Wild Horses Couldn't Keep Us Away

The Salt River

Nov 26, 2025

Two Stallions fighting for the attention of the herd’s mares.

It started as a long shot. It rained like crazy in Phoenix the night before, and there was a solid chance we weren't even going to leave the house.

But in the end, it was nearly perfect. A nice cool, mostly cloud covered morning.

Fishermen along the banks of the Salt River

We slept in a little later than planned, arriving at the Salt River around 7:30 AM. Because of the lingering rain clouds, the light was still great, and the banks were lined with fishermen pulling out trout.

If you know me at all by now, you’ll understand that I can’t not take pictures of birds pretty much anywhere I go. That said, I’m a little bit sad that I’ve gotten to the point where I almost didn’t take this shot because “it’s just a great blue heron”. When did I become such a snob? (BTW this is now one of my favorite heron shots ever).

A great blue heron in a tree near the parking lot of our first stop.

We took an elevated trail along the right side of the river. The views were great, but we were here for one specific reason: the Salt River wild horses.

But sadly, no horses.

The clouds were darkening up, and the radar on my phone showed some heavier rain coming our way, so I decided to head back to the Jeep to keep my camera from getting too wet.

The Canon 80D is weather sealed, the Sigma 150-600 lens was a bit more questionable. I did not want to ruin my 6 months old birthday present.

Kelly of course had to see what was up around the corner.

When we met up again, I thought we were done.

I programmed “home” in the GPS and started the Jeep.

But then Kelly asked if we could take Bush highway home because there was another spot she wanted to check out.

It was only a mile or two out of our way!

So off we went.

When we arrived at our second destination, we initially took the trail to the left. The view along the river was nice, and we even saw a couple of interesting things flying overhead.

I thought this was an Osprey when I saw it fly by, but wasn’t sure until I processed the images on the computer after we got home.

Not sure exactly what this motorized paragliding things is. But Kelly wants one!

Sadly, still no horses.

I felt like we’d struck out.

But we decided to follow the path to the right.

About 15 minutes down that path, Kelly, who was up ahead of me, was feeling a little dejected, and actually thinking about heading back to the Jeep.

Then she saw something off in the distance.

The super zoom camera on her phone confirmed it was horses!

She ran back and called out to me …

Her: “Hey Todd, there are horses”

Me: “You see them, or you heard there are horses?”

Her: “Yes, there’s a whole herd!”

Then I got my own first glimpse:

At this point the herd of horses was still a couple hundred yards away

If we’d only seen them from that distance, I would have called the trip a win. But we kept walking, and within a few minutes …

We soon found ourselves right in the middle of the herd.

So of course I started taking pictures (Canon 80D, Sigma 150-600 lens)

Kelly also captured some great shots with her Pixel 10 Pro XL phone.

We even crossed paths with a local regular, Christine, who gave us the inside track on the herd's habits, helping us get positioned for some incredible shots.