Among Wild Horses: A Portrait of the Pryor Mountain Mustangs

by Hope Ryden (Foreword), Lynne Pomeranz

See the wild horses run! The Pryor Mountain Mustangs have roamed the high desert and mountains of the American West for centuries. Descended from steeds brought over by the Spanish conquistadores, their untamable nature and enduring courage inspire awe in all who have the chance to see them. Photographer Lynne Pomeranz spent two years with these magnificent creatures along the Montana-Wyoming state line, and her startlingly intimate photographs capture the resilience and free spirit that define these mustangs. 

144 pages, Hardcover

First published August 30, 2006

About the author

Author-Naturalist Hope Ryden has spent years in the field, studying and photographing North American wildlife. Her behavioral findings have been published in National Geographic, Smithsonian, and Audubon magazine, and her books have been translated into German, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Dutch, Spanish, Italian and Russian. To date she has twenty-three books to her credit, all of which are illustrated with her own photography. Her most recent titles can be ordered through Barnes and Noble.com or Amazon.com. Some of her earlier books can be ordered directly from her or from iUniverse.com. Hope is available for school programs, and she also lectures for adult audiences. Her wildlife photographs are handled by the National Geographic's Image Collection or can be ordered directly from her.

Reviews

[hare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite decent for a coffee-table book, more of a wild horse manifesto rather than your usual pictures-to-look-at-only.

I picked it up after reading Hope Ryden's America's Last Wild Horses, and also because I found it quite cheap *cough*... Overall, the book's not spectacular, but it doesn't disappoint either. It is what is it - a coffee table book that delivers what it promises: descriptions of the Pryor Mountain horses' life accompanied by lovely photographs.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am preparing myself for a trip in which we hope to visit Wyoming and see some wild horses. Their beauty, their wildness and their soul beckon to the adventurer who enjoys nature. And so it is with some great sorrow that I wonder whether they will survive these continual roundups such as the one in Wyoming that caught over 4000 but have only released 800 of them back into the wild, which is neglectful in the world of conservation.

Anyways this book explores the Pryor Mountain mustangs in the early part of the 2000s including the famous stallion Cloud. For a book that is informative about wild horses this is a great go-t0. The chapters are well-organized, detailed, a bit on the short side and allows the reader to access the world of wild horses. There are also plenty of quotes interspersed in whether fictional or nonfictional.

At the same time the book is provided with colored photographs with captions to decorate it with not one particular band being focused on. As such the reader is given access to Cloud, Shaman, Conquistador and so many more famous stallions with just a few nods to the named mares of the bands. These photographs capture the many facets of wild horse life including breeding so the mature reader may want to be aware of that before allowing little eyes to take a look.

The book furthermore does a great job in educating the naive reader as to the problems that the wild horses deal with under BLM management and the historical violence that has plagued these practices. And this ends on that particular note.

The only reason why I didn't give the book a much higher rating, though, is the fact that for a portrait book it is rather lacking in photographs. The amount of text versus the amount of photographs feels to be quite off balanced while I am not sure if this is just my perception due to it being a digital book and not being able to see the actual format of the physical book.

All in all it was a great book to get into the world of the Pryor wild bands, to learn about wild horses and their history in general as well as to get a touch for their lives.

[Val Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's wonderful to think that they are still there, wild and free. As I see news stories about the BLM shooting these amazing creatures in other parts of our Country, I feel a profound sadness for all that we lose. It does my heart good to know that the Pryor Mountain Mustangs are protected and safe....at least for now. Thank you to the author for sharing her photographs and narrative. These horses are a national treasure.

[Nic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful images of one of America's greatest treasures. This is a lovely, intimate look into the lives of our wild horses. So sad that they are not being protected despite laws to do exactly that. Sadly, one day books like this one might be all we have left to remind us of the beautiful horses that once roamed our lands.

[Kathleen Newton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a story

I read this book thinking it was a biographical story, but is not. It is, however, a very good book detailing the lives of these horses. I learned a lot and enjoyed it.

[Aubrey Brangham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Signed edition. Beautiful photos

[Rach · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really hate to give a poor review of any book featuring wild horses, but I also have to be honest. Lynne Pomeranz is a very skilled photographer. Going to her website very quickly makes that apparent.

Unfortunately, the photographs chosen for this book are a disappointment . While there are some truly beautiful photos in this collection, most of the photographs have obvious flaws such as harsh lighting, awkward and unflattering angles, and photos that are just plain bland. Another year or two and a few more trips into the horse range really would have helped this book go from mediocre to spectacular.

The writing is fine. It features the usual generic information that you would expect in any coffee table book featuring wild horses. At the same time, there are some lovely poems peppered in as well as a quote by Rev. Schwieger which I particularly enjoyed.

If you are a die-hard, devoted Pryor Mountain fan, you will probably enjoy this book as a series of snapshots in time. If you are a wild horse lover in general, you probably will still enjoy this book, but there are some better books I would suggest you look at first. I would not recommend buying this book to the average consumer who is interested purely in the photography.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

In digital format it is hard to tell about the "intent" of this book. I suspect it was intended to be a "coffee table" type and I will judge it as such (because if not, less pleasant). The pictures, however, were pleasant but not to original or educational. The text was more sentimental than educational. Sort of a milquetoast version.

[Karen Lowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome pictures!