Wild Horses in Freezing Rain

Ousado

Our winter on the Ravenseyrie Sorraia Mustang Preserve got off to an early start with a snowstorm on November first, followed by a determined freeze.  Thankfully we had a thaw not too long after that and though we have had more snow and freezing since, there has not been the harshness of persistent, prolonged storms like we had last year.

Frozen Hawberries

On December 9th, we had some freezing rain, which did not last long, nor was it as severe as we have experienced here on Manitoulin Island - in fact, it had a certain allure to it because the wind was not wicked and the air temperature was somewhat mild.  I wanted to get out in the elements, so donned my rain gear, put my camera in a plastic bag and went out to check on how the horses were coping with the inclement conditions.

Hawberry Tree

The bachelors who live out on the range* on the Ravenseyrie Sorraia Mustang Preserve are our Portuguese Sorraia stallion, Altamiro and his sons and grandsons out of our Sorraia Mustang mares.

Altamiro

Stallions
Legado (Altamiro x Sovina's Zorita)
Fidalgo (Altamiro x Belina)
Gosto (Altamiro x Bella)
Capaz (Interessado x Pinoteia)
Sedutor (Altamiro x Sovina's Zorita)
Ousado (Altamiro x Bella)

Legado

Geldings
Interessado (Altamiro x Ciente)
Silvestre (Altamiro x Ciente)

*Two other Ravenseyrie residents are our 33 year old draft mule Jerry and the escape artist stallion, Destemido (Interessado x Fada) who have adjacent pastures near the house.  Our eight Sorraia Mustang mares continue to reside on the Twinravens range in Tehkummah, thanks to the generosity of Mark Seabrook and Michelle Hrynyk.

The bachelors do not congregate all together like they did when the boys were young, but have been keeping in clusters that are not always fixed. 

For the most part, Altamiro prefers to keep to himself. 

Ousado, the youngest of the bunch laid claim to the geldings, Interessado and Silvestre, as if they were mares and does not allow the other stallions to have direct contact with them, though he will tolerate the other stallions nearby.  This arrangement has lasted for several years now. 

Fidalgo used to often hang out nearby Altamiro, but has now attached himself to the fringe of the main band of boys, while Capaz now hangs out nearby Altamiro.
 
Sedutor likes to float between the main band of boys and wherever Altamiro might be.  Gosto is a firm follower of the main band of boys as is Legado.

These herd dynamics are likely to shift again, depending on the moods of the bachelors.  We would like them all to be "best buds" and stick together as one group, but this is not up to us - they call the shots and determine who gets to hang out with who.

Ousado

Although I found it difficult to keep the horses in focus while the freezing rain fell, I decided the activities the fellas were engaged in, despite the inclement weather were interesting and attractive enough to put into a video for my YouTube channel.  I hope you enjoy it!

   

Ravenseyrie Mares in Autumn

Zorita (Portuguese Sorraia x Sulphur Mustang) and Esperanda (Portuguese Sorraia x Kiger Mustang)
 

This is the fourth autumn the Ravenseyrie mares will be experiencing down on the Twinravens range in Tehkummah, southeasterly Manitoulin Island.  Do they miss living up on the East Bluff of Gore Bay were Kevin and I and the bachelor band of Sorraias continue to dwell?  We certainly miss them and treasure those days when our conservation efforts included having an intact family band of wild horses showcasing their amazing equine culture day in and day out.  Unfortunately we learned 360 acres is not enough space (both physically and psychologically) for more than one wild living family band of equines.  Perhaps in the future there will come to be a large tract of land somewhere on the island or elsewhere in Canada where the males and females can live together in complete autonomy like what occurs on Sable Island.  For now, we must be content with knowing we continue to safeguard these horses in non-breeding groups.  

Pinoteia (Portuguese Sorraia x Spanish Mustang)

I continue to reserve my precious Mondays off from work to make the hour's drive down to Tehkummah and visit with Bella and Belina and Zorita and Fada and Pinoteia and Esperanda and Altavida and Rija.  It makes my heart sing to see them in such good form and in an environment that is able to naturally sustain them most of the year.  Being on a limited range, however, they do need hay supplemented to assist them in surviving the harsh winters Manitoulin Island experiences.  In early autumn local farmer, Larry Cress, drops off large round bales of dried summer in the front sector of their range, while Kevin and I stock the mares' forest shelter sector with large round bales we bring from home.  

Until the landscape is deeply locked in with snow, the mares prefer to dine upon what their range offers them naturally.  In the photo below, Rija purposefully selects dried thistle stalks...a delectable treat, or for medicinal purposes...she did not say which!  (see her eating these prickly plants in the YouTube video link below)    

Rija (Portuguese Sorraia x Spanish Mustang)

The mares coming up from the back range for treats and a visit.

Rija (Portuguese Sorraia x Spanish Mustang)

Rija tells Akina to skedaddle.

Our Majestic Mares!  How much a part of the landscape they are!

In this video, back at home, our purebred Portuguese Sorraia, Altamiro and one of his sons come up to say hello.  How different their lives are without the presence of the mares...I am sure they miss them being on the home range as much as I do.

Sorraia Bachelor Stallions

Capaz and Legado!

"Bachelors are interesting since they present opportunities to examine ontogenetic pathways through which skills are developed and the possible importance of such skills in acquiring their first harems." --Joel Berger from Wild Horses of the Great Basin / Social Competition and Population Size

Capaz shows some of his skills to Legado and Jerry

Since the spring of 2013, our Ravenseyrie Sorraia Mustang Preserve restructured its participation in the preservation of the Sorraia and Sorraia Mustang horses by suspending active breeding and relocating the females to an offsite range.  Circumstances underlying these changes have been discussed in archived journal entries and will not be revisited in today's blog, nevertheless our interest and support for these horses remains strong as we continue to safeguard these important genetic treasures and provide them suitable wilderness habitats to live as autonomously as possible.

Ravenseyrie Mares

Our eight females:  Bella, Belina, Zorita, Fada, Pinoteia, Esperanda, Altavida and Rija continue to thrive on the Twinravens range and I will devote a future blog entry to their dynamics as an "all girl" group.  For today's journalling we will be taking a look at the way the Ravenseyrie bachelor stallions are conducting their affairs as spring invigorates their environment with voluptuous greenery and raises their testosterone levels in ways that provoke shifts in their relationships with one another.

Our cast of equine characters that presently dwell with us at Ravenseyrie are:

•Jerry - an aged domestic bred sorrel draft mule gelding

Jerry

• Zeus - an aged domestic bred sorrel Thoroughbred gelding

Zeus

• Altamiro - a purebred Portuguese Sorraia stallion, born in Germany at the Wistenhenge zoological park

Altamiro

• Interessado - born at Ravenseyrie sired by Altamiro and born to Ciente (Sorraia Mustang of Kiger lineage), regrettably gelded as a 3yr old

Interessado

• Silvestre - born at Ravenseyrie, full brother to Interessado, regrettably gelded as a 2 year old

Silvestre

• Legado - born at Ravenseyrie, sired by Altamiro and born to Zorita (Portuguese Sorraia x Sorraia Mustang of Sulphur Springs lineage)

Legado

• Fidalgo - born at Ravenseyrie, sired by Altamiro and born to Belina (Sorraia Mustang of Spanish lineage)

Fidalgo

• Gosto - born at Ravenseyrie, sired by Altamiro and born to Bella (Sorraia Mustang of Spanish lineage)

Gosto

• Destemido - born at Ravenseyrie, sired by Interessado and born to Fada (Portuguese Sorraia x Sorraia Mustang)

Destemido

• Capaz - born at Ravenseyrie, sired by Interessado and born to Pinoteia (Portuguese Sorraia x Sorraia Mustang)

Capaz

• Sedutor - born at Ravenseyrie, sired by Altamiro, full brother to Legado

Sedutor

• Ousado - born at Ravenseyrie, sired by Altamiro, full brother to Gosto

Ousado

Last spring, the stallions severely attacked Zeus, necessitating pulling him off the range and creating a separate pasture for him to live out his life without fear of further malicious bullying.  So far, the draft mule, Jerry, continues to hold his own among the feisty studs out on the range and while some of the young guys harass him, he remains unscathed and is often a chosen grazing mate by several of the bachelors.

Legado, Jerry and Capaz

The former distinct "play fighting" that the younger stallions engaged in has given way to more serious sparring and the number of nicks, scrapes and surface wounds attest to the intensity of these encounters.  No longer childs'-play, these "discussions" appear to be compulsive, highly physical activities that take the measure of oneself as well as feeling the physical capacity and state of mind of the others.  Liaisons are loose, fragile affairs as every handful of days there appears to be a reorganization of who is chumming up with who and who is keeping themselves apart.

Two weeks ago, during one of the frequent shows of aggression, Silvestre sustained a nasty gash over his rear canon bone.  It continues to heal very well and Silvestre has been keeping away from the more rambunctious boys during this healing time.  In the last few days, Silvestre has been joined by Interessado, Altamiro and Fidalgo - all who seem to want a little less frenetic pace and do their best to avoid interacting with the other guys for now.

Silvestre and Fidalgo

Silvestre's wound

Those other guys - Capaz, Legado, Sedutor (the main instigators of fractious interactions) are most of the time grazing in the same sector as Gosto and Ousado.  Destemido continues to feel the need to stake a claim to the area outside of the fenced holding pasture where Zeus has been living.  Destemido will fly into the group of others for lightning quick shows of force - like a mad hornet!  Hard to believe he is the smallest one of the bachelors and is missing an eye!  The most interesting change has been in Capaz.  As a young colt, he was pot-bellied and seemed slow moving and slow witted - how wrong that impression has turned out to be.  Capaz is perhaps the feistiest of all the bachelors!

I've put together a new video documenting the dynamic discussions these stallions have been having. Thanks to the talent and generosity of a young Portuguese composer, BrunuhVille, the video has a wonderfully fitting soundtrack.  I hope you enjoy this window into world of Sorraia bachelor stallions living on a beautiful island in northern Ontario.




"He's not so big as imagined and his coat has never felt a groom's brush, yet the sight of him quickens your blood and lights visions in the mind." --L. Edward Purcell from his book, Wild Horses of America

Wildpferde gestern und heute

Several years ago, I expanded my study of all things Sorraia and found myself researching other types of wild horses - those that no longer have living relatives as well as the few that remain in more or less wild living conditions across the globe.  When I corresponded with Hardy Oelke about  extending my studies to horses like the Exmoor, the Przewalski, the Tarpan, etc. it came as no surprise to me that he had for sometime been doing the very same thing and had already collected a large body of images and historic information which he was (with his characteristic generosity) enthusiastically willing to share with me.

Hardy Oelke and Lynne Gerard pose on the last day of the Journal of Ravenseyrie author's trip to Portugal in the autumn of 2011.  (Photo taken by Rosa Oelke)

Friedrich von Falz-Fein / Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

During our correspondence on these other types of wild horses, Hardy shared with me the text he had translated of German-Russian conservationist Friedrich von Falz-Fein's account of how tragically the last Tarpan horse met its end.  Hardy told me this translation was something he was saving one day for a book he'd like to write about wild horses.  "That time is now!" I wrote to Hardy, telling him I felt information like this on the Tarpan and the other wild horses was something that quite a number of people would likely find interesting...all the more-so for those with a specific fondness for wild horses.  After that, Hardy began to diligently weave his information together as well as traveling to see Koniks in Poland and Exmoors in Great Britain, revisiting Koniks in Holland and Dülmeners in his homeland to collect even more terrific photos to accompany his text.

Feeling that "a number of aspects had been neglected by other authors" it was Hardy Oelke's intention to "write a book that puts extant primitive horses in perspective, give a certain synopsis as far as prehistoric horses are concerned, and discuss some general aspects such as domestication, dedomestication, molecular genetic evidence, wild horse colors, etc."     

Researcher and author, Hardy Oelke, holds an antiquated Iberian horse skull from the collection of the Portuguese National Stud

All together the content of Wildpferde gestern und heute / Wild Horses Then and Now calls attention to the tangle of truths, misconceptions, short-comings and advancements that exist within the various fields of research that deal with Equus and profiles several present day wild or semi-wild horses that "do not represent breeds created by Man, but primeval forms, or are still close to a primeval form."  This book also includes a brief look at several feral horse types, serving to differentiate from true, zoologically wild horses even as it brings to attention the swell of emotion humans feel when exposed to the natural beauty of horses roaming wild and free.

Similar to the capacity Amazon.com and Amazon.ca have for providing a "quick look inside", let me offer you a glimpse of what you will find between the covers of this book that has been published bilingually in German and English:

The profusion of photos and illustrations in this book do an excellent job of illuminating the text and on their own provide immeasurable hippological value.  You may be pleased to even see an image or two from Ravenseyrie!

Aspects within the book I might not fully agree with are remarkably few and I find the explanations provided by Hardy Oelke to be extremely well articulated, worthy of consideration and absolutely appropriate for understanding the challenges of finding commonality among the different fields of research.  It should be noted that in all the study Hardy Oelke has taken of these matters, he has presented his material for review by acquaintances who are geneticists, zoologists and preservationists who have assisted in helping assure the information discussed in the book is as accurate as possible.  Added to this is a qualitative bibliography for those whose curiosity has been whetted with a desire to explore topics or sources more deeply.

Presently the book is being offered through Hardy Oelke's website:  Books for Sale

Equine photographer and graphic designer, Karen Parker is handling the North American sales of Hardy's book on the Sorraia and Sorraia Mustang (Born Survivors on the Eve of Extinction - Can Iberia's Wild Horses Survive Among America's Mustangs) and in March of 2013 will also offer Wildpferde gestern und heute / Wild Horses Then and Now.

In his concluding comments, Hardy Oelke writes, "Whether as zoological gems, genetic resources, important ecological factors, objects for ethological studies, or as pure inspiration - wild horses are always and everywhere of great value."

Wildpferde gestern und heute is beautifully successful in demonstrating - in text and imagery - the "great value" of wild horses and why we should care about the preservation of them.  May it find its way into the hands of those who will be inspired to facilitate conservation of the surviving rare and endangered, amazingly adaptive, remnants of primeval wild horses.      

Karen Parker and Susan Watt Visit Ravenseyrie

Sovina's Zorita among the family band at the Ravenseyrie Sorraia Mustang Preserve on Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada (photo:  Karen Parker)

In the later part of 2010, I was contacted by Susan Watt, the program development director (and much more) for the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary and also by designer, wild horse advocate and photographer, Karen Parker.  At that time Karen and Susan were working together on a new feature devoted to information and tourism that highlighted the various strains of Spanish Mustangs living at the BHWHS, some of which are Sorraia Mustangs.  They were seeking input on the Sorraias from both Hardy Oelke and myself for the historic text Karen was writing.  The result was a very nice informational pamphlet with loads of photos (including some from Ravenseyrie).  You can access this pamphlet through the webpage for their program titled:  Spanish Mustang Spirit , or download the pdf here by clicking on: Don Juan's Iberian Equine Roots

The existence of such a fantastic place as the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary is result of the phenomenal foresight of founder, Dayton O. Hyde, whose capacity for weaving memories of past and present into entertaining stories (see his many published books in the BHWHS gift shop or at amazon.com) has done much to inspire people from all walks of life  It is that type of inspiration and terroir/"sense of place" that has caused both Susan Watt and Karen Parker to fall in love with the iconic wild landscape and the 500+ horses that call the 13,000 acre sanctuary home.  Susan, in fact, lives completely immersed in the world of these horses, much like Kevin and I do here at Ravenseyrie - only what stressors Susan has to cope with on a day to day basis are on a much higher magnitude!  To get a glimpse of just what type of woman, Susan is, please read this brief biography of her that Dayton's niece, Mary Williams Hyde wrote.  (Double click on image to enlarge)



 

Karen Parker, wild horse advocate and photographer

Karen lives and works in Colorado, but is a regular visitor to the BHWHS, volunteering her time and talents in innumerable ways.  When I asked Karen about the first time she went to the sanctuary, she responded with a wonderfully informative account of how she came to be so devoted to the BHWHS and mustangs:



"In 2004, hearing of the many injustices wild horses faced in the hands of the BLM, I took an interest in the history of the wild horses of the American west. I literally stumbled on the BHWHS during a visit to the Black Hills region in 2005 from a billboard advertising a sanctuary of over 500 wild mustangs. I found them after hours on the last day of my trip but just couldn't forget the long winding drive into the setting sun of the most beautiful territory I had seen in the Black Hills...lined with striking silhouettes of horses all around me. The sign within the sanctuary for IRAM (Institute of Range and the American Mustang) was the only photo I took as I knew it was a place where I would return to learn about the history of the American mustang.

The impressive dun Sorraia type Sulphur Mustang stallion, Don Juan from the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary (photo by Karen Parker)

"So it was my return in the Spring of 2006 that I enjoyed my first official visit to the BHWHS. I saved my pennies and returned in 2007 for an all day adventure tour with Dayton O. Hyde, a man bursting with insights and historical perspective. I was hooked and my need to learn more was insatiable! Susan Watt was away visiting family in the south when I was there in 2007. But when I returned in 2008, I met Susan AND Don Juan!! That is when my interest and involvement exploded. As I wrote in my 2011 story about Don Juan, I was awestruck by his presence. I knew I was looking at something special but I had no idea why he was so different from all of the other American mustangs I had photographed at the sanctuary. I started asking dozens of questions of Susan and our shared love of the Iberian-influenced horses have grown exponentially since. It was also in 2008 that Susan introduced me to Caballos de Destino, just one of many important relationships she has helped me to foster since, including my admiration for Hardy Oelke's work and your very own Ravenseyrie Sorraia Mustang Preserve.

"The trek has really just begun. I still have so much more to learn. My new found interest in de-domestication efforts to allow the wild forms to evolve as nature intended trumps any interest I once had in finding the perfect trail riding companion. This journey with Equus has been an amazing and gratifying "ride!" It is my hope that my photographs and short stories of my experiences will help to provide an awareness that will influence others to recognize what we have before it is lost forever." --Karen Parker

Karen Parker, Tobacco, Lynne Gerard and Kevin Droski on the beach at the Ravenseyrie Sorraia Mustang Preserve on Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada

It was Karen who handled all the arrangements when she and Susan found they had a mutual desire to pay a visit to Ravenseyrie to see our purebred Sorraia stallion, Altamiro, in the flesh and get a personal perusal of his offspring. The nearly eight hour road trip up from the Toronto airport after their international flight put them in Gore Bay late on Wednesday evening of July 20, 2011. They checked into the Stone House for a good rest and came up the East Bluff to Ravenseyrie the following morning. These ladies visited with us Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning before making their journey back the great U.S. West.

Karen Parker seemed to me a bit like a movie star, yet very down-to-earth, sensitive, world-traveled and very comfortable in her sense-of-self with a great desire to put people at ease while down-playing her obvious multifaceted talent and expertise.

Susan Watt, Lynne Gerard, Kevin Droski with Ganja, Maeb and Shelagh on the beach at the Ravenseyrie Sorraia Mustang Preserve

Susan Watt is an Alabaman belle whose life-altering move to South Dakota has generated a fusion of southern gentility and wild west audacity. Susan is a marvel of energetic conceptualization - her mind and heart seem often twenty-steps ahead of the mundane mechanics of putting great ideas into motion. This, coupled with her emotional connection to the plight of humans and horses in dire straits finds her over-extended physically and financially as she tirelessly lends a helping hand to those in need. Her heart continues to stretch, making room for just one more horse -again and again- and her reserves of energy have not yet been exhausted, but one hopes there are many more people like Karen Parker who step forward to help Susan and Dayton O. Hyde keep the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary afloat. One thing that they desperately need right now are donations to help them purchase enough fodder for those equine members of the sanctuary that will require nutritional support over this winter. Any donation, small or large can help make a difference.



I will share now the variety of photos Karen took during her time on Manitoulin Island. (Please have the courtesy to contact Karen through her website before copying and pasting any of her photos for use elsewhere - a professional photographer deserves credit even moreso than amateurs like me.) The entire body of Ravenseyrie photos by Karen Parker are viewable on a special webpage she has made. It is Karen's habit to donate the proceeds from any prints she sells of the photos back to the sanctuary or preserve where she took them, but I asked her if she would send any print sales from Ravenseyrie to Caballos de Destino, where our first two Sorraia Mustangs were born. The persistent drought in South Dakota and economic difficulties in the U.S. economy have made times especially difficult for Sharron Scheikofsky and Dave Reynolds, the couple responsible for so many beautiful Spanish Mustangs bred at Caballos de Destino which have come to be loved by people all over the world. It is an amazing gesture for Karen to donate proceeds from her photos to places that truly need support.

Ravenseyrie Sorraias (Photo by Karen Parker)

In addition to a few words Susan recently shared about her visit to Ravenseyrie, I am also including a few quotes from emails she sent prior to coming to Manitoulin Island to meet Altamiro and his family band. It was these thoughts and more that we discussed during Karen and Susan's visit, and they are as timely now as they were then.


"I came to South Dakota 15 years ago to learn about wild horses and make a difference but I realize that they have helped me far more than I could ever have helped the wild horses."--Susan Watt

Purebred Sorraia stallion, Altamrio (Photo by Karen Parker)

"As I read your blogs which are so enlightening, I feel that we are on a parallel journey. The blog on “Influencing Destiny” in May 2009 really touched my heart. As we go on life’s journey discovering our mission here in this life, our purpose and whatever lessons we need to learn, I feel that the pages of knowledge turn and maybe the next page will hold the answer." --Susan Watt

Altamiro and Belina (photo by Karen Parker)

Profile of Altamiro (photo by Karen Parker)

Belina and Bella (photo by Karen Parker)

"The real fascination for me would be to see if the Sorraia characteristics are expressed when the Sorraia type mustangs are left alone but still have human contact such as with Ravenseyrie."--Susan Watt

Ravenseyrie Sorraias (Photo by Karen Parker)

The orphaned filly Esperanda (left) with Altavida and Bella (Photo by Karen Parker)

"In a perfect world it seems to me that Ravenseyrie is the paradise needed to see if the end results are the same except with human contact. Some advocates over the years have emailed me stating that feeding and human presence changes behavior and the animals are no longer wild. I say after 15 years on the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary some behavior is altered but the horse is still wild. Their off spring is often more gentle as they have not been rounded up with helicopters."--Susan Watt

Lynne Gerard converses with the Sorraia stallion, Altamiro (photo by Karen Parker)

Lynne Gerard exchanges pleasantries with Belina (photo by Karen Parker)

"When I see your photos of interaction with your herd or rather their interaction with you, there is great love and respect shown. That is the goal. I feel that the horse is here today to teach us rather than man to teach them."-- Susan Watt

Susan Watt and Lynne Gerard mingle with the family band on the Ravenseyrie Sorraia Mustang Preserve (Photo by Karen Parker)

Pinoteia and Destemido and the big sky over Ravenseyrie (photo by Karen Parker)

Sorraia filly, Tocara (Altamiro x Belina) who now lives in Austria (photo by Karen Parker)

The orphaned filly, Esperanda (Altamiro x Ciente) shares a conversation with Susan Watt and Lynne Gerard (Photo by Karen Parker)

Ravenseyrie Sorraias (photo by Karen Parker)

"I enjoyed my visit to your lovely farm with your delightful husband, and wonderful dogs. The Sorraia Mustangs will forever be my greatest joy in watching and learning from them.  Ravenseyrie is magical from the lovely land to the images I have of a wonderful lady dancing with her beautiful horses. It could have been an image from a 100 years ago in the forest of Portugal. I am so happy I got to experience your herd that goes back to primitive times. It was every horse lovers dream!"--Susan Watt


Karen also captured a few images from Gore Bay:

View of part of the marina at Gore Bay.  The red roof building  on the waterfront is home to Lynne Gerard's art studio and gallery (photo by Karen Parker)

Susan Watt in conversation with Lynne Gerard at the Ravenseyrie Studio and Gallery in Gore Bay, Ontario (photo by Karen Parker)

Kevin Droski of the Ravenseyrie Sorraia Mustang Preserve can sometimes be seen riding not a horse, but an e-bike around Gore Bay (photo by Karen Parker)

It hardly seems like an entire year has gone by since Karen and Susan were drinking good wine and eating homemade vegan fare in our little home exchanging animated discussions about wild horses and the amazing challenges that face their freedom all over the world. It would be a shame if free roaming horses only exist in the future on private preserves and sanctuaries - let us hope this never happens. But if it does, how fortunate for all of us that there are places like the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary which provides a virtually natural lifestyle in a wilderness setting for a wide variety of horses who would otherwise have no place else to go but the grave or the slaughter house - and is also dedicated to the preservation of important strains of Iberian mustangs. If you read the reviews from those who have traveled to South Dakota to see this amazing sanctuary and its inhabitants, you recognize how important it is for humans to see horses roaming freely in a wilderness habitat and also sometimes having magic moments of direct contact with them. Many of the BHWHS horses seem to enjoy interacting with humans who come to visit them in their own realm, just as the Ravenseyrie horses do. There is obviously something inside a great majority of humans that is moved deeply by close encounters with horses - encounters where there are no restraints, or confinement to force horses and humans to interact, rather the mutual attraction (likely an ancient connection based on admiration and respect) makes such encounters seem like the most natural occurrence and provide a lasting memory of how wonderful it is to live in a world where some natural places continue to exist despite the oppressive domination and desecration of the earth by modern man.

Zorita, Altamiro and Belina (photo by Karen Parker)

"In my quest to learn more about the wild indigenous horses of the Iberian peninsula that live on in certain strains of the American mustang, I was determined to satisfy my desire to see a purebred Sorraia stallion in the flesh.  Meeting Altamiro and his family was an amazingly rewarding experience I will never forget.  Altamiro is more regal and glorious than any photograph can convey.  It is no surprise that his charming disposition is producing such impressive offspring.  I can't thank you both enough for sharing some rare moments on your private preserve.  Your humble preservation efforts and natural approach are admirable to say the least."--Karen Parker


And thank you, Karen Parker, for your splendid photos and the way you and Susan Watt work tirelessly on behalf of horses in need. You ladies make the world a better place!