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.

Years ago, I had been introduced to the wild Mustang herds in the west deserts of Utah. Remembering those exciting wild horses I 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. After shooting a few shots, this Pinto wandered off by himself and leaned over to scratch his leg with his face. It was as if this Pinto was posing for me. It was a very regal pose as if to say… I am Indian royalty.

This turned out to be one of my favorite shots

I did not find a ton of wild Mustangs on this trip, but I did come away with this “Wall Hanger”.  I would be delighted if you decide to hang one of them on your wall.