The Lone Stallion: Australian Snowy Mountains, Wild Horses of the World
11th August 2018, Herd 10

Just as the last rays of sun faded we came across a lone grey stallion. Unlike the other brumbies we'd seen, this old warrior was battle scarred and it was impossible to miss the stoop of his head, the stiffness in his stride, nor the sway of his back.

As soon as he saw me hop out of the car, he turned and plodded off into the distance. There was no hurry to his stride, yet he was intent on putting distance between us, only turning his head back once to acknowledge us.

No longer young and agile, he'd long lost his herd and now roamed alone. He'd been sighted for many years without companions and it made me realise that nature wasn't necessarily kind for the elderly.

He wasn't the first old stallion I'd seen who'd lost his herd. In 2015 I photographed Cloud, an iconic American Mustang, in the Pryor Mountains who grazed within sight of other herds, yet very much alone. Many times I'd also seen many older stallions in the Kaimanawa Ranges of New Zealand who either roamed by themselves, or babysitting young bachelors.

This is the 10th in a series of 12 blogs about the Snowy Brumbies; to read more visit www.kellywilson.nz/blog (keyword: Wild Horses of the World)