As you can see by the blood on the mothers legs, this foal is a newborn. Probably delivered the day we photographer them, June 1, or possibly May 29. We didn’t want to get too close, but as we observed the foal it seemed to be exhausted. Thankfully mom was very protective and kept all horses away from her newborn.
Several hours later, we saw the foal with mom ON THE RUN through the thick dust! The foal looked GREAT! It might even have blue eyes! What a beautiful sight!
I’m still one photo shoot behind in posting. This trip was early May. Found both the North and South herds. Lots of foals this year which will only give the BLM an excuse to round up. More to come.
Here are some additional photographs of the Onaqui Wild Horses that are more contemporary or as some might say, “fine art”. Some are just toned, some are modified in Photoshop. Comments appreciated.
Since hearing the devastating news that the BLM “ACCIDENTALLY” captured my absolutely favorite stallion (Ghost) and the stallion that he was trying to steal some of his mares (the Cremello whose mare has born colts with blue and blue/brown eyes), I have not been able to bring myself to photograph the Onaqui’s. The BLM refuses to return these two stallions to their herd! They had promised the public that they would not be rounding up any of the Onaqui herd that was not on Dugway land. So much for trusting the BLM…
After a business trip to Grand Junction, Colorado I drove the 2 1/2 hours to see the Sand Wash Basin herd of wild horses. The herd is located about 20 minutes northwest of Maybell, Colorado. I got to the the HMA just before sunset and miraculously found a small band to photograph just at sunset. They seemed very calm and allowed me to get quite close to photograph them. I wish I had taken them time to grab more than just my 500mm lens but the light was fading quickly and I really didn’t think they were going to be as friendly as the Onaqui herd.
I slept in my vehicle and got up before sunrise to hopefully find another band to photograph at the “magic hour”. Again, I was very fortunate to find another small band just before sunrise. The way the images downloaded was that the gallery shows the early morning photographs at the beginning and the evening photographs from the prior night at the end of the gallery. I drove most of the HMA and found at least 10 bands of between 5 and 8 horses in each band. Most of them were not close enough to easily walk to and I needed to return home as soon as possible. This is completely unlike the Onaqui herd where you almost always find over one hundred horses together, and family bands within that larger herd. The Sand Wash Basin wild horses were all beautiful and very healthy. I hope to be able to return and spend more time with them. I also hope to get up enough courage to photograph the Onaqui’s soon…
Here are more color photography from our trip to the West Desert in late May. Â 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. Â We found the herd in two locations. Â One closer to Dugway and one group at the main watering hole southwest of Simpson Springs. Â Lots of new foals. Â That is a concern. Â With the herd growing so rapidly, the BLM will likely consider a round-up. Â I personally believe this is not the best way to manage herd growth. Â It is certainly a poor choice for those rounded up. Â 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. Â In this series a roan stallion spots a black stallion that is “courting” his mare. Â The chase is on. Â When the roan finally catches the black stallion he almost takes the black stallion to the ground. Â Then the black stallion gets his moment when he is able to pull off a solid kick to the throat of the roan. Â This herd of wild horses along the old Pony Express trail near Dugway, Utah is such a treasure. Â My biggest concern is how quickly they are growing in number. Â I don’t believe the BLM has had a roundup of this herd for several years. Â There must be near twenty new foals from this year! Â 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. Â I have seen the effects on those left behind and it is not a pretty thing. Â Stallions that lost their mares and family band are never the same. Â The BLM is certainly facing a difficult management task and I hope reasonable compromises can be found.
Every time to get out to photograph this herd of wild horses I am inspired by them. Â I wish I had the time to photograph these magnificent creatures every day.
On this trip it was as cold as I have seen it in Utah’s West Desert. Â It was 13 degrees just after sunset. Â The lighting was amazing! Â We were lucky enough to spot the herd (it was HUGE) many miles from the main road. Â The lighting was good when we got there but became better and better the later it got. Â Another amazing opportunity to spend time with them….
Here are some photographs I took this spring when the Utah Desert was as colorful as I have ever seen it. Â The Onaqui herd seemed to be in great shape, with foals just starting to be born. Â To see the desert now, you would never believe it was this colorful. Â The plant that is such a brilliant orange is called Globe Mallow or desert mallow. Â It is native to Utah.
Here are some photographs of wild horses from my latest visit to the Onaqui Herd.  As you can see from photograph 17, one of the colts has broken its leg some time ago. A person I ran into last week said the break is 1 1/2 years old. The colt seems to be able to keep up with the herd, and seems quite healthy. I have included photographs of a small family band that seems to keep to itself, never integrating with either large herd in the area.  That band has a new pinto foal that has very beautiful markings, and a lot of white. All of my wild horse photography is available for purchase. I can also print custom (5×7) folding “thank-you cards”, calendars, mouse pads etc. All photographs are available in full color or can be tinted to your liking. I print on Epson archival paper or canvas using Epson archival inks.
