Wild Horses of the American West

These lucky "Three Strikes" geldings have found
the end of the rainbow at the Deerwood
Wild Mustang Sanctuary where they
will safely live out their lives.

Last week I shared some of my galleries from my travels to the wild horse management areas in Colorado and Wyoming. While there is a lot of controversy surrounding the BLM and their management of the mustangs the facts are that many horses are being removed from public lands every year. Right now there are approximately 49,000 horses and burros on BLM land, but this does not account for horses on non BLM land: state land with wild and feral horses, Indian ponies that run wild on state land, domestic horses that have been turned loose and now are feral and often reproducing. It is a very complicated and emotional issue with no easy answers or solutions. Many of these horses do not have access to adequate forage or water, especially during times of drought.

The horses that come off the ranges in the BLM gathers are held in short and long term BLM holding facilities such as this one in Rock Springs, Wyoming. Ironically, the White Mountain HMA literally overlooks the Rock Springs holding facilities.
The long and short term holding facilities house around 50,000 wild horses and burros, with only a small percentage of these being successfully adopted.
 In 2012 I visited the Palomino Valley Wild Horse and Burro facility north of Reno and wrote the following entry in my blog after my visit there.

A lovely mare awaiting her
fate at the Rock Springs,
Wyoming BLM corrals.

One of the many
quality horses
available at the Mantle
Ranch, Wheatland,
Wyoming

The sad fact is that there are more horses in the holding facilities than there are people willing or qualified to adopt them. The BLM holds adoption events around the country as well as online adoptions, however I find that they are not well publicized and many potential adopters are sometimes not even aware of them. Raising awareness and getting the word out about adoptions and available horses is critical.

Horses that have been at three adoption events and have been passed over are then considered unadoptable and tagged as three strikes horses. These horses have special brands that designate them as three strikers and are then shipped to long term holding facilities in the mid west, or to sanctuaries that have room for them.

Trainer Steve Mantle at his ranch in Wheatland.

While the facts and the future look bleak for the wild horses there are many programs and people working to find solutions in both the care and management of the three strikers as well as making the horses more adoptable. The Mustang Heritage Foundation has launched a trainer incentive program (TIP) to bridge the gap between potential adopters and the mustangs in addition to the very popular Extreme Mustang Makeover gets horses into the public eye.

There are also many pages and groups on facebook such as The Modern Mustangers who network to get horses seen, adopted and shipped. Please check my link list below to visit the many sites and pages that are all working to help the horses.

In August of 2014 I spent a day with Steve Mantle at the Mantle Ranch in Wyoming. Steve is one of the original trainers to work with the BLM to gentle and train mustangs and get them adopted. I also visited the Deerwood Ranch Wild Horse EcoSanctuary in Wyoming where three hundred three strikes geldings live together on 4700 acres. There are also other sanctuaries such as Cimarron Sky Dog, Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, Return to Freedom to name a few. These places usually welcome visitors and can always benefit from donations to support their work.

Often overlooked,
don't forget there
are also burros available
I found these in the Rock Springs,
Wyoming BLM corrals.

The BLM also has a program that works with prison inmates to gentle and train mustangs.

From what I have seen during my travels and learned from the people who are on the front lines I feel that the best we can do to help the wild horses is to work on networking to help the horses that are in the holding pens, as well as support the sanctuaries. I would also like to see more use of birth control as well as gelding the older stallions and then turning them back out to live out their lives in freedom. The older stallions that wind up in the pens have a very poor chance of being successfully adopted and with the life span of 30 years that is a long time for a horse to live in the pens if he is not lucky enough to wind up at a sanctuary. While the sentiment to "let them all run free" is a nice one it is not realistic. Instead of demonizing and attacking the BLM and their practices we all need to work together to help the horses most at risk, and those are the ones that for whatever reason, be it too old, not pretty enough or just slipping through the cracks have now become an "unadoptable" three strikes horse.

Please visit these links to learn more and get involved. Thank you for reading and helping!

A stallion enjoying his freedom on
the White Mountain HMA, Wyoming

BLM Wild Horse and Burros
BLM Adoption Schedule
Wild Horse Inmate Program

Sanctuaries
Mantle Ranch, Wyoming
Deerwood Ranch Wild Horse EcoSanctuary, Wyoming
Cimarron Sky Dog Sanctuary, New Mexico
Return to Freedom, California

Websites
Mustang Heritage Foundation
The Cloud Foundation
Wild Horse Preservation Campaign
Canon City Mustangs

Facebook Pages
The Modern Mustanger
Adopt a living Legend
Wild Horse Mentor Program
Mustang Classified
Full Moon Rising Badlands and Nokota Horses
Mustang Meg
Canon City Mustangs

Photographing Wild Horses

Stallions scuffle in the Sand Wash Basin

I have been visiting the wild horse ranges in the west since 2006. It is impossible for anyone to really understand the scale and grandeur of these places unless they have visited, photos just don't seem to do it justice! Even more amazing to me is how healthy the horses look on such seemingly barren and dry landscapes. These horses are incredibly tough and hardy and it is truly survival of the fittest in this harsh and unforgiving environment.

A Mcculloughs Peaks stallion with wind knots
and a desert flower in his mane.

Every year when I go to Colorado I make a point to get out to the Sand Wash Basin at least once. This area is well documented by many photographers as it has fairly easy access and the roads are passable as long as it is dry and you have a high clearance vehicle. Maps of the area will keep you from getting lost! Plan to spend the day, bring plenty of water, snacks, sun screen and comfortable footwear. Because you will be many miles away from civilization a spare tire and the ability to change a flat is also useful!

A battle scarred stallion on
White Mountain

As with most HMA's (Herd Management Areas) you are never guaranteed to see horses, sometimes they may be way off in the distance, but the water holes are always a good bet. In the spring when the babies arrive and there is stallion action and lots of dynamic herd behavior is always a good bet for exciting photos. Long lenses are called for here, as well as staying a good distance away and not approaching them is critical for your safety and their survival.

In 2014 I visited the McCulloughs Peaks herd in Wyoming and spent some time on White Mountain near Rocks Springs, Wyoming. This gallery is from my visit to the Sand Wash. To get an idea of where to find the HMA's you will find the BLM website to be a good resource. If you are ever out west and love wild places then make the time for a visit, and maybe you will be lucky enough to see the wild ones, it is an experience that you will always remember.

Arizona in Winter

Last winter I was lucky enough to travel to Arizona to take a break from the long northeast winter. This was the second year I stayed at the lovely Flying E Ranch outside of Wickenburg.

If you are looking for a perfect winter get away I highly recommend this guest ranch! If you are lucky you may spot a bobcat, coyote or owl, and can explore the desert on horse back. In the morning and evening the horses are run to and from the barn and the cowboys are always happy to accommodate requests! Cowboy Johnny Lucas (pictured above) has a great look as well as a wonderful singing voice that we thoroughly enjoyed as he serenaded us with cowboy songs one evening. Thanks to Johnny I discovered singer Dave Stamey and am now a fan!

The nearby Rancho de los Caballeros also runs their herd to and from the barn and pasture twice a day and their colorful herd is easily photographed and viewed from a handy viewing platform.

Wickenburg has become a mecca for team roping and at any given time during the winter there can be several roping events going on in the area. There are always so many photo ops when shooting this kind of event, and it is good to just soak up the winter sun for a while this time of year. While in the area make sure you also check in at this wonderful western museum!

Wickenburg and the state of Arizona are a great winter destination with plenty of blue sky and sunshine, interesting places to visit and lots of horse activities to enjoy!

Babies and the Big Valley

One fairly recent discovery I have made is the Big Valley in Pennsylvania.

I make an effort to visit this area at least once or twice a year, the Amish lifestyle is fascinating to me and it is always a treat for me to see this beautiful part of the world.

While most people think about the Lancaster area when the Amish are mentioned I have found this area far more unspoiled and picturesque. In the spring the fields are full of working teams planting and haying and the lovely farms and well tended fields are always a feast for the eyes.

 You never know what you may find around the next corner and I always feel like I have stepped back in time when I have spent some time here.

With more and more farms and all the accompanying land becoming abandoned and derelict it gives me faith that there are still people who steward the land and keep old traditions alive.

Here is a gallery of images from this year's visits to the area, and also a gallery of foal images (password: foalgallery). The Big Valley gallery has images of early spring (March) planting as well as June haying and field work. The password for the foal gallery is foalgallery.

For more information on the Amish this is an excellent site.

Year End Round Up!

Another busy year is almost behind us. It has been a busy one again, with some amazing trips, new friends and places discovered as well as some losses that are part of life and loving and caring for animals. As much as it hurts I could not imagine not sharing my life with animals, they enrich us in so many ways, make life worth living and remind us of what is truly important.

Over the next few weeks I am going to share my 2014 travels with you as well as galleries and favorite images from my trips. I hope you will enjoy them and please get in touch if you are interested in purchasing a photo (all my images are for sale!) or would like to discuss a visit.

Winter at the McCulloughs Peaks HMA, Wyoming

I am going to start with my winter trip to Wyoming last February. Wyoming is rapidly becoming one of my favorite places to visit with it's variety of amazing and unspoiled landscapes, friendly people who make you feel at home and no shortage of photo opportunities when it comes to spectacular landscapes and the western lifestyle, from rodeo and ranch work to wild horses. I always look forward to my travels there and know that I will be treated to a few new hidden gems and surprises.

In February I made my first trip to The Hideout Ranch in Shell, Wyoming to run a photography workshop for the Equine Photographers Network. Situated at the base of the Bighorn Mountains this ranch has stunning and iconic back drops wherever you turn and the hospitality, food and accommodations were first class all the way. The small group of women who participated were so much fun to shoot with and we enjoyed every minute of our time at this special place.

I have a gallery of favorite images from last years workshop here and look forward to returning again in February. Though it may be cold you will be treated to amazing winter light, blue skies and scenery that most photographers only dream of!

Photographing Horses: Join Me!

Almost daily I receive emails asking me questions about photographing horses from what camera and lenses I use to create my images to more involved questions such as how a certain image may have been created, how my action images look sharp (or how I got that great blur!) or why my head shots and backgrounds look a certain way. There are no real secrets, the big one I have found is that it takes a lot of time, patience, practice and perseverance to create images that reflect the image you may have in your head. There are really no shortcuts!

In equine photography the first advantage you have is a love and understanding for horses, this will be a huge help for developing your photography skills as you already understand horse behavior, breed standards and being able to predict the movement and expression of horses.
Many people these days have cameras that do all the work for them, and while their images may be acceptable they have little real control over how their images are created, and until you gain some control over your camera you will never create truly good, consistent images.

Since I was originally a film shooter I still work hard to get my images as good as I can in the camera without having to spend loads of time "fixing" them in photoshop. I spend a lot of time composing in camera, and shoot with intention, not at random hoping something turns out good. It's not that simple, and if you are shooting this way you are probably experiencing some frustration at the percentage of images that you are satisfied with!

My popular Basics of Equine Photography Online course starts this coming Monday,
we will be accepting sign ups until Friday. No matter where you are in your skills as an equine photographer I invite you to join me for this intensive five week course to get feedback on your images and learn all the small but critical elements that go into creating photos of horses that you can be proud of, as well as increasing the percentage of images that you are happy with! We will start with the camera and all it's settings in the first week, then progress to headshots, conformation, action and much more.

I hope you will join us. The only requirement is a DSLR camera with a lens that has a focal length of 135mm or greater and a desire to learn! This course will be completely online with the ability to access the materials at your convenience, and I will be providing daily feedback on the forum course area.
Go here for complete details:
http://www.equinephotographers.org/courses/

Colorado Adventures

It was wonderful to get back to Colorado for my ninth trip to the Great American Horse Drive earlier this spring. We had a great group of photographers for our workshop although the cold and windy weather provided some challenges for both photographers and wranglers. We had constantly changing weather conditions from snow squalls, dramatic skies with lots of clouds to bright blue cloudless back drops - all in a matter of minutes!

Head wrangler Chuck Hummel did a masterful job wrangling cowboys, cowgirls and horses along with an awesome stage coach shoot, our workshop leader Scott Trees helped set up the shoots and as usual Mark Kettenhofen had his candy store of Nikon gear available for all photographers to play with. As always the drive was spectacular with the herd safely delivered to the home ranch for another year. Next year's drive is scheduled for the first weekend in May and you can be sure I will be back for more fun and games! Please go to this link to view all the images from this event and drop me an email for usage and licensing information. 

While in Colorado I also spent some time searching for birds in both the Craig and Walden areas and was richly rewarded with good views of Sharp Tailed Grouse, Swainson's Hawks, and White Pelicans among others. What a treat and wonderful way to spend time in nature. I have a gallery of Colorado birds available for your viewing pleasure here.
No trip to Colorado is ever complete without a visit to the vast and magnificent Sand Wash Wild Horse Management area to look for the wild horses there. The horses there were healthy and active with new babies and plenty of stallion activity.

 It will be another busy summer, stay tuned for photos from a very exciting trip coming up soon, and in August I am looking forward to returning to the Powderhorn Ranch in Wyoming for our annual girls' retreat there. It is always a pleasure to spend time here with the True family and their beautiful horses in a spectacular setting and an extra treat to share it with fellow photographers. It was really special to me to have one of my photos of head Powderhorn cowgirl Hailey True featured on the cover of America's Horse recently! View this gallery for an idea of the photo ops that will be available to us. If you would like more information on joining us for the retreat please drop me an email. I hope to see you there for a truly special experience!

In July I will be leading my very popular Basics of Equine Photography online course again. If you feel like you could use some help improving your equine photography skills then this is the course for you. We will explore everything from the very basics of camera technicals to capturing successful horse conformation, head shots and action shots. This is a fun, intensive and educational course which you will not find anywhere else. I hope you will join us! 

Going to the birds....

 

I admit, I love birds and this winter was especially exciting with the Snowy Owl Irruption. When I travelled to Chincoteague last December to photograph Snow Geese I first heard about this phenomenon and hoped that I would be blessed to spot one. I have never seen an owl in the wild other than the burrowing owls in the west, so it was a true blessing when literally the next weekend as I was travelling north I had an up close experience with one at Bombay Hook Wildlife Refuge! In addition I was able to see some Snowy Owls at our local landfill in Broome County, NY.
 

 Over the winter lots of great Snowy Owl images were shared online from all over the east coast and really sparked my interest in bird photography. I follow many excellent and informative bird pages on Facebook that share images and information and also help educate on migration and behavior. Facebook and the internet is a great way to connect and learn and I welcome you to subscribe to my bird list if you are interested.

 Speaking of bird behavior, we have many bald eagles living right here in the western Catskills of New York. Mainly they can be found around the reservoirs where fishing is good. I see them almost on a daily basis but never have I been so delighted as the day in late winter when I found a pair playing and tumbling in the sky. What a treat for me to see this! The eagles can often be seen out on the ice during the winter and it is wonderful to see them soaring effortlessly on the thermals.

Recently I took a trip south to Maryland to the Conowingo Dam, the second largest Dam in the US and known for it's Bald Eagle population. Here the Susquehanna River empties into the Chesapeake Bay watershed and powers much of Philadelphia. We were treated to lots of bird life here but the best was watching the Osprey busily building their nest.

 On our way back north we stopped at the Middle Creek Wildlife Management area in Pennsylvania, a lovely, peaceful spot known for it's Snow Goose visitors. While there was only a small flock of Snow Geese still left in the area we were also treated to Tundra Swans, ducks of many varieties, tree swallows and even a lovely little bluebird. This is a spot I will be returning to again! I hope you enjoy these photographs and promise I will be getting back to the horses soon!



Imagequine Travels, past and future!

Hello Friends! I hope you all survived the winter OK, I know for many of us it was long, hard and challenging! We have had our fair share of snow, wind and cold here and hope that warmer

weather and green grass gets here soon! I am sorry I have been neglecting my blog. Sometimes I wonder if people still read them but according to my stats people are still visiting so I thought I would try and bring you up to date on my recent as well as upcoming travels!

While there is not much horse photography to be done during the winter months I have been trying to get out on a regular basis to look for raptors and have been rewarded with some good sightings of Snowy Owls, Bald Eagles and various raptors. Just this week there has been a lot of migratory activity, always a good indicator of the change of seasons. Recently I was lucky enough to catch a quick glimpse of what I am fairly certain was a bobcat right here on our own property!

Last November I organized a workshop for my friend Scott Trees in the Fort Worth, Texas area and we had the opportunity to visit some beautiful locations and photograph some great horses! Enjoy my gallery of this event.

Scott and I will be working together to lead our annual photo workshop at Sombrero Ranch which is followed by the Great American Horse Drive. This will be my ninth year attending. This event is always a highlight for me. What could be better than being surrounded by hundreds of horses under the vast Colorado sky?

Scott and I are also working together on a workshop in November in Thousand Oaks, California. This should be a good one, and I am looking forward to exploring this part of the country!

Earlier this winter I was lucky enough to get out of the cold for a little while and spend some

time at the Flying E Ranch in Wickenburg, Arizona again to enjoy some mild desert weather and the wonderful hospitality of the staff there!

From Wickenburg I traveled north to Cody, Wyoming for a week long retreat of winter photography with a great group of ladies at the Hideout Ranch in Shell Wyoming. It was a magical time of snow, horses, cowboys and fun in an absolutely amazing location and we are looking forward to returning and doing it all again in February of 2015. Drop me an email if you would like to be on the email list for this one!

Other photo retreats I will be hosting this year will be to Iceland in June with my friend Phyllis Burchett and our annual women's retreat in August at the Powderhorn Ranch in Wyoming. Interested in joining us? Please get in touch!

 

I have a busy year coming up and my travel schedule is outlined below, please drop me an email if you would like to arrange a visit for while I am in the area.

April: Ohio, Kentucky, Tennesee
May: Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota
June: Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia
August: Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington
October: New England
November: California
Ongoing: New York, New England, Pennsylvania, New Jersey

If you know of a "must see" attraction in any of these areas please let me know.

I have a lengthy list of equine "needs" of subjects I am seeking to photograph. Please drop me an email with "Imagequine Photo Needs" in the subject line and I will send that to you.

I am seeking to work with rescue groups on a volunteer basis to provide them with images to help promote their rescue as well as place adoptable horses in homes, if you know of a place or are a rescue worker who would like to take advantage please don't hesitate to get in touch!

 

The Camargue, Cloud, Cavalia and more!

Hello Friends! It was an exciting year for me and I am catching my breath and trying write it all down so I can share some of my latest galleries of my work with you. Just follow the links below to see more images.

 

This year I had the opportunity to travel to the Camargue region of southern France for the first time and photograph the fabled white horses of the area. In August we once again met up at the amazing Powderhorn Ranch for a week's photography retreat. After this event I travelled in Wyoming, Montana and Colorado and was treated to seeing and photographing Cloud's band in the Pryor Mountains as well as the Mustangs of the McCullough Peaks and the Sand Wash Basin.

To top off these amazing new photo ops, I was invited to attend media day when Cavalia came to Boston . . . if you ever get the chance to attend this dramatic show it is worth every penny!

Whenever I am in Pennsylvania I try to spend some time in the "Big Valley" there. This is a pristine valley where the majority of farmers still do things the old way, and it is a real treat to see, and photograph, the big horses working in the fields.

 

I was lucky to do some shooting in Vermont at the optimal foliage time, and a special treat was visiting Tamarack Hill Farm! Our group also enjoyed some portrait sessions at the Moses Kent Farm, fall trail riding fun with Joe and Delilah, an Icelandic Farm and a morning in South Woodstock with the North Country Hounds.

My travels for the year are not quite over, and I am already looking forward to next year! I will be heading to Fort Worth, Texas early this month, and in December I will travel to Chincoteague in hopes of catching the spectacular snow goose migration. Next year we will be back in Wickenburg, Arizona, as well as Shell, Wyoming and Craig, Colorado. 

Email me if you would like to set up a photo session or have any special photo requests.

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