Traveling with Mustangs – The Mustang Ledgers - Summer 2009 Issue of Horses in Art Magazine

Traveling with Mustangs –The Mustang Ledgers

by Gabriele Moritz

Mustang Mares – Photograph by Lourie Zipf.
For more than twenty years, I have been flying across this country seeing America’s wild horses from a bird’s perspective.

Being an airline pilot has allowed me to map the land in which they roam and form a concept of their living conditions.

I started traveling with my mustangs, riding these landscapes, to meet with the people whose lives have been touched by the wild horses of North America. My friend and equine photographer Lourie Zipf accompanies me whenever possible and has captured photographs of horses and people along our route.

Grey Eagle – Photograph by Lourie Zipf.
During February 2009, I rode parts of Arizona and New Mexico visiting with individual mustang owners, artists and breeders along the way. Future rides are planned at Sandwash Basin, Piceance, Pryor Mountains, Wilbur-Cruce, Nebraska 3-strikes Ranch Mustang Outpost, South Dakota Wild Horse Sanctuary, New Mexican Wild Horse Project and the Wild Horse Mesa in southern Colorado.

The Mustang Ledgers will appear in the form of a blog on my web site. The ledger is structured like a travelogue, compiling anecdotes and accounts of Mustangers and their horses. The following is an excerpt from February 2009 travels to Tony Stromberg’s Twin Willows Ranch in Ocate, New Mexico:

Early morning Ocate, New Mexico, sun coming up, just a kiss of wind. Accompanying me is Shawnee, as I bring a good morning flake of alfalfa to Veedauwoo, who seems to be perfectly content to be all alone in this world. Eventually on a journey like this, one would sleep like an angel, because the freedom from mail, maintenance and mix-matching would be like a gentle mill turning grey matter into pancake batter. The trendsetters would be hounding on and all the road running would continue in another place.

Gabriele Moritz checking the herd by Lourie Zipf.
Photographer Lourie Zipf comments, “My many photographs of this magnificent grulla, Grey Eagle, reflect the strong affection I developed for him and his band. I think he began to recognize me, as on several occasions, he would gallop towards me from several hundred yards away. Eventually, he would come up close and would allow me to rub his forehead and neck. He even let me walk alongside of him, which is something I’ll never forget.”

For information about Mustang Eco Tours visit www.mustangecotours.com, and for Zipf Photography, www.louriezipf.com.

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