Equus-ferus-caballus

(The Horse)

Black-and-white illustration of a mountain with a flag at the peak, featuring a person climbing with a rope.

Documenting wild horse roundups in Nevada for

Lady Free Thinker

Since 2023 I have been documenting the BLM Wild Horse Gathers for Lady Free Thinker. The first thing most people ask after saying something about not knowing there were wild horses in X place is “why are they gathering the Wild Horses?”.

It's all about population control, the wild horses really have no natural predators as they are not native and quickly increase their populations that begin impacting other wildlife and land uses. They are protected as historically significant so the BLM tries to control the population with birth control and Gathers (roundups for the non politically correct) when they actually have funding. The funding is often sporadic at best and when the population is not a problem the area gets ignored until it is an overwhelming issue that needs dramatic actions to bring back to the numbers that don’t negatively impact the land.

It's actually a highly political issue as there are a number of animal welfare groups that want the horses to be just left alone, others want better funding for more birth control and less roundups, in general cattle ranchers, mine owners and other land users want them eradicated. The BLM tries to find a middle ground within the law. I am contracted yearly by a group that wants more consistent funding to stop the gathers where horses get hurt, using more birth control and long term solutions that don’t cause trauma to the horses.

Check out the articles and my observations here

A wild horse running outdoors with a close-up inset of its bloodied leg.
A helicopter flying low near a fenced area in a desert landscape, with a semi-truck accident headline and article snippet below.
A helicopter flying over a herd of wild horses running across a field.
A light brown wild horse running across a grassy field with sparse vegetation.
A light brown wild horse running in a grassy field.
A helicopter flying over an open field with horses near fences during daytime.
Three wild horses grazing in an open grassland with mountains in the background.
Two young brown foals in a grassy field, gently touching noses.
Two dark brown horses are fighting or playing in a field, one horse has its mouth open, showing teeth and tongue, with its mane flying in the air.
Two black horses are interacting outdoors, with one horse's mane blowing in the wind. The scene appears to be at a beach or open field during sunset or sunrise.
Two horses fighting in a field with a clear blue sky in the background.
Two wild horses are fighting on a dusty field with a blurred blue sky in the background.
A group of horses running across a desert landscape with bushes and dust clouds.
Five horses walking across a desert landscape with sparse bushes and a small green tree in the foreground.
Group of horses running across a dry, rocky landscape with scattered bushes.
A young brown horse running through a desert landscape with sparse bushes.
Two wild horses running through a dry, shrub-covered landscape with sparse trees.
A large group of horses behind fencing at a ranch or farm, with a dry, hilly landscape and blue sky in the background.
A dirty silver livestock trailer attached to a maroon pickup truck in a dry, shrub-covered landscape.
A herd of seven horses running across a dry, shrub-covered landscape with beige fencing and rolling hills in the background.
A herd of horses running across a dry, open landscape with sparse vegetation and dust clouds behind them.
A black helicopter flying low over a dry, grassy landscape with rolling hills.
A helicopter flying over a dry, desert landscape with a group of horses and dust below, under a clear blue sky.
A black helicopter flying over a hilly, semi-arid landscape with some sparse vegetation and a wooden fence.
A herd of wild horses running across a desert landscape with mountains in the background, some horses kicking up dust.
A herd of horses running across a dusty, arid landscape with sparse vegetation.
A group of horses running across a dusty, open plain with smoke or dust rising behind them, set against a backdrop of rolling hills and sparse vegetation.

Documenting Nature also incudes the things we wish didn’t happen.

Viewer discretion is advised - animals were injured in this video

Line drawing of a boat on water, with a person fishing from the boat.

Shop Prints

All images on my website or my social media are available as prints. While images on a website look great they really look amazing printed large and hanging on your wall. Check out my Etsy shop for details.