Over the last few months I have had the opportunity to visit the Onaqui Herd Management Area in Utah to photograph the amazing wild horses that call this area home. While I wrote about Wild Horses in the American Southwest back in January (you can find that post here), this is going to be more specific to the Onaqui wild horses and give you a bit of background on them as well as my experiences photographing them this year.
A Bit of Background
The Onaqui Herd Management Area (HMA) is located about 60 miles southwest of Salt Lake City in Tooele County, Utah. The HMA covers 200,000 acres today and, while established to protect the wild horses and the historical significance they represent, it is a mixed-use area where livestock graze, off-road vehicles play, and hunting take place. It also provides quality habitat for other native species such as pronghorn, mule deer, coyotes, and sage grouse.
The Onaqui herds are America's most famous and most followed wild horses. Through the dedication and perseverance of a small team of volunteers and generous citizen "scientists," the herd, its dynamics, and lineage is cataloged through the Onaqui Catalogue Foundation. Starting in 2018 and really coming to fruition after the 2019 government round-up of these horses, the Onaqui catalogue is now one of the most complete herd databases of over 500 wild horses. This information can then be used by researchers, the public, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and others who have an interest in these horses and the management of them.
In 2021 the BLM authorized a massive round-up of almost 90% of the Onaqui herd. Over 400 horses were captured through helicopter round-up methods. Only 123 were returned to the range. Today there is an estimated 300 total wild horses across the 200,000 acres.
Other support that the Onaqui herd obtains from volunteers is PZP darting, which is an annual application of birth control that has been proven to provide quality and safe population management in wild horses. In 2020, the last data year shared by the BLM, over 100 mares were treated with PZP. The use of PZP is vital to help eliminate future round-ups and help keep the wild horse families intact so the increased use of this antifertility treatment is a huge step in the right direction.
Visiting the Onaqui Wild Horses
The Onaqui HMA is also home to a segment of the historic Pony Express route. Today, this route is a graded dirt road cutting across the range. There are a few other roads, such as the one that connects Dugway, UT, to the Pony Express National Backcountry Byway. Off of these roads are 4x4 trails that should only be traversed by high clearance 4x4 vehicles or ATVs/ORVs. The roads are typically very dusty; however, precipitation can leave the roads, including the byways, in impassable conditions. Be sure to check the weather before heading out.
Additionally, while graded, these roads do pose plenty of tire hazards. Carrying a full-size spare is highly recommended. I was very thankful for a full sized spare when a rock punctured one of the tires on my rental vehicle during my visit in September. It is an hours drive or more to the closest repair shop and the last thing you want is to get a flat and then have your spare not make it either. If renting a vehicle, ensure they have a spare AND that the tire pressure in your running tires is at the appropriate levels. Lately I have been having an issue with rentals having tire pressure well over the car manufacturer’s rating, as was the case with the truck I ended up with the flat on, and I fully suspect that the overinflation of the tire contributed to the puncture.
Once on the range, it is just a matter of riding the roads until you come across one of the larger herds, where multiple family bands travel together, or cross paths with a smaller family herd or even the onesie/twosies of bachelor stallions out on their own. Frequently I tend to find them between where the pavement ends and Sampson Springs Campground.
Understanding a horse's need for water will also help depending on the time of year you visit. During the hotter and dryer months, scoping out the watering holes is an easy way to frequently see not only the wild horses but also other wildlife that call the range home, such as pronghorn. Just ensure that when you are near the watering hole, you give plenty of space for the animals to feel comfortable visiting. Getting water might not sound risky but for prey animals, like horses and pronghorn, it is a time when they are most vulnerable and thus will shy away more quickly should they feel threatened.
Water traps are basically corrals set up around waterholes to make it easier for wranglers to catch larger numbers of horses at one time and have been used for decades. Some of the wild horses out on the range will have had experience with these making them even more wary of humans hanging around the water holes as they come in to drink. Please be mindful of this. Keep at least 200 ft from the water. Don't get between the horses and the hole but stand off to one side. Lastly, if the animals show signs of hesitation, please consider backing up further or leaving the area to allow them to come in for life essential water without additional stressors.
After finding a herd or family band it is up to you as to how long you observe them. Some prefer to just watch from the road while others opt to hike out and follow the herd at a respectful distance for a while. If choosing the second option, remember to take water, have sturdy, close-toed shoes/boots, and park your vehicle out of the main road towards the shoulder if there is not a designated pull-off available. Please do not drive off-road as this leaves scarring on the range and damages the delicate plant life communities found in the high desert environment.
Wild Horse Behavior
When observing the wild horses, the best way to ensure high quality images is to understand the wild horse behavior that you see in front of you. Understanding what their body language is telegraphing will help you be in the appropriate place with lens focused on the main player more times than not.
Some key body language cues to look for are:
ears pinned back
ears pricked all the way forward
neck arched (especially in stallions)
pawing of the ground
Flehmen response (lip curl by stallions)
These behavioral cues frequently come before more action-packed moments such as posturing, charging, fighting, or other fast paced movements. While these actions do happen on a frequent basis over the course of a day or week, they are fleeting and there can be long times between moments of action. Patience and a small field stool are required for sure. If you visit and get some great action right off the bat, count yourself lucky.
Less intense daily life of the wild horses can be seen as long as you find the horses. Some common behaviors of daily horse life that might not be straight forward to first time wild horse observers are:
head low with one rear hoof resting on the toe edge = resting/sleeping
standing side-by-side, nose to tail = resting and keeping flies off faces
two horses side-by-side "chewing" on each other’s' withers = grooming friends/family
A Sad Story (TW)
So, I'll make this short but I want to share this little filly's story. In September I was really excited to see this beautiful little dappled bay roan filly with her dam and what looked like her possible sire.
They made such a beautiful little family and I spent quite a bit of time watching and photographing their interactions.
Upon my return in early October, just over a month later, my first thought was to seek out the family once again and see how they were doing. While I found the band and found the mare and stallion, I did not see the filly. My heart sank a bit but I also understand that wild horses have predators, primarily mountain lions, and that the big cats are common through the Onaqui Mountains.
Yet, when I ran into one of the Onaqui Catalogue Foundation volunteers and inquired about the missing foal, I was further saddened to hear that discarded barbed wire, left on the range by ranchers, was actually the filly's cause of death.
This death spurred volunteers and the BLM to discuss what can further be done to ensure trash and old ranching equipment that poses safety hazards to the horses is delt with. Unfortunately, it came too late for this little one.
These images stand as record for some of her brief time here on the range, living as wild and free as she could.
Final Note
Beyond the sad story, I continue to cherish the moments I have with these wild horses. Their perseverance, family dynamics, and historical significance leave me in awe as I watch them amble around this vast, unhospitable rangeland they have been reassigned to by the government.
Stallions covered in scars from battles fought and survived.
Mares with their own marks as they protect their foals and settle status disagreements through hoof and tooth.
And young ones, full of energy and life.
May they continue to run free while they can.
