd together through spring, enabling them to feed on the green grass that coats the hillside. "We'll have a lot of good grass for them this spring," he said, adding, "They're not going back to New Mexico." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA