A TRIBUTE TO THE ONE AND ONLY, WILD RED (STALLION), FEATURED IN ALL ANIMALS MAGAZINE, JULY/AUGUST 2014.
Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve loved horses. As a professional artist, I often incorporate photographs I’ve taken of horses into mixed-media pieces. It was through my art that I learned about the plight of wild horses in the United States and the annual roundups that have resulted in more than 50,000 wild mustangs in government holding facilities throughout the West.
In 2010, I founded the Wild Love Preserve in Central Idaho dedicated to the Challis wild horse herd. I took this photo one summer evening after trekking across the bridge to watch two bands on the preserve. Wild Red charged across the field toward me, dust flying, in all his wild glory. He stopped about 30 feet away before sidestepping, shaking his mane and tail and snickering. Then he charged back to continue defending his mares from the white-masked stallion (seen in the background). Wild Red has since passed away, but I’ll never forget his wonderful theatrics.
-Andrea Maki