Sometimes I hear a voice. Sometimes I listen to it … sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I worry it’s not the voice of intuition but the voice I want to hear and claim it’s intuition.
While that may or may not make sense … today, I heard that voice, and today I listened.
And today was a 180 from yesterday.
Teaser:
This was taken literally moments before the sun disappeared, just a stone’s throw from where the elk were bedded down at the base of Filly Peak yesterday (yes, sunshine – so much for the forecast).
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous day, as gorgeous today as yesterday was grey.
I’m thankful for that voice … I’m thankful for listening … I’m thankful for the ponies that shared part of their gorgeous day with me!
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 
I’m thankful for your intuition and the ponies that shared part of their day with you, too. That is magnificent.
I’m always happy to see your photos of wild horses as they actually behave on the range. Mostly walking, browsing, even dozing in the sun. The essence of tranquility.
I haven’t gone back through your entire chronicle, so I have to ask – are there photos of frenzied bands galloping and stallions violently fighting? While some uninformed people find these types of images “thrilling”, they give a false impression of the general behavior of wild horses.
The reason I ask is I just came across this article from the New Mexico Mustang and Burro Association: “Media, Marketing and Madness: The Other Picture – Too Much Drama Means a Sad End for Wild Horses”
http://www.nmmba.org/media.html
I don’t know if you’ve read it, but I consider it very important regarding the public perception of wild horses and potential negative impacts on those considering adoption.
Linda – I was leaving … past some cattle … and saw a figure at the bend of the road past Filly Peak that I recognized instantly. Ah ha! What a fabulous way to end the day (well, and there was that moon …! I wish I’d anticipated that better).
Linda Horn – No, I haven’t read that, but I can guess. Another little voice was talking to me about that yesterday, too. I’m sure there’s a place for those kinds of pictures – many of them are, by themselves, amazing captures. I don’t want take away from the photographers who take them and share them … though I wish they’d take some of these and share them, too. I’m not a professional. I’m not trying to make money with these photos. One who IS a pro and IS trying to make money told me not long ago “that’s what sells.” Unfortunate but true. (I mentioned that in the post where I originally posted the pix of Seven and his band, one of which ended up in the calendar.) I do take pix of “springtime behavior” because it happens. I rarely post those pictures unless there’s something else to illustrate *because* there’s such a proliferation of them. I posted some pictures (the ones that come immediately to mind) of Steeldust last spring because I was so awed by his sheer power and athleticism: He not only reared, he jumped vertically probably close to 2 feet off the ground. One more thing to relate: I took a couple out two summers ago and showed them lots of horses. We walked out through the cheat grass and saltbush and up a hill through rocks and under pinon and juniper to get closer to some, quietly grazing, quietly napping … I’ll never forget their awed response. They thought wild horses fought and galloped with the wind all the time – because those were the images they had seen. Something about that made me really sad, and it has definitely influenced not only my way of trying to see the horses through another’s eyes but also the way I present them here on the blog. I rarely show pictures of the horses running and fighting simply because I rarely see those things. I’m so worried *I’ll* be the cause of them running, at least, that I’ve done – and do – everything I can to approach them quietly so they go about their normal business. Every now and then I’ll catch running and fighting – because it *does* happen. Seven’s and Chrome’s the other day – while I watched through binoculars from way away, they took off running, from the top of one hill, down and across a little valley, up onto a higher ridge and running, running out of sight. Two Boots in her wandering – or ? – had ended up with Chrome, and in the running, Chrome inserted himself between her and Seven’s band as they raced after Jif, leading the way. So I don’t want to go the opposite direction (and not show those pix at all when I take them) … the horses DO run, and they DO fight (mostly in the spring around foaling/breeding season) … There were some amazing backdrops to their run … if only I had been closer to actually take pix! 🙂 I just want to show them as amazing as they are, in all facets of their lives. What *thrills* me is their gift of tolerance, allowing me to sit with them, sometimes for very long moments, and absorb a tiny bit of their magic wild lives. *That’s* what I want to share here. (And thank you for giving me the opportunity to explain that!)
TJ, I appreciate everything you’ve said, including the value of certain images to those who sell their photos. Also the reaction of the couple who hopefully gained a new appreciation of the broad spectrum of wild horse behavior.
I remember a video I watched earlier this year. It accompanied a song, but I don’t recall the artist. Many folks commented on the striking image of wild horses in a headlong gallop. As I watched it, I noticed the herd (not band) of greys looked way too bunched up for the run to be normal, and their body language seemed wrong.
Then I saw a second image and spotted jute in the corner of the frame. I commented that these horses weren’t running for joy. They were being chased by a helicopter and running for their lives! Most people still felt it was good that wild horses were included (which I suppose has some merit), but some understood my concern about the misrepresentation of the circumstances.