Brumby Calendar

After a year of good rainfall there was an abundance of feed and water throughout the mountains. The wild horses were proving hard to locate and seemed flightier than usual. Low light meant that I was disappointed with the quality of many of my pictures. Then during a trip to the Australian Outback I was delighted to discover and photograph wild horses in a landscape starkly different to that of the Australian Alps. I have included a selection of these images for this edition of the calendar.

In the alpine and sub-alpine regions of Southern Australia the temperature varies from very cold to warm. Rainfall is generally more evenly spread throughout the year than it is in the outback. Range upon range of forested slopes are dotted with green, grassy meadows fed by small clear streams. Grass and water is generally available for most of the year. But winter brings snow and severe frosts, making this a hard time for the wild horses to find enough to eat.

In 'the Outback' the climate overall is much hotter and drier, although in winter the temperature at night can drop to freezing point. Vast open red soil plains, with distant horizon and mostly low vegetation, are occasionally interrupted by spectacular towering escarpments, gorges and rocky red hills. Large trees are mainly only seen along sporadic watercourses. Huge amounts of rain can fall in the 'wet season', but the remainder of the year can be extremely dry and water can be hard to find.

The horses from each region vary in type and temperament. I found the outback brumbies to be larger, generally more attractive, and less flighty than their mountain counterparts. This could be due to their escape into the wild being more recent, the influence of both thoroughbreds and draft horses in their breeding, type of feed available, and perhaps the warmer climate. The mountain brumbies are usually smaller, pony types, with only a few larger ones. They also seem to be much more timid and are quick to flee to the relative safety of the timber - perhaps because they have had their freedom longer and are also frequently harassed by humans.

I have chosen the pictures not simply because of the horses featured. I have tried to give a sense of the beauty and uniqueness of the landscape and vegetation in which they live. The placement of the mountain brumby images relates to the seasons. The outback brumbies are randomly dispersed, as the photographs were all taken in July, during the dry season.

Once again the calendars have been printed in East Gippsland by Black Rainbow using carbon neutral techniques. To reduce the price I have taken a risk and doubled last year's print run.

Price: $20.00 including postage.

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