Tag Archives: photographs of wild horses

Photographs of Onaqui Wild Horses – Nov

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We were a little worried about how muddy the roads might be when we left Salt Lake. It had rained a lot the previous few days, but luckily the roads (even the side roads) were fairly dry. We found the North (Davis Mountain) herd just East of Davis Mountain. After photographing them for a couple of yours we left to find the South herd. This might have been one of the very few trips when the South herd was not in the flats. In fact, we never did find them. Sunset was quickly approaching so we drove as fast as we dared to get back the the North herd before sunset. With only a few minutes to spare we were able to get some stunning photographs of these magnificent wild horses just at sunset. Another fantastic trip to photograph these stunning wild horses.

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.

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!!!

FIRST PHOTOS OF ONAQUI WILD HORSE HERD AFTER LONG WINTER!

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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.

Onaqui Wild Horses in Snow

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Wow, it’s been a long time since we visited the Onaqui herd. It was a difficult day to try and find this wonderful herd of wild horses. The clouds/fog/smog prevented us from being able to use the binoculars. There was a fair amount of snow on the west desert so we were hoping to not have to travel too far from the main roads.

We came down the road from lookout pass, all the way to Simpson Springs and did not see any sign of the horses. We continued South to the Old River Bed station and still had not seen a single horse. There were several thousand sheep at the River Bed station. I was surprised to see them there that late in the season. I wonder if they have grazing rights through the winter.

It was at least another five miles on the road (getting closer to the Dugway geode beds). Finally was we were about ready to turn around we spotted a about 30 wild horses in the distance, luckily near the road. It was the Onaqui! This family band had my favorite mare (red with blond mane). We were really glad to see them.

After photographing them for a few hours they had moved about 1/2 mile off the road. We finished up with them and decided to go South a few more miles in hopes of seeing another band. No luck. We decided to go out to them when we ran into a very accomplished photographer from back east (Harry Siskind). We all walked out the the herd and had a great time together. On the way out, we happened to run into another family band. My favorite band! The one with the blue/brown eyed colt. What a TREAT!

I immediately recognized a magnificent stallion that I have not seen for at least 4 years. THE GHOST! He is known to come out of nowhere and fight with every stallion that will take him on. He really is magnificent. The most “proud” stallion I have ever seen. He “prances” and does everything he can to show off for the ladies. The light wasn’t that great but a very rare treat to experience. Maybe he will pick off a few mares and become part of the Onaqui herd. Can’t wait to see!!!

Wild Horse Photographs – Onaqui Herd – September

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I had several fantastic trips to the Onaqui Wild horses in late August and early September with two great photographers and fellow horse lovers. These photographers usually photograph the Salt River Herd, but wanted to see the Onaqui herd before it was reduced by 80%. I hope they had a good time, they seemed to really enjoy the Onaqui Herd and the intimate photographs you can shoot of this herd. This post is one of the three days I spent with them. I will add the other two days in the future.

Onaqui Herd 27 Sept – ROUNDUP DELAYED!

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It looks like the BLM is delaying the roundup of the Onaqui Herd till 2019. I hope it gives us enough time to convince the BLM that rounding up 80% of the herd and putting them in pens for the rest of their lives is not the answer!

Here are images from my last visit to the herd. All horses were healthy, well-fed and well-watered. The vast majority of the the herd was on the North range (close to Dugway). There is only one active watering hole in this area and it was a wonderful site to see over 300 horses coming into the water. Not the greatest lighting, but a wonderful sight. As you can see, plenty of photographers visiting the herd as well. We went to the South range and were able to get a few pictures but returned to the North herd for sunset. Another magnificent visit to this magnificent herd.

My Ebook of Onaqui Wild Horses is Finally Available!

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I have been working on this photographic ebook for some time.  I finally think I have all of the bugs worked out and it is ready for purchase.  It contains over 50 pages and 70 high-resolution images of this magnificent herd of wild horses located it Utah’s West Desert.  I have attached previews of some of the pages.  The ebook comes in PDF format and can be viewed on computers, tablets smartphones etc.  THE COST OF THE EBOOK IS $9.99  Buy Now

You will be directed to the download page immediately after purchase.  If you have any problems with the download etc, please email me.  All payments are done securely through PayPal.  I do not have access to any credit card information.  You do NOT need a PayPal account to purchase this ebook.  Just click on “Guest Payment” once you are on PayPal’s secure site.

If you purchase the ebook and are unhappy with it for any reason, I will refund your payment.  Please report any bugs or suggestions.

 

THIS IS A PREVIEW (LOW-RESOLUTION) OF A FEW OF THE 50 PAGES OF THIS EBOOK ON THE ONAQUI WILD HORSES