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Wild Horses I & II

2009.11.06
Wild Horses I

The first part of this blog is from Monday
I had borrowed a mountain bike, thinking that this group may have been difficult to find.
I found them easily :-)















Wild Horses II

These are from Tuesday.
I went out on foot, thinking that the group would be where I had previously seen them. Disappointed at their absence I continued on my journey almost bumping into the group quietly grazing in the woodland above me. The light wasn't great and and I experimented a bit with my camera settings. I realise that most of the shots are poor which is why I didn't save these for a seperate post.















Just before the last couple of shots, the mother of the foal became a little agitated and challenged me be moving briskly and determinedly towards me. Fortunately I speak the language and made the appropriate subservient gestures. She accepted this but stayed very close to me from that point on. Horses were on my other side and just above me so I wasn't going anywhere anyway. Eventually I chose my time to make an exit.

I would not put myself amongst this group if I didn't know exactly what I was doing. Wild horses are dangerous...they can and will kick and bite.
Each time I have made contact with this group, I have given them plenty of time to accept my presence...the first time an hour and on these 2 occassions about 30 to 40 minutes.
If you do have the language skills and confidence to put yourself in their company you should remember some important things.
Always be aware of who and where the males are. They will be young and unpredictable.
There will be a matriarch in the group, establish who she is.
There may also be an older patriarch outside of the immediate group whose presence you could be unaware of...he will be aware of yours!!
Don't try to establish physical contact.
If you are challenged, then act with respect and make the right gestures, always maintain a distance that they feel comfortable with.
When exiting do it visibly, remain confident and assured (horses like this)
35 Comments
Skyolet Whaaaahhhh they are soooooo greeeat faboulous photos ! Thank you for sharing soo much ! I will try not to stablish physical contact..for my own safety! :) Thank you for the warning ! When I was horseriding I also had some accident with a horse who I loved so much but it was quite wild, so unfortunately I have fears from horses but they are beautiful animals and special anyway !! Have a beautiful SAFE weekend ! ;)
Skyolet · 2009-11-06: 06:29
dontblink Awesome set again Ted! Great info and pictures. I especially like 14 and 15.
dontblink · 2009-11-06: 07:03
Dropblue Ted these are awesome!
Fantastic set, the landscape is beautiful, the walk and the horses are admirable.....;)))
# 5 goes in my favorites!
Dropblue · 2009-11-06: 07:10
Kozuka Excellent shots!
Kozuka · 2009-11-06: 07:16
strangestagain 2# what's up? ;--) lovely set!
strangestagain · 2009-11-06: 08:35
Ryana It's great to see wild horses run freely !!
Ryana · 2009-11-06: 09:51
worldthrumylens i want to be a wild horse! :)
worldthrumylens · 2009-11-06: 10:12
sandyk beautiful shots,beautiful horses! :) I love horses
sandyk · 2009-11-06: 10:21
SADHYA #14 is the one that does it for me. I love those flared nostrils. "Bambi" is still dancing around on those long, long legs.
Well done Ted.
SADHYA · 2009-11-06: 11:02
LysMandala WOW, WOW, WOW! This post is a fantastic story Ted. That lucky to be so close to all these horses.
LysMandala · 2009-11-06: 11:02
smbunation Well done. Awesome to get that close and such great shots.
smbunation · 2009-11-06: 12:21
soubhagya very cool shots..
soubhagya · 2009-11-06: 12:31
NellyBly As I was viewing these, I was thinking "how did he get so close to these wild horses?"..so thanks for the explanation...I LOVE #14 and 15..even the mane is blowing in the wind...my post on horses is a lot less interesting that yours :-)
NellyBly · 2009-11-06: 13:07
pandka Fantastic set and interesting description!
pandka · 2009-11-06: 13:43
twosome serriously, do you have WILD horses? :O Fantastic shots!
twosome · 2009-11-06: 15:42
lookagain Amazing shots, Ted....what a wonderful time you had with these beautiful creatures. I'd say they've accepted you as their friend and the result is a great collection of wild horse images. I'll probably never have the opportunity to be around wild horses, but if I am I'll remember your tips ;))
lookagain · 2009-11-06: 16:56
Jarvo Super cool shots - thanks for the tips on body language for horse too.
Jarvo · 2009-11-06: 19:12
thebronzebow They're beautiful! Thanks for sharing them with us!
thebronzebow · 2009-11-06: 20:23
kenzshots interesting set and commentary
kenzshots · 2009-11-06: 23:19
jet28 Fantastic set - love the sense of movement in 9 and 21 :-)
jet28 · 2009-11-07: 01:24
onlyricky wo-wo Ted!
I was seeing your shots and I was thinking: ''damn! how could He do this? Wild horses must be dangerous, like any group of wild animals'' but I thought like '' well, he loves horses! I bet he knows what he is doing!''! then i got down and discover that you did a great job, and you knew what you were doing!
Indeed, i'm sure if i find wild horses (i'm not sure if we have them here), I'd not come close, 1st because i've no experience with them, 2nd better watch far and good, than close and get injured!
Now I've a question! these are wild horses, so i saw a road on the pics, do people walk there? arent they afraid of them? or do pass cars there? isnt it dangerous for the horses?
Well done Ted! I bet you're in Heaven :)
onlyricky · 2009-11-07: 04:14
Latecomer Remarkable.
Latecomer · 2009-11-07: 05:22
eternity65 Fantastic!!!! Oh it must be great to see them in real life in the wild.
eternity65 · 2009-11-07: 08:17
Unchained Ted, the horse whisperer!! If they can be so dangerous, shouldn't they stay in a limited area?
Anyway, great pictures, love the blacky among them.
Unchained · 2009-11-07: 11:04
farideh Great shots
farideh · 2009-11-07: 14:03
nunuinpictures This is a wonderful post, Ted.
And I want to thank you for sharing the right way to make contact with wild horses.

I had an encounter with a big herd of wild horses in the Carpathian Mountains, Rumania. We were at the top of a big hill having lunch and the big family of horses came from the valley. All the people walked thowards the horses but me. I stayed immobile looking the scene. Some of the horses neighed and some others got angry. The bigest one came thowards me, so I looked directly at his eyes but bending down my head. He came closer, sniffed me and... sucked me!!! He made a noise and all the horses followed him... They went by.
:D
nunuinpictures · 2009-11-07: 15:43
Cabecilha great celebration of equus :)


Cabecilha · 2009-11-07: 17:01
flipado great post!! :)


flipado · 2009-11-07: 17:35
nssco50 These are superb!! My favorites are #5,9 and 22:))
nssco50 · 2009-11-07: 18:04
MarMeer Great to see such a large groupe of wild horses.
Excellent set Ted, tnxx for sharing :)
MarMeer · 2009-11-08: 04:04
hannamagnusson They look so beautiful and happy! A real horse life :-)
hannamagnusson · 2009-11-08: 11:07
Widcat We used to have horses and I got such a sense of joy wandering among the herd we kept them with. Our mare was the dominent one, but of course, they weren't wild.
Widcat · 2009-11-08: 18:32
DancingDolphin #14 is an incredible shot, it really shows personality in the horses, nice!!
DancingDolphin · 2009-11-09: 07:39
Julias365 Didn't realise that they were any truely wild horses left in the UK. Great set.
Julias365 · 2009-11-10: 06:59
bedazzled I cannot believe you have so many wild horses around you..you are so lucky and I am so glad that you made the exit on time..it always amazes me how the mothers are so protective of their baby!! I hope you will remain careful Ted..great shots!!
bedazzled · 2009-11-12: 18:43
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Tagged: wales horses wild
 
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