Wapiti Wildscapes Fine Art Western Photographs

A Young Man and an Old Colt 23 December 2016

Blogs: #1 of 2

Previous Next View All
A Young Man and an Old Colt 23 December 2016

Back in May of 2015 we brought home a horse called Blue. He was a handsome roan who had spent his life roaming thousands of acres across the hills of a ranch in Montana. Most horses are started- taught to be handled, saddled and ridden- at two or three years of age, when they are still considered to be a colt, or young horse. At nine years old, Blue was way behind the curve. It wasn't his fault; the ranch he grew up on had changed ownership and in the years of transition, with no training program in place, he and other colts fell through the cracks. They were still well cared for, and with changes from summer to winter pasture and routine foot care he did learn to be caught and handled some but he hadn't learned to be ridden and go to work.

My husband Seth changed the horse's name to Gaucho, inspired after reading a book about the horsemen of South America. I took this photo the day we brought Gaucho home, which was also the first day Seth saddled him. He snorted and rolled his eyes some, and gave a few bucks while Seth held on to the lead rope, but really this was the most trouble we ever had from him. He became Seth's main ride on summer pack trips and for guiding hunts in the fall, crossing rivers and mountain passes as if he'd been doing this his whole life. Which I suppose he had, just not with a rider on his back and a pack string following behind him.

Find "The Old Colt" in my Black and White Collection.