Photo Of The Week – 10/28/09

Band stallion from the Green Mountain HMA near Baroil, WY

Since the roundup of the Red Desert Complex in Wyoming is supposed to take place in November, I thought I’d show off one of the many beautiful horses from that area.

My Mom loves this stallion. He’s from the Green Mountain HMA which is part of the large Red Desert Complex. I took this picture in April of 2007 as he was slowly working his way towards me for a better look. He had a beautiful pinto mare with him and a uniquely colored brown and grey yearling stud. I didn’t see this guy the last time we were out (this past September), but I saw a bachelor who looked very similiar right down to the stockings and distinctive white marking across the hindquarters.

It’s hard to comprehend that these gorgeous animals are about to be so cruelly displaced. Maybe this stallion will be one of the lucky ones that gets released or better yet, never captured. I so wish that for all of our wild horses…

There is a list of the herd areas, by state, that have pending roundups posted on my website:
http://www.nickolesphotography.com/HTML/gathers.html

Folks should be outraged by the sheer numbers to be taken, the wasted money spent to conduct these roundups and the incredibly sad fate of the horses losing their homes only to languish in long term holding or worse. Please speak up for the horses – we must inform the public and educate others about what is happening to these icons of the west (and the west is where they should stay – not removed, sterilized and relocated to private, unmonitored “sanctuaries” in the midwest per Ken Salazar’s proposal. There has to be a better solution that can be implemented).

Lots of wild horse information: http://www.nickolesphotography.com/HTML/wildhorseinformation.htm