From Feral Burros to Feral Horses

I was born in Washington D. C. and had much fun going to Maryland's Eastern Shore. It was probably --- wow --- 47 years ago that as high school sweethearts Christine and I went to Assateague Island to see the wild ponies.  Of course, the idea of owning a camera at the time would never have occurred to me, so no photos. Assateague was an uninhabited island. The only way to get there was via a very small pedestrian ferry. The day we went was cold and dreary. We saw no other human on the island. But, we did see those amazing Feral Ponies running along the ocean's shore.

Wild Horses are easily differentiated from domestic horses. When a Feral (or wild) Horse sees you it runs, just like most other wild animals. In the first photo, taken on Hart Mountain in Southcentral Oregon, as soon as those six horses saw me they ran (galloped away). It was an amazing sight to watch these wild horses run for at least a mile until they were out of sight:

Feral Horses on Hart Mountain, Oregon

A couple years later I went looking for Feral Horses in Northern Alberta, Canada, north of Hinton. After several hours of searching I found three adults and one colt, but again, as soon as they saw me they ran into the woods and out of sight. I was able to get one photo before they disappeared:

Feral Horses in Northern Alberta, Canada

Maybe an hour later, I came across two Feral Horses that were fighting. This time they didn't run, they were too busy fighting. In retrospect, I wish I had stayed and continued to photograph them. But, by this time it was late in the day and I was at least two hours from my campsite.  I was tired and anxious to get back and so only stayed for a minute or two. Experiences like this happen once in a lifetime --- and I left.   There is a tendency to be "too focused" on getting that photo; and that once you get it you move on to the next photo without stopping to enjoy the experience.  There's a lesson there that I hope I don't forget. Here's one of those photos: 

Feral Horses fighting in Northern Alberta, Canada

Finally, two years ago I came across a Feral Horse in Cabeza Prieta National Wildliffe Refuge in Arizona (along the US/Mexican border). He ran when he saw me but in the same direction I was going.  The problem was that he became "boxed" in with no place to go.  So, I took a quick couple of photos and then got out of his way. As soon as I got by him, he took off running again, this time in the opposite direction. Here's the photo of him stopped and looking at me:

Feral Horse in Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona