It was 4:00 A.M. and pouring rain as I loaded my Rover for a fall trip into the west desert of Utah. I was in search of the elusive wild Mustangs, the posterity of that strong breed that once carried the American Indians through the forests and plains of the Wild West.
I had been planning a photography trip for sometime, in hopes of capturing “wall hanging” worthy images of these beautiful animals. Now it looked like it was going to be a very wet experience. I was driving into unknown territory, and as I got deeper into the drive, it proved to be full of challenges. Still pitch dark, the rain was coming down so hard that visibility was limited. As I arrived at my first planned dirt road turn off, there was a “Road Closed” sign posted by the Sheriff’s department. It took another half hour of driving trying to figure out how to get around the detour. But, I realize I am getting ahead of myself, you’re probably wondering how this all started.
Many years ago, I served as an assistant Scoutmaster for 11 year old Scouts. One day as we were planning activities, our Scoutmaster brought up the idea of hiking out to see the wild Mustangs. I was excited to hear of such a possibility, I had heard stories of wild Mustangs in Utah but had no idea we could find some so close to home. We did take the Scouts on more than one occasion out to the west deserts of Utah. At that time, It was less than an hour’s drive and then maybe a half hour hike up through the canyons to find the horses.
Fast forward more decades than I care to admit, I remembered those exciting wild horses and started planning a trip to go photograph them. The areas where I had remembered finding the horses were now populated with houses. Home building and community expansion had pushed the territory of the wild Mustangs further west and it appeared to be a long drive combined with lot’s of searching to find any herds. To further complicate matters, I learned that over the last several years, the ranchers who lease the government owned open range for their cattle, were constantly putting pressure on the government to thin out the herds of wild Mustangs. They saw them as a threat as they competed with the cattle for food. From my research, It was apparent that those large herds of wild Mustangs may be a thing of the past, but I was motivated to find them.
I studied maps and blog posts from wild Mustang enthusiasts and over time, I came up with a plan. There were a few areas that seemed to have the highest probability of finding horses. Geographically they were very spread out, my plan was to pick the closest one and hope for the best. My selection was also a well known spring, and I deducted that this would be a large draw for the horses first thing in the morning.
Even with the challenges of the early morning driving, I arrived in the area just after sun up. There was no sign of horses by the watering hole, so I decided to hike up through the trees. After an hour of being skunked, It was evident that I needed to cover some territory, so it was back in the rover and ready for some cross-country driving.
Finally, an hour later, I located my first herd. I could see them about a half mile off the dirt road, they were busy grazing on the sparse desert grass. I pulled off the road, unloaded my camera gear and began the short hike out to the horses. This was a small diverse herd of about six or seven horses, I was curious as to how close they would let me get to them. They were on the valley floor so there was nowhere to hide and sneak. I had my long lens and was prepared for a distance shot if needed.
As luck would have it, they were not very skittish. I kept my distance, but they did not seem to mind. Infact, my favorite image shows their curiosity as three of them raise their heads to check me out. At the time I captured that shot, I did not realize what a spectacular composition it was. It was as if they all posed at just the right moment. We will call this shot one of my keepers!
My other keeper was when a Pinto wandered off by himself and leaned over to scratch his leg with his face. This was another moment as if this Pinto was posing for me. It was a very regal pose as if to say… I am Indian royalty.
On the way back to the Rover, I stumbled upon two different Pronghorn sheds. I resisted the urge to collect them, but I captured a photo. Makes sense for a photographer, don’t you think?
Ready for more adventure, I did some four wheeling up the sandy creek bed, while looking for more wild Mustangs. About a mile up the canyon I did run across a bigger herd. Unfortunately, it was about high noon and at this point all they wanted to do was huddle together under the shade of a big Juniper tree. Not much of a compelling composition, I took a few shots, but just for fun.
So in summary, for my first trip chasing wild Mustangs, I found less than a couple dozen horses. But I came away with no less than two “Wall Hangers”. I’m sharing them with you here, and I would be delighted if you decide to hang one of them on your wall.
On my way home, I was already planning my next trip. Little did I know it would take over a year. This time, I took my photo trip companion, my hot little composition gal (my wife) and we drove further west to find the next possible location for more wild mustangs. We covered a lot of ground and finally located one very small herd.
These horses were much more skittish, they would play a little game with us, running to and fro daring us to get closer. They were holed up in a little valley surrounded by small hills. There was one hill in particular that the horses seemed to be attracted to. So I focused my attention there and my patience paid off. One beautiful Mustang ran to the top of the hill and then turned around and looked down at me. From my view down below, It was as if he was floating in the clouds giving me the perfect composition! I have categorized this image in my new “Dreamscapes” category. I see this fabulous image hanging on the walls of horse lovers everywhere.
All Images taken by the author © Randy G. Barney Photography
