moments with wild horses #302

ACRYLIC • 36x36" • $3,200

STATUS: AVAILABLE

“Together” is the subtitle of this painting from my 2005 research trip with my husband to Sand Wash Basin wild horse management area (HMA) near Meeker, Colorado. What do you think when you see a group of animals gather together, press together, so closely and tightly?  I was used to horseback riding from childhood into my adult years in rings or fields on domesticated horses, who were put into horse stalls later; some cribbing to allay their anxiety of being separated from other horses.  The gathering of a band of wild mustangs coming tightly together was a new phenomenon to me.  They came together, I realized, for comfort as well as protection. I was moved and touched by their devotion to one another in their herd.  Being respectful of the mustangs, I still felt I had intruded.  I had no business being there, disrupting them. I felt I was on their sacred land.  It was an honor to be there and in their presence. The first time I went to Sand Wash Basin was in 2003 and alone. It was an eight-hour drive from Ridgway, Colorado to a small town. From there the next morning, it was an hour drive to the entrance of Sand Wash Basin. I spent the day driving on the dirt roads looking for mustangs. When I finally came across a huge herd (perhaps it was a band of herds - it was that big), I was so excited that I jumped out of my car and scurried towards them, grappling with my Canon camera. In a flash they turned and galloped off leaving me in a mammoth cloud of dust.  By the end of the day, between getting a flat tire and ending up with only photos of their rear ends, it was clear to me that I had a lot to learn!!