Wild Horses in California

Return to Freedom Photo Safari in Lompoc, Ca

I had been looking for some Wild Horses in California to photograph. Therefore, I decided to sign up for a Return To Freedom Photo Safari tour in Lompoc, Ca. Luckily, Lompoc is just outside of Santa Ynez Valley. Obviously wild horses in California are rather difficult to come by. Clearly, ground is a premium and wide open spaces are few and far between. Therefore, Return to Freedom is a non-profit that sources wild horses from all over the western United States to “rescue” and preserve. Additionally, they have a successful spay and gelding program that helps to control the wild horse population.

Naturally I was hoping to photograph wild horses in California for their raw edge appeal. Especially since wild manes and tails look so cool! A photo safari offers an unstructured approach to horse photography. Since there are no instructors, you are at liberty to shoot whatever you’d like. First, we want into the stallion pasture. Obviously those horses have the most rugged appearance due to constant battles for dominance. Secondly, we went into a pasture dominated by a group of mustangs from Nevada. Finally, we went into a pasture with some grulla’s and medicine hat paint horses. Clearly, the color game is strong at Return to Freedom horse sanctuary.

It should be noted that Return to Freedom is home to the mustang stallion, Spirit. Without a doubt, Spirit acts like a celebrity. Moreover, he might be the cutest mustang I’ve ever seen with his cute baby doll face. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any photos of him since his pen did not have a pretty background. Photographer problems.

Obviously, I love shooting equine Liberty sessions. However, shooting wild horses is definitely different. Naturally, they have had limited experiences with humans so their flight zones are bigger and more apparent. However, the way they interact with each other is just like any other pasture of horses.

I’m glad I finally found some wild horses in California to photograph and had a great time at the Return to Freedom Sanctuary in Lompoc, Ca. Check out some of my favorite images below.