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…
Finally getting caught up on our latest trip to photograph the Onaqui herd. It is getting hot enough and dry enough that the herd(s) are now using the watering holes making them easier to find. A few rain showers, and a spectacular sunset to cap off another perfect day with the Onaqui mustangs, mares and foals.
I had another great trip to photograph the Onaqui Herd of wild horses in Utah’s West Desert. The “North herd” was near the “trough watering hole” and the South herd was South of Simpson Springs. It’s hard to have a bad day with this herd. The rainbow that was out for a short time was a welcome addition to another perfect afternoon.
Wow! What a sight. The entire North herd (approximately 250 horses take off on a full (single file) run after being immobilized for nearly an hour by a huge rainstorm. You could feel the earth tremble as they ran past. Then, they disappeared over the crest of the hill. We looked for nearly an hour before we spotted them coming over the crest of the nearby hill, into this beautiful valley! I could have watched them all night! (I guess we really did). Then the lightning started. I was lucky enough to catch the lightning with the horses in the foreground. And to top off the perfect evening, the “Old Man” came by for a visit. What a night….
I had the pleasure to visit and do some photography of the Onaqui herd last week. It wasn’t supposed to be a photography trip necessarily, but the sky and lighting conditions demanded that I seize the opportunity to photograph them. It’s funny how sometimes I don’t expect to end up with very many “keepers” but it is usually those trips that I end up with more keepers than I had ever expected. That was the case with this trip. I had three, (very enthusiastic), wild horse advocates with me. As is always the case, it was another magical trip. I hope to continue to be a support to Sonja and the Wild Horse Sanctuary. She has rescued 8 (yes eight!) wild horses that were destined for death or being penned up in corrals for the rest of their lives. My photographs can be ordered and purchased at her sanctuary in Park City and those proceeds are donated to her organization. We also plan on auctioning off trips to see/photograph the Onaqui herd that will be hosted by myself.
The Onaqui Wild Horses never disappoint! The mud is gone, the road from Dugway to Pony Express Road is finally complete and easy to travel. The purples are gone but green is in! Lots of fights, lots of foals (too many, where is the PZP campaign), and lighting at sunset was amazing!
In the eight years I have been photographing the Onaqui herd of wild horses in Utah’s West Desert, I have never seen the desert this colorful. The purples were AMAZING. Not sure what weed it is that produces these purple blossoms but it is breathtaking! The horses don’t eat this particular weed, but they seem to graze right at the edge of the purple blossoms. If you are planning a trip in the near future, I hope the purple blooms are still there for your trip! We had to search all day to find the “main North” herd. It was nice to see the “Old Man”. Did not find “The Ghost” on this visit… If you are coming from the North, I strongly suggest you enter the HMA via the Pony Express road from Faust, rather than Dugway. The dirt road from Dugway is still a huge mess! Many more images to process. More to come.
It looks like the Ghost has decided to finally become one of the Onaqui Herd of Wild Horses. This particular horse is seen about every 3rd or 4th year. He “appears”, fights with as many stallions as will fight with him, tries to breed with the best mares, and then disappears for several years. I first photographed him in 2015 (see first two photographs). He was MAGNIFICENT! Full of testosterone and incredibly majestic! At the end of a long day, he started running South and just kept running. I watched him for at least 10 miles and then he was gone.
The next time I saw him was in December 2018 (see next three photographs). He appeared out of nowhere and seemed like he was after my favorite mare (the young red mare with a blonde mane). At that time she was with the blue-eyed Palomino Stallion and his family band. The Ghost has the unusual markings of ancient Spanish horses which are “zebra stripes” on the lower legs and a dark dorsal stripe extending to the tail hairs.
Last week he was still with the Palomino family band, but the Red mare is no longer with that family band. The Ghost has become the Palomino Stallion’s 1st Lieutenant! Meaning, he appears to be teamed up with the Palomino stallion and fights off the younger bachelors that want to breed with the Palomino’s mares. The Ghost is the first line of defense, fighting off all intruders. When the time is right, the Ghost will make a play for the Palomino’s mares and there will be ha huge battle! We’ll see how soon this happens. As the BLM is planning to round up 80% of the herd in the next few months, I doubt we will have the opportunity to see how this plays out. Even if the Ghost was not one of the 400 horsed that will be rounded up and taken to pens in the mid-west, the Palomino’s family band will certainly not remain intact after the roundup. I think I am going to me sick…..
I have never seen such a long and wet winter for the Onaqui’s since I bagan photographing them 8 or 9 years ago! I have had at least four trips to the West desert in search of ANY HORSES and have only seen a few horses miles from any road and completely inaccessible. My luck changed a few weeks ago! Finally, I was able to brave the incredibly muddy roads and hike over a mile to be in the middle of my favorite family band!!!! The blue-eyed colts!!! Several of the horses that were with this family band have left (my favorite red mare with blonde mane). “The Ghost” is still with the band, hanging out on the outskirts. Not sure if he has a specific mare he is interested in, or if he will challenge the blue-eyed stallion for the whole band. It should be an interesting summer!!!
PLEASE NOTE IF TRAVELING TO THE ONAQUI. TOOELE COUNTY HAS THE DIRT ROAD FROM DUGWAY (LDS CHURCH) TO THE INTERSECTION WITH PONY EXPRESS ROAD COMPLETELY UN-PASSABLE! THEY WILL START ADDING GRAVEL TO THE MUDDY MESS LATER THIS MONTH BUT FOR NOW YOU MUST USE THE FIVE-MILE ACCESS.
