80 SIDELINES OCTOBER 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
as they were considered inferior by the island’s early settlers.
On this day, Debra was fortunate to find four of these beautiful
stallions.
I pull on my waist waders and river walkers (water-proof pants
and hiking boots), don a rainproof jacket and hoist my 35-pound
camera backpack up onto my shoulders. I have my 70-200mm
lens and Nikon D3s ready in hand, as horses can appear over
a sand dune at any moment. Sunrise has been muted by the
persistent fog, but optimistically, I head out across the wooden
walkway of the compound, past the meteorological equipment
and out towards the west gate. I then follow a horse trail that
leads me past the station’s wind turbines, close to where the Artic
Terns have begun their seasonal nesting. As soon as the Terns
are aware of my presence the sky above me fills with squawking,
aggressive birds, determined to send me away. I hurry my way
across the heathlands as quickly as possible to avoid attack.
Once out of bombing range, I relax my pace a little and start to
focus on the world around me.
I pass by a freshwater pond full of blooming water lilies and
surrounded by iris, pearly everlasting and beautiful grass-pink
orchids. I feel slightly guilty about not taking the time to photograph
these little Sable Island gems, but I must stay on task. I have
come here for my third expedition, now a seasoned Sable Island
visitor, with high expectations of the type of wild horse imagery I
wish to capture, and every moment from dawn until dusk must be
used productively. At a cost of $300 per day for accommodation
in the staff house and a $13,000 charter flight to get to the island,
this is serious business.
Less than one mile from base, I come across a group of four
bachelor stallions. I am thrilled, as the young bachelors are often
the most active and interactive of the social groups. Two blacks, a
bay and a chestnut – they were making their way along the dunes
near the south shore. Keeping a discreet distance, I followed
along in the fog waiting for an opportunity.
The boys stopped for a moment at the site of an old wooden
crate and each took turns scratching against it. There are no trees
on the island (save for one stunted old pine), so items to scratch
upon are highly regarded. This did not hold their interest long,
however, and they headed over the next dune and down onto the
south beach. Again I continued my pursuit, staying just far enough
away so as not to influence their behaviour.
The Perfect Shot
As Debra’s journey continued, the perfect moment arose. In that
moment, she was able to capture what she had been searching
for – the untamed spirit of the Sable Island horse.
Beachcombing on Sable Island is an adventure in itself. Sitting at
the convergence of three major currents, including the Gulfstream,
the island’s tideline collects all manors of sea-borne debris, both
natural and man-made. One of these treasures (at least by equine
standards), is the peat encrusted rhizomes (roots) that break off in
chunks and are taken out to sea and then eventually brought back
by the tide. These salt-soaked clumps are left strewn upon the
beaches and are a natural mineral lick for the horses.
The bachelors quickly spotted one of these treats and trotted
anxiously over to it, and began voraciously licking the salt with
great enjoyment. The sun was just starting to burn off some of the
fog and a little warmth pushed away the morning chills. But, this
peaceful moment did not last long. One small treasure shared by
four young stallions was just not going to work. Soon they started
nipping at each other trying to establish a pecking order. This
in turn escalated into a foray of serious knee-biting and evasive
action, and soon the two most dominant stallions began spinning
their way along the shoreline in mock battle.
This was the opportunity I had been waiting for. Shooting
hand-held, I ran parallel along the base of the dunes, doing my
best to keep up with the action. The fog co-operated for once,
and rolled back out to sea, allowing a beautiful diffuse light to
