Medicine Man was at some point a very proud stallion. He was the head of the band and had 12 mares, the pride of the valley. The people in charge of controlling the wild horse's population and territory, took his 12 mares away and gave them for adoption. He never stood proud anymore and he is but the ghost of himself, victim of man's mandates.
Fabs, How sad for him- Your image really reflects his sadness! Really nice composition-I love the soft blue sky-it looks kind of washed away and adds to the feeling! well done
Very nice image Fabs. The sunlit pastel colors really capture the crispness of the winter air and the open landscape and the pose and expression does seem to reflect a longing and remembrance of better days.
My blood boils when I hear of some man made "lets help out nature", when in reality it is all someones way of freeing up land space for cattle to roam, on our public lands. but that is for another story. Your image is strikingly beautiful. It tells the story of his sadness.
Very sad indeed for this young fellow...I like the composition, image and capture Miss Fabs...the soft, pale blue sky compliments your subject. and the details and colors are superb...this photograph does tell the sad story...:cool:
Composition, exposure and details look great. Beautiful image. I agree that sometimes we interfere in nature way to much. In this case it is a very debated issue as the horses are not native and have been introduced years ago so one must also keep things in perspective. We have a similar issue in the Olympic mountains here in Washington with the Mountain Goats as they are not native, the balance between native and introduced species is not an easy task and a decision I'm glad I don't have to make.
Unfortunately the best way to control the population of wild horses is to remove the mares. Sadly, most end up not being adopted (until Ms. Pickens came along!). They have few natural predators and repopulate at a high rate, causing stress on other wildlife. That said, they are my favorite photograph subject. He must be getting up in age if he hasn't rebuilt his band. Stallions who are that successful simply start over again, and perhaps he will come Spring. If age is the problem, he would have lost most of his band anyway, but in a more natural way to other stallions. Still, a beautiful horse and a very nice pose with nice light. I'd crop a tad off the bottom and right to make him more prominent and bring out his detail. The snow and brush add much to the scenery.
Last edited by david cramer; 12-27-2008 at 08:30 PM.
Great image Fab of a truly wonderful stallion. I could not help but love him !!!!!! The only sad part is what happened to him but he is building up his reputation again !!! YES