I've been seeing small groups of horses for the past month or so. More than I had seen for about a year or so, but only 6-8 horses at a time. Today, my wife called me in the morning and told me where she had seen a huge group of 20-30 horses really close to the highway. I figured they would be long gone by the time I headed for home in the afternoon.
Sure enough, by the time I was on my way home, I saw a few horses a ways off the road, but only 3 or 4 of them. I stopped to take a few pictures as they were prancing around and kicking up their heels with a bit of horseplay.
Then, I got back in the car and started to merge back into traffic when I glanced a little ways ahead and got a surprise. On the other side of some trees that blocked my view from further back, was another group of horses. I don't know how many horses it takes to become a herd, but I am pretty sure this qualified.
I counted about 24 in this picture alone and I would have had to put my wider angle lens on my D60 to get the others in the picture. Some of them were only 20 feet away from the fence until they saw me get out of the car when they backed off a little. Some of the closer horses kept a close eye on my and the other people that also stopped for a closer look.
It was great to see that big of a herd roaming free. I hope to see them on a regular basis, but I know it will probably only be for awhile before the roam off in search of better grazing. Feel free to take a closer look by clicking any of the pictures for a bigger photo or click the link to see the rest of the wildlife in this gallery. I think there are some good shots there, but I would love your feedback with a comment or a "thumbs-up" or "thumbs-down" on the photos.The weather was good for these shots. While it would be nice to have a picturesque blue sky, the overcast sky provided a nice soft light with no troublesome shadows to fight with. Clouds make excellent diffusers.
So what is the most exciting thing you've seen on the way home from work? Leave me a comment here or holler over on Twitter.
Just curious, where in the valley was this?
ReplyDelete@Anon: Why so shy? We're all friends here (I think)
ReplyDeleteThis is in between Firebird Raceway and Maricopa on hwy 347, south of Phx.
I am so happy that they are back and so close. They are not as skiddish as some people may think. I think they love having their pictures taken. They are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteSuch an incredible gift to be able to witness this. So many have been corraled up by BLM & sold off to slaughter..such a shame. THESE are true beauty..Thank you so much for sharing..:)
ReplyDelete@Deanna & @Caron Glad you enjoy the pics. I know we enjoy seeing them on a regular basis.
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