I was very lucky to be contacted by a gifted writer who wanted to write an article about myself and the Onaqui wild horses. Linnea Lundgren is that writer and her article was published in the Sandy Journal yesterday. Here is a link to that article. https://www.sandyjournal.com/2019/05/29/200691/for-the-love-of-wild-horses-a-photographer-s-story
Thank you again Linnea
Here are another batch of images from our last trip to see the Onaqui herd of wild horses. I never get tired of photographing this beautiful herd. We who live in Utah are lucky to have such a treasure in our backyard!
Thanks to the American Wild Horse Campaign for sending this easy way to send comments to the BLM. The BLM is within weeks of rounding up 90% of the Onaqui Herd and removing nearly 400 of these beautiful horses to spend the rest of their lives in a pen somewhere in the Mid-West. We are so lucky to have this herd within an hour drive from Salt Lake.
The BLM doesn’t seem concerned about reducing the 2,500 head of sheep and the 2,000 head of cows it grazes in the Onaqui Herd Management Area. According to the BLM only the 500 head of Wild Horses need to be reduced. Please follow the link below to submit your comments to the BLM.
Thanks!!!
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Greig,
Earlier this week, we wrote you about the urgent need to speak up for the wild horses in the Onaqui HMA in Utah. Many of you had trouble with the BLM site that was accepting public comments, so now we have secured an easier and more reliable way to submit comments.
Thanks,
The AWHC Team
American Wild Horse Campaign
P.O. Box 1733
Davis, CA 95617
United States
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On this trip to Utah’s West Desert I was specifically hoping to photograph this herd of wild horses while they were on the run with a long exposure time. The idea was to blur the background, lets etc., but having some part of the horse(s) sharp and in focus. It takes a lot of luck and timing to get an acceptable shot. I have not had a chance to process any of the “normal” photographs from this trip, only those that I liked with the “motion” effect. We had several other photographers on this shoot, and met a very nice gentleman from Midvale if I remember right. He knew each and every horse in the herd, knew when they were born, knew who was related to who. Very impressive! Another great evening that I will remember for a long time…
Wow! What a trip we had in late July to the Onaqui herd of wild horses in Utah’s West Desert. The herd was using the Simpson Springs watering hold on the Pony Express route. They had already left the water when we found them. After spending a couple of hours photographing them we left to find another herd to photograph at sunset. We did find the other herd, but they were nearly a mile form the road and we were quickly running out of light. There was a storm brewing, so we decided to “focus” (pun intended) on photographing the storm and hopefully some lightning. We were not disappointed! The lighting was once again remarkable. The panoramic photograph of the sunset was made by stitching 14 photographs into one. The panoramic photograph spanned over 180 degrees. The lightning was another rare opportunity. No rain and lots of lightning. What a fantastic trip…
We had a GREAT visit to the herd in July. It was so hot the herd didn’t graze much. Spent most of the day at the watering hole. That gave us some unusual opportunities to photograph them. Lots of fights (some real and some just “jousting”). It allowed us to have a lot of horses in the background that sometimes helps simplify any distractions.
There was a fierce fight near/in the watering hole. The brown stallion was fighting with the gray all day long. Both stallions were on their hind legs just seconds earlier. Then the brown stallion decided to run to get away from the gray. They were on the edge of the watering hole surrounded by other wild horses so that meant they ran through the water. Great opportunity that I was glad I was able to witness and get a few photographs of…
So many photographs to process but here are a few of what I have processed thus far…
Another great trip to Utah’s West desert to photograph this wonderful herd of wild horses. I worry every trip out that the herd has been rounded up. With so many foals this year they are really multiplying quickly. I have herd rumors that the BLM will be using PZP on this herd rather than rounding them up and taking them off to holding pens.
I am no expert on any of this, but PZP seems like a better alternative than simply rounding them up and shipping them to massive holding pens for the rest of their lives (or until they are slaughtered).
The main watering trough that this herd uses regularly was dry! I did find them nearby, but they were moving to an area that I have never seen them in throughout the 7 years I have been photographing them. I hope to get back to them in a few weeks to see what has happened. I will keep you posted.
Here are more color photography from our trip to the West Desert in late May. The herd looked great, a lot of new foals.
Here are some black & white photographs from my trip to the Onaqui herd of wild horses in late May. We found the herd in two locations. One closer to Dugway and one group at the main watering hole southwest of Simpson Springs. Lots of new foals. That is a concern. With the herd growing so rapidly, the BLM will likely consider a round-up. I personally believe this is not the best way to manage herd growth. It is certainly a poor choice for those rounded up. They are doomed to spend the rest of their lives in a holding pen with thousands of other horses.
In this post of my wild horse photography you will see a series of photographs I shot a few weeks ago in Utah’s west desert. In this series a roan stallion spots a black stallion that is “courting” his mare. The chase is on. When the roan finally catches the black stallion he almost takes the black stallion to the ground. Then the black stallion gets his moment when he is able to pull off a solid kick to the throat of the roan. This herd of wild horses along the old Pony Express trail near Dugway, Utah is such a treasure. My biggest concern is how quickly they are growing in number. I don’t believe the BLM has had a roundup of this herd for several years. There must be near twenty new foals from this year! I hope they can find an alternative to rounding up many of the herd and carting them off to huge pens in the mid-west. I have seen the effects on those left behind and it is not a pretty thing. Stallions that lost their mares and family band are never the same. The BLM is certainly facing a difficult management task and I hope reasonable compromises can be found.