photograph Onaqui of wild horses

Onaqui Herd 12 July

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Finally got around to processing my photographs from July 12. It was very hot that day and it took a fair amount of hiking to keep up with the herd.

According to a recent instagram post https://www.instagram.com/p/B1MrhhTH_y8/?igshid=1xgr6x4xfyzw

the BLM has moved up the scheduled October Onaqui roundup to September 10-16. According to the post the BLM will gather these 200 horses from outside the HMA and then from “the mountains within the HMA where sage grouse have been re-introduced.” Again according to the post, horses within the valley will NOT be gathered…

It seems unlikely that the BLM can find 200 horses to round up without rounding up the herd that we photograph. The South herd is frequently “outside of the HMA.”  I’m glad I will be photographing in Iceland during this time. Not sure I could endure the pain and suffering.

Photographing these magnificent wild horses never gets old. I could do it every day. I only hope that they will still be there when I get back from Iceland…

 

Photographs of Onaqui Wild Horses 8 Aug

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It was another great trip to the Onaqui with good friends and great company. Not as hot as a few weeks ago when it was 108 degrees. It was in the low 90’s today.

The North herd has moved near Simpson Springs and the South Herd is just a few miles South of them. FANTASTIC clouds and lighting, not much fighting. Great day for panorama’s. More to come from this shoot and one in late July.

Photography of Onaqui Herd – June 20

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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.

Photographing Onaqui Herd – June 14 – Onaqui Wild Horses

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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.

Onaqui Wild Horses Herd Takes Over Valley

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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….

Visit to Photograph Onaqui Herd of Wild Horses May 30

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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.

Article In Sandy Journal About Onaqui

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I was very lucky to be contacted by a gifted writer who wanted to write an article about myself and the Onaqui wild horses. Linnea Lundgren is that writer and her article was published in the Sandy Journal yesterday. Here is a link to that article. https://www.sandyjournal.com/2019/05/29/200691/for-the-love-of-wild-horses-a-photographer-s-story

Thank you again Linnea

Visit to the Onaqui Herd by YEEHAAA and Salt Lake Center for Science Education Students

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I had the privilege of taking some students from the Salt Lake Center for Science & Education (SLCSES) out to see the Onaqui Herd. This was in conjunction with the “Youth Edification Equine Human Association and Alliance” (YEEHAAA). It has been raining constantly this spring and I have never seen so much rain! The difficulty that presents is that the herd is not using the watering holes so they can be difficult to locate and even more difficult to get to if they are off the main roads. The side roads are almost impassable. We did luck out (I had gone out the night before to locate the herd) and found the herd where they located the previous evening very close to the road. I believe the students appreciated this magnificent national treasure we are lucky enough to have in our “back-yard”. We were able to walk to the horses and they seemed to have a good time interacting with these wonderful animals. We only had about 1 1/2 hours to be with the horses in order to get the students back to the school by 3:30. We ran into a very nice group of folks from Salt Lake that brought a relative that lives in England to see this wonderful herd of wild horses! I only with the BLM could realize how devastating it will be for future visitors if they remove 80% of the herd. HOW SENSELESS!!!!  The stallions seem especially aggressive this spring.  Lots of fights!!!

Wild Horses Threatened Again!

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I just received this notification from the American Wild Horse Campaign (see below).  They are a wonderful organization that is putting pressure on the BLM to partner with them an the Salt River Wild Horse Management group to use PZP and NOT ROUNDUPS to manage the Onaqui Herd to reasonable numbers.  Please consider clicking on the link to contact your representative in Congress to stop the proposed legislation to slaughter 15,000 to 20,000 wild horses a year.

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Dear Greig,

Wild horses face an unprecedented attack. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and other pro-slaughter groups have cut a deal on Capitol Hill that would result in the roundup of 15,000 to 20,000 wild horses a year. The plan will result in more cruel roundups, more horses in captivity, and more of our public lands used for cattle interests.

We can stop this bad deal. Click here right now and tell your Representative: reject the appropriations language requiring an unprecedented 15,000-20,000 wild horses to be removed from the range.

This is a disastrous plan all-around. It actually increases the risk of slaughter by funneling more mustangs and burros into an already overburdened and costly government holding, with no guarantees of funding for their lifetime care. The language throughout this plan is so vague that it leaves inhumane sterilization methods squarely on the table. And the real kicker – it will cost taxpayers a billion dollars.

It is true that some humane groups, including the ASPCA and HSUS, are misguidedly supporting this deal in hopes that the BLM will use fertility and not kill horses. But we think wild horses and burros deserve more than hopes.

The only winners in this “plan” are the wealthy cattle interests and their lobbyists. Wild horses and taxpayers lose.

Be the voice for wild horses right now. Contact your Representative.

Thank you,

Suzanne Roy

American Wild Horse Campaign
P.O. Box 1733
Davis, CA 95617

May Visit To Photograph Onaqui Wild Horses

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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!