Onaqui Herd 050414

This is such a beautiful colt. She's so fluffy, and spunky. She kept jumping at her mom's face, and trying to bite it. Playful little thing.

Here are 3 of the dozen new colts in the herd so far. The 2 red ones are "brothers from another mother." They are so fun to watch. I only saw one other mare that seemed to still be pregnant. So I'll look forward to seeing one more little one soon.

On the move toward a watering hole.

These colts were so funny. They went at it for quite sometime, mimicking the fighting they must see around them everyday. 

Half-siblings.

This is one of the biggest stallions out there. And man has he been fighting. He's so scarred. There is breeding going on, and the stallions are all on edge. And they're lucky if they don't get injured by another male, or kicked in the head by a mare.

This is often how a fight breaks out. More than one stallion approaches a dung pile. They start to sniff it, and maybe...uh...contribute some of their own to the pile. It's all about marking territory, and displaying dominance. The stallions can be very ornery around these piles, posturing to one another, or fighting and doling out punishment.

I need to name this little colt. It's just so fluffy and cute, and has such a distinct face. I look forward to watching it grow up and establish it's own place in the herd and within its own band.

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In this spot, there was this big bare circle of just dirt and dust. Many of the horses took a roll in it. We were often shooting through clouds of dust, which sometimes looks cool, and adds something to a shot, or sometimes it ruins it. I like how this one turned out.

An intense fight breaks out between two stallions.

These colts are pretty amazing, rising to their wobbly hooves just minutes or maybe hours after birth. And before you know it, they're running with the herd.

Two of the most dominant stallions in the herd. The white one is a recently rising star. I've seen him running the entire herd around. He might be royalty out there, and I assume he is one of Gandolf's offspring. The buckskin on the right is one of my favorites. He displays more mustang genetics than most of them. I love his mask, and he is producing some great looking colts. These two got into a good chase and some fighting yesterday. I was actually surprised to see the white one making such a challenge on the buckskin. I wonder how long before he'll either overtake that harem, or round up his own.

This was just as we were leaving. The herd decided to head for another round of water at the watering hole.

Good Friday in the desert

This is the old stallion that I've been calling "Gandolf." Every spring, when I get back out to the desert, I worry that I won't see him; I worry that he'll have lived out the last days of his life, as he is quite old. So, after not seeing him for my first 3 trips this spring, I was absolutely elated to see him yesterday. It was a glorious reunion. He and his companion horse--3 Socks--ran up to me, and posed for a few minutes, and gave me some great shots, which I appreciated. Mostly, I was just happy to see him. He seems to have fared pretty well over the winter. He looks good; healthy, and even a little spunky this spring. And he's got a new battle would. Check out that bite mark above his left nostril. That had to have hurt!!! I wish this horse many, many more glorious days as patriarch of the Onaqui herd.

The herd has 7 or 8 new colts so far, and still 1 or 2 mares looking pregnant. So we'll see. I fell in love with this new one. I'll admit, I wanted to cuddle her, and feel her soft fur. She's going to be a great-looking horse.

I have a few shots of this fight. These are 2 or 3-year old horses. They're not competing for females yet, but it won't be long. And this fight went on for probably 5 solid minutes. It's a little tricky to see from this angle, but I wanted to show you this behavior; they often fight from down on their front knees, in a kneeling position at times. I generally only see it in the younger males. The adult stallions really get after it, trying to inflict damage, and assert certain dominance over the others.

I think this black horse is probably a younger sibling to 3 Socks, as he also has 3 white socks, but a slightly different mark on his forehead.

What a show these two gave me!

The stallion on the right has been one of my favorites for a couple years running. I love his markings, and suspect he actually has a lot of mustang blood. His head is shaped a little differently from many of the horses out there. As well, his back is flatter; not as pronounced in the saddle. He's a tough horse, and this was the first time I'd seen another stallion challenging him.

I really love how this image turned out. I think this one will hang on my wall very soon.

We didn't have great light on this trip. It was quite cloudy, but we were happy not to get rained on, and the wind wasn't too bad; just enough to blow the dust a bit when the horses would stir it up. I love the dramatic effect it adds to an image.

After the fight is over, a parting gesture; "We'll meet again."

After a couple of hours shooting, it was time to go. I always like to back off and leave before the horses are actually ready for me to. It's give and take out there, and I want to maintain a respect for these horses. I don't want them to feel me pushing them. So I back off early, rather than overstaying my welcome. Just as I was loading things up in the car, this gorgeous paint stallion runs nearby, and takes a roll in the dust, before getting up and running up the hill to be with the rest of the herd.

Salem Pond, Salem, Utah

The famous bridge at Salem Pond.

A good morning to fish and to enjoy the new spring weather at the park. There were a couple of old timers, who were fishing when I pulled up. They had cast their lines, and were just relaxing and enjoying the spring sunshine in their lawn chairs. I thought to myself, "That is what a Saturday should be about."

Onaqui Wild Horses Part 3

Gandolf and his companion horse, Three Socks. This behavior is called "phlemen." They curl up their upper lip, and are smelling the air to see if any of the mares are in estrus.

A peaceful, sweet moment, shared between mama and baby.

The stallions are in a constant struggle for dominance, and it's fairly common to witness fighting and chases like this one. That swift back kick just barely missed!

It gets so dusty out here; so dry. This is the entire herd of between 130-135 individuals, heading to the water hole, and stirring up clouds of dust.

Onaqui Wild Horses Part 2

This was one of the last trips I made to the herd, last fall. I always hope to be able to approach the herd in my car, at least within 100 or so yards; they're used to seeing a few cars and trucks everyday, rolling through the desert. If you have to approach them from out of nowhere, on foot, they're much more skiddish, as you can seem like a predator, rather than just a peaceful Joe with only a camera.
This particular evening, I caught the herd a good ways from a dirt road. So, they didn't see me park my car. I hiked at least 1000 yards to get to them, and when I got within sight of them, a half dozen of them ran out to meet me; ears perked up, nostrils flared, looking for a showdown if I wanted one. I stopped where I was, and let them stare at me and my tripod for a while; long enough that they could all calm down a bit.
By the time I got to start shooing some good stuff, the daylight was quickly fading. I was lucky to get the shots that I did; very few. But because of the lighting, this shot ended up being rather beautiful. These horses are so pretty. They are wild; they are quite different than any Quarter Horse you may have been around. They have a wild, natural spirit, and you can feel it if you try.
I sure hope that these precious symbols of the wild American West will remain for many, many centuries to come. I'm crossing my fingers than man won't screw it up.

Onaqui Wild Horses Part 1

It was so hot this day; 101 degrees when I arrived, only to see the entire herd stampeding, being chased around by some jackass's Doberman Pincher dog. Needless to say, I gave the guy a piece of my mind; not only was he harassing wild animals with a dog, he was harassing a federally protected species. Anyway, with the heat, and all that running, the stallions were feeling extra ornery and short-tempered; fighting was rampant for a couple of hours, until they were all able to cool off down at one of the watering holes.
I love their crazy manes in this shot.

I cropped in on this shot a bit, to be able to show you the intensity of these fights. In those struggles for dominance, among the competing stallions, they literally "go for the jugular."

Trying to woo a few new ladies.

Some good relief from the hot sun, and dry, dusty desert.