Day 2: 4:30am comes much too early, but I know that I must press forward when the weather permits. No part of a sunrise today, 98% humidity and more greyness. Just east of main station I see a small group and begin to approach. The band stallion comes to meet me and I am thrilled to see this new young stallion. Caramel in colour with platinum mane and tail, I have to wonder if he is a son of “Flaxen”.
Continuing south, it seemed that for an instant the sun would appear but it struggled and gave up. I spied two horses far, far out on the sand plains, past the landing zone. It was miles away but worth the effort, if I could get there before the horses took off. About half way across the plains, the two boys spotted me and after a flurry of activity they decided to come and check me out. The came trotting right up, a matching pair of black stallions, and as soon as they realized I was human, not horse, they took off at a full gallop in tandem across the plains. Shooting at 2000 ISO I have just enough light to shoot the action. Then, within minutes the fog and wind pick up and I make the decision to return to base. The fog coats everything in a wet layer of salt and sand. Ahhh, the joys of Sable Island!
The afternoon shoot was exhausting. After three hours of hiking in deep sand I had not seen a single horse. This has never happened before. I am concerned and wondering if it has something to do with the ponds being low, or perhaps they had a difficult winter. Finally I found one of the families from this morning and was able to catch them in a moment of action.