Sorry about the long delay between parts 2 and 3. I’m still recovering from the vertigo, and have had to try not to spend too much time at my computer. Which means when I am at my computer, I’m working on stuff for clients.

But, now I’ve got all the photos done and I’m excited to share them, as well as some reflections on the experience. To get to the reflections, you have to look at the photos, they are at the end of the post. ;-)

If you’ve missed them, please check out Part 1 and Part 2.

Day 3 started out at the Monero Mustangs Sanctuary. The horses were post-breakfast and were sleepy and loungy. It was kind of cute to see them this way. Instead of lots of action, we caught lots of contentedness, which I was happy to see.

This cute yearling came up to me, curious about what I was doing.

I love the landscapes in New Mexico.

This is Linda’s husband, Jim, giving and receiving some love from Sandi’s dogs!

After our time at Monero, Lynne and I headed back towards Albuquerque. I got to visit her studio in Corrales, meet her horse Snickers, and drink some Bad Ass Coffee, which I desperately needed because my lack of sleep was catching up with me. Lynne and I were having yawning contests. ;-)

As the sun started to go down, Lynne and I went to Placitas, where there is an area where a few bands of horses run wild. They roam in an area close to neighborhoods, so the horses have become pretty used to people and we were able to be quite close the horses.

The stallion, Juan, on the right was hanging out with a pregnant mare. They seemed quite affectionate toward one another.

This is one of my favorite photos from the entire experience.

This little foal is so cute, but unfortunately has a split hoof and may not be able to survive once it has more weight to bear on it’s feet.

The bugs were bad, so the horses were keeping pretty close to each other.

We left that band to find another. In the meantime, Juan and his band had gone down into this valley. We never did get very close to the other band.

We climbed down a bit to get close to Juan’s band again.

As we drove from Chama to Placitas, I called my husband. I told him I’d been having a good time, but that I was ready to go home, I didn’t feel sad, I felt happy to have had the experience. I was actually really surprised I felt that way. I had really wanted this experience to touch my heart, and I wasn’t sure it had.

We had plans to meet up with Linda and Jim for dinner after shooting in Placitas. From the moment we left the horses to head to dinner, I felt a lump in my throat (much as I do now, just thinking about it). I wasn’t sure what it was about, so I just swallowed it and tried to move past it (why do we do such things?). At dinner Lynne signed the copy of her book “Among WIld Horses” I had purchased from her. I read the first page – “In tribute to all the wild horses who live – and have died – in glorious freedom”, and the tears started to flow. Lynne had been away from the table and when she came back, I asked through my tears if it was normal for people to get emotional after this experience.

I’m not sure I remember her response, I just remember looking at Linda and seeing tears in her eyes too. We had both been changed by this experience and by our time with the wild horses. They had let us capture a glimpse of them and learn what it means to be free and wild. We learned how horses commune, battle and live in the wild as they have for thousands of years. We also learned of their plight and how, one by one, they are losing their freedom to government bureaucracy.

On the flight home, I started to read Lynne’s book. I really should have had a tissue, because the tears flowed again as I read the preface entitled “The Horse Changed My Life”. I knew that feeling. And deep down, I knew that what I had hoped to happen, had happened, I had not only been given the opportunity to take a lot of great photos, but my heart had been touched and changed .

I have fallen in love anew, not just with the wild horses, but also with horses in general. I feel a greater sense of privilege to have a beautiful, trusting horse in my life. Every horse I meet now, I greet with affection, joy, kisses, and a kinder touch than before. I love horses unrestrained. The best part of that? I see the horses respond to me differently, they respond in kind, showing love and affection back to me.

I have loved horses for as long as I can remember, and many have said to me about this experience that “it was the opportunity of a lifetime” and, while it feels a lot like that, I sincerely hope to see and photograph the wild horses again in the not so distant future. However, this experience will always hold a deep, special place in my heart the way a first love does.

Soon I will be offering some of these photos as limited edition fine art prints. Look for more information to come soon!