Seeing The World With “Life Between The Ears”

Contributors to the “Life Between The Ears” social media accounts transport us to the world’s most interesting and beautiful places—all viewed from the saddle. Each issue, we share a few of their images.

GLOVERSVILLE, N.Y. Bayley Davis captured this image on her uncle’s farm, where she grew up riding.

“The farm sits on 80-plus acres with two ponds, multiple flower gardens, and countless places to explore and ride,” she said. “This photo overlooks one of the ponds we photograph frequently. If you catch the sunset just in time, you will catch the sun right between the trees, while the pond acts as a mirror to the lovely landscape. We are often accompanied by our resident great blue heron who watches with us.”

Davis, 23, is a graduate student at the University at Albany, SUNY, where she’s pursuing her master’s degree in healthcare economics.

“Even though it can be difficult spreading my time, I always find time for my horse,” she said. “No matter what I do, where life takes me, he will always be there with me.”

That horse is Fleance, or “Flea,” a 17-year-old Holsteiner-Swedish Warmblood that Davis has owned for seven years. Davis grew up showing in the hunters, jumpers and equitation, and she used to show Flea. But four years ago he suffered a severe ligament injury and required 18 months of recovery.

“Our relationship really blossomed and grew much stronger when we were faced with that,” Davis said. “During his recovery, we really took advantage of our new life together, a more relaxed and adventurous life. We haven’t competed since his injury, which is OK because we’ve tried many new things. We’ve tried some fun cross-country jumping (not competitively), splashing and playing in the ponds (he’s not a fan of water, so this was a big accomplishment), trail riding and exploring, galloping through the open fields, and even riding amongst our very friendly deer families living on the property. We’ve been able to appreciate the beauty of our surroundings.

“Flea is the smartest horse I’ve ever known or ridden,” she added. “He’s the type of horse that will watch and learn (very mischievous), hence he taught himself how to open his stall door, the tack room, the grain bins, even his treats! Sometimes he’s too smart for his own good! He can be sassy, but I always feel safe.”

VILANCULOS, MOZAMBIQUE Mandy Retzlaff and her family started the Mozambique Horse Safari in 2006 with a herd of horses they brought with them when they fled their homeland of Zimbabwe.

“We were farmers in Zimbabwe and were kicked off our farm by Robert Mugabe’s thugs,” said Retzlaff. “Our horses are all rescued from the farm invasions. We brought 104 into Mozambique, a country that had just come out of a civil war.”

Retzlaff and her husband, Pat Retzlaff, collected horses from neighboring farms in Zimbabwe when the Mugabe-led government took over white-owned farms and evicted the occupants, often in violent attacks, starting in 2001.

While many evicted families fled Africa, Mandy and her family settled in Mozambique. There they guide guests on custom rides on the beautiful beaches of Vilanculos in five- or eight-day safaris.

“We have international clients and a volunteer program,” said Mandy. “We also have seven horses on Benguerra Island. This particular photo is the ride of the red dune, and this horse is Black Magic.”

The Vilanculos region is coastal, with Vilankulo as its central town, and over the last decade it’s grown in popularity with tourists. The area is the gateway to the Bazaruto Archipelago, a group of six islands that make up a national park known for surfing, fishing, gorgeous beaches and coral reefs.

Mandy has written an autobiography about her family’s eviction. One Hundred And Four Horses: A Memoir Of Farm And Family, Africa And Exile details their dedication to finding a new home and to saving and caring for as many horses as they could. It’s available on Amazon.com in Kindle, hardcover and paperback editions.

WAI-ITI, TARANAKI, NEW ZEALAND “Nothing beats exploring our backyard on horseback,” said Jorja Green, who lives in North Taranaki, New Zealand. “We enjoying trekking in the hills and often go away for two or three days at a time, camping out in the most beautiful places.”

The Wai-iti Beach Retreat is in the Taranaki region on the West Coast of New Zealand’s North Island, and the area is a destination for outdoor enthusiasts. The coastline is home to world-class surf breaks, and the volcanic mountain of Mt. Taranaki overlooks the area.

Green rides for pleasure, and the ears in the photo belong to Juneau, a 7-year-old station-bred.

“Station-bred is a New Zealand term for a crossbreed designed to be an all-rounder,” Green said. “He is lovingly referred to as ‘Nono,’ as he is lazy by nature, but that is what I like best about him, as it makes for a very relaxing ride on the buckle wherever we go.

“I have a day job that funds our adventures, but I’m also the person who ends up with the horses no one else wants—which I re-train and rehabilitate from any pain issues,” Green added. “It is very rewarding, and I have some fantastic horses to show for it, including this boy Juneau!”

The Wai-iti beach is less than half an hour’s drive from Green’s home. “My friends and I often ride at the public beach at Wai-iti, but this particular day we were able to explore the private land surrounding, which was a nice treat,” she said. “It is home for us, so that makes it special.”

NATHALIE PORLIOD/@NATHALIE1497 PHOTO

AOSTA VALLEY, ITALY Nathalie Porliod, 19, is an Italian vaulter who lives in the Aosta Valley region of Italy. She’s currently finishing high school and hopes to make a career in horses.

“The place in the picture is where I was born and raised, and where I live, a small village on the hill of Nus,” she said. “It has a particular meaning for me because it’s a hidden place; there are no houses or roads around, so you can only hear the birds singing and the sound of the wind that moves the trees’ leaves.”

The donkey ears in the photo are Prugna’s. Porliod got Prugna (Italian for prune) this spring as a companion for her horse Malibu after her other horse died at age 28. Prugna and Malibu became fast friends.

According to Porliod, Prugna’s favorite treats aren’t apples or carrots; she prefers pizza crusts. Because, you know, she’s an Italian donkey.

But Prugna has naughty moments. “Last week she escaped from the pasture by passing under the fence, and she did a really nice tour of the village,” Porliod said.

“I only do trail rides around Aosta Valley, but I also [vault] and teach vaulting at a barn in Nus, the little city where I live,” she said. “Malibu is so full of energy and a really strong horse, and I hope one day I will try something new by entering her in an endurance competition.”

Aosta Valley is a mountainous area in northwestern Italy. Its highest peak is Mont Blanc, which features frequently in the background of Porliod’s Instagram photos. As the Aosta Valley is nestled between France and Italy, both French and Italian are spoken. SANTA YNEZ, CALIF. These ears belong to Gravy, a 13-year-old American Paint Horse.

“I love riding this horse because he does really well with my 6-year-old daughter’s horse,” said Jaye Ganibi, who took the photo. “They stay together nicely and get along great. We were riding together at the time of that photo, and our rides together are absolutely priceless. Gravy also was the horse that has taken me to [the] next level of confidence in my riding.”

Ganibi rides western and competes in team sorting and team penning. Her family leases a 1,000-acre cattle ranch and vineyard where they run Vino Vaqueros Horseback Riding, a riding tour company that offers guided trips through Santa Barbara, Calif., wine country.

“I’m not sure that running a dude string falls under professional horse person—I am surrounded with so many amazing horse professionals that I am humbled and reminded of the extensive learning curve daily,” she said. “But it is my main job. My other ‘full-time’ job is mother of a 4- and 6-year-old, as well as 20 years in the fitness industry.”

In addition to leading the guided tours, Ganibi and her family love to ride out on the ranch for fun.

“This ranch will always have such special meaning as the place my kids have learned to ride, appreciate nature and trust their horses,” she said.

CHARLOTTE HUNTER/@CHACHA_HUNTER PHOTO EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND That vivid green plant growing alongside the path through the woods? It’s wild garlic! Charlotte Hunter says it smells fresh and bright as she rides along the hacking track near the River Esk at the Edinburgh Equestrian Centre in Scotland, which offers boarding and lessons.

The ears belong to Harry, a Section D Welsh belonging to Hunter’s friend. He was 27 at the time the photo was taken, but he was recently euthanized after sustaining a pasture accident.

“He will be very deeply missed by all who knew him,” said Hunter, who rode him a few times a week. “He was the kindest natured horse I’ve ever known and looked after. He always looked after his rider no matter what level they were. His owner enjoyed quiet hacks, and I took him out jumping and crosscountry. He was doing very well for his age!

“I don’t compete a lot but take part in showing and dressage when I do. I enjoy days out cross-country jumping as well though, so a bit of everything,” Hunter continued.

Hunter, 21, is from Edinburgh and doesn’t work right now due to poor health.

“Harry played a major role in getting me out and fighting the depression and anxiety I suffer from,” she said. “I owe a lot to that horse. I aim to work with horses—I studied equine in college and hope to start back in the working world with horses soon, all thanks to Harry.”

Sharing Life Between The Ears

Since 2008, Life Between The Ears founder Kristine Dahms has posted stunning photos shot by riders in all corners of the world with one hand on the reins and the other on the shutter. Dahms mines photos with the hashtag #lifebetweentheears, contacts the original poster of the image, then features the photo, complete with educational details about the place that’s portrayed. Life Between The Ears photos appear on a LBTE Facebook page, an Instagram feed, a dedicated website (lifebetweentheears.com), a Twitter feed and a Pinterest page (all under lifebetweentheears account names).

Dahms—who lives in Vashon, Wash., with her Welsh Cob, mini horse, pygmy goats, two dogs and two cats—rides dressage and takes quite a few photos herself on the picturesque Vashon-Maury Island.

Dahms has taken some of the Life Between The Ears images from cyberspace to print, creating three lines of greeting cards with selected photos from her social media pages. A portion of the proceeds from the card sales goes to the Equine Land Conservation Resource (elcr.org). Cards are available at lifebetweentheears.com/retail.

TOM BASS

Broke Barriers In The Horse Show World And Beyond

PHOTO COURTESY THE AUDRAIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Though he was born a slave, the Saddlebred trainer climbed to the highest ranks of the competition world in the early 20th century thanks to his horsemanship skills.

By ELIZA McGRAW

GEORGE FORD MORRIS PHOTO

When Tom Bass rode his brilliant black mare Belle Beach into a show ring in the early 1900s, large crowds were often stunned into silence—and then brought to their feet to cheer for him.

Today Bass, considered by many to be one of the greatest horse trainers of the early 20th century, remains an idol for Saddlebred enthusiasts. But he’s also known for his impact on larger U.S. horse show history.

Bass was the first African-American to participate in many horse shows, including New York City’s Madison Square Garden. He invented a bit that’s still used for gaited horses today, and he rode in one of President Grover Cleveland’s inauguration parades. Presidents William McKinley and William Howard Taft visited him in his home of Audrain County, Mo. President Theodore Roosevelt and Buffalo Bill Cody owned Bass-trained horses, and when Bass died, Will Rogers eulogized him.

“I call him the original horse whisperer,” says Lori Pratt, director of the Audrain County Historical Society, “because he could tell you anything about a horse, he could make a horse do anything you wanted him to do, and he was gentle. He never used a whip. He didn’t raise his voice.”

Tom Bass was so dominant in the show ring with his most famous mount, Belle Beach, that when the pair showed up to a competition organizers usually turned it into an exhibition instead.

The Best In The Business

Bass was born enslaved in Missouri in 1859, writes Bill Downey in his 1975 biography of Bass, Whisper On The Wind. His owner was his father, William Hayden Bass, and his mother was slave Cornelia Gray.

Gray’s parents, who had been emancipated, raised him, and he grew up helping in the stables on the Bass family farm, riding his father’s mare, Helen MacGregor, before he was 3 years old.

“My interest in saddle horses was by breeding and environment,” he said. “I slept in the stables when I was so tiny I got covered up in the straw, and I rode the old mares when I was no bigger than a horsefly.”

By 1879, Tom had moved to Mexico, Mo., the center of the saddle horse world. He was only in his 20s but was already a highly regarded trainer, and by 1883 he’d started his own stable. He trained three- and five-gaited horses, and people referred to a horse as “Tom Bass-gaited.”

“People questioned how good he was,” says Pratt, “so he took a mule, and he gaited the mule to walk the way he wanted, and he gaited it backwards also.”

Newspaper articles from those years are filled with notes about his frequent wins. Though one story in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on Oct. 20, 1901, notes he was “seriously if not fatally hurt” when a mount fell on him at a New York competition—and a few other publications

Tom Bass was born into slavery but eventually became one of the best-known horsemen of the early 20th century.

reported he had died—by early 1902 he was winning again.

In 1904, Tom met the New Yorkbased rider and trainer Belle Beach at a horse show in Kansas City, and she bested Tom, who was riding a horse named Paris. After that, he renamed a black mare he’d been calling Blackbird Belle after Beach. She became his favorite mount.

Belle Beach excelled in the competition called “high school,” a dressage-like series of movements—including passage, pirouettes, renvers and travers—performed solo in a ring. Belle Beach could “salute” by waving a foreleg.

When Calvin Coolidge was the governor of Massachusetts, he walked down from his box at a show to see the mare, and Tom had her kneel on her forelegs to show respect. She became so dominant in the high school division that show organizers would change any Belle Beach appearance to an exhibition rather than a contest.

A long interview from 1909 provides some rare insight from Tom about how he trained horses to achieve such extraordinary heights.

“I get the first line on the best ones when they are being handled for ordinary saddle horses,” Tom told the reporter, Henry Ten Eyck White, “and it does not take long at that stage to pick out the naturally smart beasts, that also are capable of being educated above the ordinary, for not every brainy horse will let you use his intelligence to its full extent.”

The first thing Tom taught horses was a Spanish march—imagine an extended walk, with forefront-pointing energy. It was a crucial gait, the trainer said, because, “It is like the alphabet to a child learning to read. With it thoroughly mastered the infant will surely progress, although, as everybody knows, some children will acquire proficiency much easier and earlier than others.”

Trickier, Tom said, was the “military mount,” where the horse stretches out with fore and hind legs.

“I noticed horses doing that in their stalls,” he said. “And it occurred to me that, inasmuch as it was a natural thing for the horse to make that long stretch when he felt like it, just as a man stretches when in the mood, it could be used in high school work. Once the idea was in my head I never stopped until I had discovered how to make a horse do it at will. It is accomplished by use of the bit, and [is] not now considered a difficult trick to teach in a horse.”

His emphasis on watching the horse at liberty reflects the idea of natural horsemanship but also pushes farther. With his methods, Tom integrated what the horse does when no one is asking.

PHOTO COURTESY THE AUDRAIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

“He could make a horse do anything you wanted him to do, and he was gentle,” says Lori Pratt, director of the Audrain County Historical Society, of Tom Bass.

Not AlwAys welcome

Another long interview took place in 1917, and, while Tom explained his views on training with patience in the same way, the piece also demonstrates the racism he encountered.

The reporter attributed Tom’s success to the fact that he “knows his place and keeps it,” which is why “more than one horse show association has ruled that ‘entries shall be accepted openly only from white exhibitors save that an exception is made in the case of Tom Bass, colored.’ ”

Sometimes, they didn’t. One of Tom’s allies, a white man and Saddlebred trainer named John Hook, told a story about being presented with a petition that sought to bar African-Americans in Saddlebred shows. Hook was a leading trainer, and when he refused to sign, the matter was dropped.

Other times, Tom would have to leave a show upon learning he was not allowed to compete.

As Downey writes, “Tom Bass was often held up as an example of how the black man could rise above the circumstances of humble birth. Yet, very few of Tom’s admirers had any idea how eternally haunted he was by the very racism they thought Tom had managed to overcome.”

Belle Beach died in 1933, and newspapers eulogized her passing. She was 31 and had been retired since 1927.

Tom Bass died the next year at 75, with a Nov. 20, 1934, article in the Moberly Monitor-Index noting he died “suddenly at home in Mexico” and that friends thought the death of Belle Beach left him “grief-stricken and probably contributed to his death.”

After Tom’s death, showman Will Rogers wrote about him: “You have all seen society folks perform on a beautiful three-, or five-gaited saddle horse, and said, ‘My, what skill and patience they must have had to train that animal.’ Well, all they did was ride him in. [Tom] trained thousands that others were applauded on. A remarkable man, a remarkable character.”

To this day, Saddlebred riders and trainers still use Bass bits. Tom also helped start Kansas City’s famous American Royal Horse Show, which bore that name because it was similar to the British Royal agricultural fair. It started as a livestock show and now includes a rodeo, hunter/jumper competition and barbeque contest, but for many years its Saddlebred competitions took center stage. A warm-up arena at the American Royal is named for Tom, and there’s a Tom Bass Road in Missouri.

And at the Audrain County Historical Society, Pratt says visitors can view Tom’s show outfits, ribbons, an early Bass bit, paintings, photographs, hats, spurs and a golden horse pin he wore on his lapel. These artifacts make up the tangible part of his legacy. But according to Audrain County Historical Society docent Jackie Cauble, Tom left much more.

“He didn’t care for the money at all,” she says. “He didn’t care for the glory or that part of it. Everything he did was to benefit the horses and their owners.”

PHOTO COURTESY THE AUDRAIN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

After Tom Bass died in 1934, he was eulogized by Will Rogers. “A remarkable man, a remarkable character,” Rogers said.

Horse Competition Overseas?

Ask Your Horse Shipper About The ARK at JFK

As the world’s first privately owned 24/7 animal airport terminal, USDA-approved export inspection facility and quarantine (pending approval), The ARK at JFK is a state-of-the-art resource to all horse transportation agents and their clients — you! Located at JFK International Airport in Cargo Area D, the Equine Import and Export Center features:

• Individual 12’ x 12’ mesh-front, climate-controlled stalls for pre-export rest and inspection • Natural lighting, non-slip flooring and high quality hay and shavings • Ability to accommodate multiple shipments, with all animal handling occurring indoors • Direct “airside” access for safe and efficient loading into or out of jet stalls or trailers • Trailer drop-off and pickup available at any hour, with accessible loading ramps • A pre-departure grooms lounge and 24/7 observation and care by experienced ARK grooms and veterinary staff

The ARK at JFK is committed to the safe and humane treatment of all animals traveling by air and setting the gold standard in animal handling and transportation.

Make your reservation today! ARKJFK.com | (212) 328-9132

Proud sponsor of the Rolex Central Park Horse Show

THE SALT RIVER HORSES ARE STILL

The story of a threatened herd of feral horses in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest inspires a trip to find and photograph them.

Story And Photos By EVALYN BEMIS

What do you do when the wind, snow, rain and hail are blowing sideways in March, and you want to get a horse fix in nicer weather? You go to Arizona to visit the Salt River wild horses, of course.

I learned about the Salt River horse herd through Instagram. It’s the one social media I use because it’s pure fun, the equivalent of sending and receiving daily postcards. If you don’t get to it daily, no big deal.

I run an Instagram account for a Santa Fe, N.M.-based horse rescue group, The Horse Shelter. The Salt River Wild Horse Management Group (@SRWHMG) became a follower

of ours. In turn, I signed onto their account and was intrigued to learn that wild horses live in the Tonto National Forest, right next to the booming suburbs of Phoenix. At the time I started following the group, the herd of about 100 horses was threatened by a U.S. Forest Service plan to round up and sell them, most likely meaning they’d be shipped Two yearling colts practice fighting, a skill they’ll use as stallions in to slaughter in Mexico. A small their own bands later in life. group of enthusiasts, who had been watching the horses for years, banded together to form a nonprofit organization to fight their removal. Soon the Forest Service had received more than 65,000 emails in protest.

TRAVEL Wanting an escape from winter weather, photographer Evalyn Bemis took a road trip toward Phoenix in March to see the Salt River wild horses.

The Salt River Wild Horse Management Group is working to institute a contraceptive system for mares, but right now the herd still grows an estimated 12 percent a year.

The SRWHMG drafted a 48-page proposal asking for permission to participate in a management plan that would preserve the wild horses, including the use of annual contraceptives to maintain a level herd size. They filed suit to halt the impoundment notice and won a 120-day stay, followed by the Forest Service’s rescission of the order shortly before Christmas in 2015.

The group lobbied the Arizona legislators, and H.B. 2340 was introduced, passed and signed into law by Governor Doug Ducey last year. The bill establishes that the horses are not stray livestock, makes harassing them illegal, and requires a codifying of their humane management between the Forest Service, the state’s agricultural department and a private party.

Such a management plan, a memorandum of understanding, has not yet been agreed upon, but meanwhile the SRWHMG monitors the herd daily with volunteers, has built safe horse crossings along the Bush Highway on the southern end of their territory, and fenced stretches along the road to keep horses from wandering into traffic. They have rescued orphaned or abandoned

The wild horses travel wellworn paths to their water source at Salt River every evening.

foals and provided medical care to injured animals in some cases.

Recently a beloved band stallion, known as Wisdom by volunteers, suffered hip failure. He had lived well past the age at which most wild stallions can maintain control over a band, and finally the vicissitudes of daily skirmishes, as well as breeding duties, took their toll. When Wisdom could no longer get up from the ground, SRWHMG sent their veterinarian to humanely euthanize him.

Obviously, most wild horses don’t get this degree of interaction with humans. This is a consequence of the horses’ “range” being near a major urban area.

Access to water is the principal limitation for the horses now, and once upon a time they had the better of a 200-plus mile stretch of the Salt River Canyon. Now the Granite Reef Dam in Mesa sends most of the Salt River into a canal running through Phoenix, and 18 miles to the east the Stewart Mountain Dam at Saguaro Lake creates an impediment to the horses’ travel in that direction.

To the north, Highway 87, also known as the Beeline Highway, cuts through the Tonto National Forest, and the horses rarely venture above it. Winter seeps and small streams provide water, so the horses can often stay in the mountains, but forage becomes scarce at times. When grass is unavailable in higher elevations, the horses move back down to the river, where eelgrass in the river can sustain them, along with warmer-climate grasses and the bean pods of acacia trees.

The Salt River is the main water source for the wild horses, and they also eat the river’s eelgrass when other grasses aren’t available.

Finding Them In The Flesh

After following the postings on Instagram for about two years, I wanted to see the horses in person. I convinced my partner, David, that we should take a road trip to Arizona. We took the scenic route from New Mexico, passing through the White Mountains and the Salt River Canyon along the way.

We got to Mesa around dusk and pitched our tent at Usery Mountain Recreation Area since it was the closest camping area to the Salt River. A fee of $20/night included use of restrooms with hot showers and picnic tables near a fire pit.

Curve-billed thrashers were busy feeding their young in a nest hidden in the branches of a large cholla cactus next to our tent, and Gila woodpeckers and cactus wrens woke us at dawn with their songs from atop the saguaros. The desert floor was blooming with golden poppies and other wildflowers. Altogether it was a nice escape from

Their proximity to the Phoenix suburbs means the Salt River wild horses are accustomed to humans, but you should still stay about 40' away from their herds when visiting.

wintery Santa Fe.

We set out early in the morning to find the horses. Since they’re wild, there was no certainty that we would see any. We found tracks and old manure leading down an arroyo to the lake at the Butcher Jones Recreation Site, but no one had seen any horses. A wrangler at the Saguaro Lake Guest Ranch was helpful, saying just to keep our eyes peeled while driving along the Bush Highway.

So that was what we did. We stopped here and there to check out the river and scenery, having a good time birding and snacking on our travel food. We went into Mesa for an early dinner—inexpensive and fabulous Thai cuisine—and returned to the river with a few hours of light left.

David spotted the horses before I did, a few hundred feet back from the road and somewhat hidden among the saguaro cacti and the palo verde trees.

“It is a special gift to see something wild and free,” writes photographer Evalyn Bemis of observing the horses in their natural habitat. The Tonto National Forest is home to the approximately 100 Salt River wild horses.

I moved as stealthily as I could toward them, stopping every few feet to photograph. The horses weren’t in the least perturbed, continuing to graze northwestward toward the river.

I finally sat down and focused on two yearlings that seemed to want to graze in the exact same spot, and they came so close to me that my long lens couldn’t fit them in the frame.

It was wonderful to sit and watch the interactions between family members. There was a gorgeous red roan mare with a foal a few days old, and she allowed the band stallion to touch noses with her foal but then shooed him away.

A yearling with two blue eyes and an unusual fawn-colored coat was brashly challenging his brothers to mock-fight him. The mares that were heavy with foal whisked flies from each other’s faces.

This first band moved at a leisurely pace toward the river as I trailed them. Soon they encountered another band of a similar size, approximately six or seven adults and assorted youngsters with a lead stallion. The two stallions approached one another with arched necks. After a few squeals and strikes at the dirt, one sent the other packing.

The one being pushed away doubled around, gathered his family and trotted off to the river.

I noticed at this point we were following a well-worn path, with many small branches braiding into the main one. Other bands joined in what was obviously the nightly passage to water. All the groups seemed respectful of

each other and kept a discreet distance.

Eventually it became too dark to take any more photos, and I figured it was time to make my way to the rendezvous point to find my patient traveling companion and Sam the dog. David and Sam were happy I’d had my time with the horses and even happier that we could now go to the campground and climb into our tent and sleeping bags.

March proved to be a great time to visit the horses. They looked uniformly sleek, shiny and healthy. Grass was abundant from early spring rains, and life was sweet. Temperatures in the mid 70s in the daytime meant the horses could spend long days grazing without having to trek to the river to cool off.

If you go, take a good camera and have fun. Be quiet and do not approach too closely. Most importantly, please respect the horses and remember they aren’t pets. It is a special gift to see something wild and free.

Wild horses have been living in the Salt River area for centuries. They likely originate from Spanish stock brought there in the 1600s.