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Q. What is significant about Spanish Mustangs and what is the difference between them and the wild
horses in the American West today?
A. Spanish Mustangs are believed to be the true blood descendants of America's southwestern colonial horses. Their equine forefathers were introduced to the New World by Spanish explorers and conquistadors beginning in 1493, when they became the first to return to the region since horses mysteriously became extinct in the Western Hemisphere about 10,000 years ago. As the early Spanish horses spread across North, South and Central America with their masters, some escaped in the vast, unfenced terrains. Over time, they multiplied into millions throughout our great American West. A feral Spanish-blooded horse on the open plains was called a mesteño, a word that became the root of our term mustang. These Spanish horses eventually were acquired by Native Americans, who rapidly were transformed by their powerful new modes of transportation and developed the horse cultures that became symbolic of a remarkable era in American history. Spanish Mustangs also were used by early explorers to map the West and were the type of horse that helped develop the American cattle industry and the inimitable cowboy lifestyle. Spanish horses reigned over the entire Southwest and the Rocky Mountains before breeds that had been transported from other European countries to the East Coast were utilized in the westward movement of the growing American population.
The wild horses in the West today are virtually all of mixed bloodlines as individuals representing a wide variety of breeds escaped, or were introduced to, feral bands and then passed along their genes in the many decades of western expansion and development. No matter what his genetic makeup, however, today's mustang is still the embodiment of freedom when he runs unfettered in the wind.
Q. How did you become interested in capturing images of North America's wild horses?
A. The first camera images I ever created were in my adolescence with a Pentax H1a. It was 1967 and these photos were of a mare and her foal with a farm dog. Photography instantly became a love and passion for me. Yet it wasn't until 1994, or 20 years into my career as a photographer, that the horse arose as my artistic metaphor. While photographing the horse as art, I often thought that a halter or fence in the background spoiled the sense of freedom that horses exude. To me, the horse as an artistic statement radiates endless energy and liberty in wide open spaces. When I discovered the breed known as Gypsy Horses in 1999, they expanded my vision beyond racehorses and other horses of sport, and my artistic vision became unbridled. After the release of my first book, Gypsy Horses and the Travelers' Way, in 2006, I continued the quest to find great inspiration in the horse and concluded that no greater saga could be embraced than the story of how the horse was returned to our continent and became the living symbol of our American West.
Q. What were some of the challenges of writing Spanish Mustangs in the Great American West and what memorable moments do you recall while photographing these modern horses?
A. The greatest challenge was gaining an understanding of how each decade and each generation of our 500-year history is like a string of colorful beads that must be woven together in a multi-tiered necklace of vivid facts to display the jewels of our American legacy. It took an abundance of faith to believe that the next introduction or quiet moment of research would unveil what I needed to know. And it took a displacement from the present to reveal that the horses dotting the landscape that I was seeing were not just any ordinary horses; they were, instead, physically and spiritually different. These equines were the descendants of the horses of the conquistadors as well as the ponies of the Plains Indians, the mounts of the mountain men explorers and the cow ponies of our early American cowboys.
My most exalting moments occurred on the morning of the summer solstice, June 22, 2007, in Montana. The horses of the Blackfeet Buffalo Horse Coalition were by then accustomed to me and my camera, and I walked quietly among them in the first light of dawn as they strolled to Willow Creek for a morning drink. I was with them and they were with me; I could touch them and there was no question that they touched me. This was the longest morning of my life and it seemed like grand cinema as all of nature's movements were in concert there at the edge of Glacier National Park.
Q. Given the ongoing debate about the future of North America's wild horses, what do you hope to achieve
with this book?
A. This endeavor is foremost a chronicle of our epic western equine history—a saga unparalleled anywhere in the world that we should cherish. This portfolio of Spanish Mustang images from my camera is a gift that passed through me that I want to share; I must pass it on if I hope to ever see inspiration again. Similarly, the words and poems are wisps of insight that appeared and were caught before they vanished. I hope readers will discover a newfound appreciation for the role of the horse in the rise of North America’s distinctive and pervasive culture. At the same time, I hope the pages will be enlightening about the irrevocable nature of some decisions that we collectively make and thus encourage at least moments of pause in our ongoing hurtling toward what we call progress. Mostly, I hope readers are challenged to look inward to see how they feel about our American heritage, that they seek the embodiment of freedom in the here and now and that they become committed to establishing places on this vast continent where horses can always run free beneath the eagles that soar in the sky.
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