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Meet Kim and 3 very special horses – Kita, Brownie & Luke – the feature subjects of this Equine Love portrait session.
Before each session I like to get some background history and info on everyone that will be involved. ex: “What horse(s) will be in the session? Please share their name, breed, age, personality, … Tell me a little more about yourselves: what are some of your favorite things to do together?… ” As you all know, ask any horse person to talk about their horses and you will have even the quietest person chatting away, a smile lighting up their whole face. Who doesn’t like sharing about the first time you saw your new horse and instantly started falling in love? or how together you overcame challenges? or that time you went for a moonlight bareback trail ride adventure…
Kim was no exception and had many stories to share about her horses. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I absolutely love hearing each of these unique stories. And then getting to create photographs to accompany these special memories? is the icing on the cake!
Scroll down to see all of her photographs and hear more about each of her horses.
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Kita, an 11 year old Morgan gelding.
Kim says, “If he could do nothing else in his life, Kita would like to cuddle. And if someone could please feed him WHILE cuddling him, that would be even better! He is very confident in himself and very trusting of people. Nothing really phases him. Once we encountered a bull moose while riding through a heavily treed area. We turned a corner and were probably within twenty feet of the moose. Kita was understandably terrified and wanted nothing more than to turn and run the other way. But I asked him not to and he didn’t move a muscle again. The moose walked off and we carried on our way like nothing happened. He is a ton of fun to ride and is a great friend.”Brownie, a 20 year old Thoroughbred mare.
Kim shares, “I think she is just the funniest little girl in the world. First thing every morning, she does her stretches – something that looks very much like ‘downward dog’ in yoga and then walking along with her nose on the ground to stretch out her back. She knows a few tricks and I hope to teach her more at some point. Full of little quirks, she has not always been the easiest horse to work with but I am incredibly proud of how far she has come since we first met. She’s had a busy life and is on about her fifth career – racehorse, broodmare, embryo recipient mare, lesson horse and now, primarily, friend. She is a wonderfully kind and loving mare and I adore her.”
Luke – a 28 year old Appendix gelding.
“I met Luke when I was ten years old. He is actually my dad’s horse but has recently become very important to me. We bought Luke and Bart from a retired couple who wanted them to find a good home where they could continue to stay together. At the time, they were fifteen and had been together all their lives. They were half-brothers born on the same farm, two weeks apart, and had been sold to this couple as yearlings.
I knew instantly upon meeting Bart that we were meant for each other. We decided that Bart would be mine and my dad would have Luke. They would stay together. And they remained that way for the rest of Bart’s life. Luke and I lost him Novemeber 2013 when we decided to release him from the pain of Cushing’s and recurrent laminitis. Along with everything I learned from my own relationship with Bart, who will always remain my soulmate-horse, I spent twelve and a half years watching him and Luke model a truly beautiful relationship. While Luke and I were not particularly bonded before, as our personalities do not really mesh, he has shown me the most incredible kindness and love throughout our shared experience of loss.
Now for Luke’s personality. He is a very in-your-face horse. He cannot understand how someone could possibly not want to visit with him at every moment. He loves people but he loves all creatures really. He gets along with other horses, dogs, cats, cattle, alpacas… everyone. He is a social butterfly and a character! He has no idea that he is 28 years old and still spooks and snorts every time a vehicle changes places in the yard or something new appears.”
These photos of Luke and Kim were taken at Bart’s grave.
If you didn’t know who was in the photograph (above) you might appreciate it for the content, composition, and/or focus, but will probably soon move on and forget all about it. But when you hear the story, know the relationship between Kim and Luke, and learn that Luke is wearing Bart’s old halter… This photograph has soo much more beyond what meets the eye! I am honored to have been able to create these images for Kim that have so much meaning and another way for her to remember Bart by.
