Tag Archives: wild mustang

Photography of Onaqui Wild Horses and Lightning – July 20

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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…

Latest Photographs of Onaqui Herd – Wild Horses

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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.

Sheep At Watering Hole – Onaqui HMA – BLM Controversy

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I have been photographing the Onaqui herd of wild horses for 7 years now.  There is a lot of debate about this herd and others in Utah, Nevada, and elsewhere.  The debate centers around the idea the herds are growing too big and eating up all of the feed and water.  This rhetoric comes from those that use the same land to graze their sheep and cattle.

Here is a photograph I took last year.  This is taken at a small watering hole that is used regularly by the Onaqui herd of approximately 100 horses.  Now, ask yourself, are the horses the problem or the sheep/cattle?  Pretty powerful photograph.  I wish you could see it in full resolution.  There are sheep EVERYWHERE!  By clicking on the first image you will be looking at a panoramic of pasted images of the scene at the watering hole.  The other images are five magnifications of this image, showing you exactly how many sheep were watering at this hole on this day.  I am in favor of limiting the number of horses in this herd.  I am not in favor of roundups.  I have seen the effects of roundups on the social structure of the herd.  The BLM is faced with a huge problem.  I hope we can find a workable solution for the benefit of the herd and future generations.