Saturday, August 1, 2009

fə tóggrəfee réskyoo
By Rachael Waller –Southern CA


Just for a minute did you recognize it?
Did you stumble through it?
Did you ask :
“It sure looked familiar; I am not really used to seeing it look quite like that?”

Let the fə tóggrəfee réskyoo journey begin.

For so long rescue/rescues/rescuers/rescue’s have gotten a horrible stigma attached to them.

On this journey of photographing the lives & places that pass my lens I can say I have seen all kinds of rescues. From the high end that saves Dressage horses, to the backyard single Mom who loves them all.

Each horse was in need of being rescued and most likely so was the human. I have seen kind hearted people purchase at auction 98 horses and have them shipped to save them from the PMU industry.


There isn’t just ONE story, each horse represents thousands in the same peril. One horse, one photo can educate, bring awareness, communicate, invite, inspire, lift our spirits, save our souls, and yes often lead to an adoption.


Those of us who have been around have come home with a “Horse fresh off the track” a PMU , or a Mustang, or an “accidental breeding” producing a filly that no one wanted, the old Shetland that is meaner then sin but who cares it is grazing peacefully out back and besides that goat keeps in line.
Sound familiar?

There is more and more each day as this economy and slaughter debate buries us all. Those of us with tremendous bleeding hearts have been frozen by it. Now, we have to worry about feeding our families not saving so many horses. So what happens to the horses when the diehards can’t feed or donate to them?


All of these images are moments when the right person at the right time intercepted a bleak and horrendous journey they were on saving them from slaughter. I am grateful to all whom have done so and am honored to photograph each and every one of them.

My journey “Photography Rescue” is a look back at the souls I have meet through my lens.
Many souls are people who needed a horse in their lives, whether they knew it or not at the time, to save them in some way. Young and old are changed, moved, inspired by horses. I know they have giving me a lot of healing and beauty. Every morning I wake up I hear my mustang, or PMU Quarter Horses, or Pryor Mountain momma, among others, greet the new day with a pure sound of life and joy.



All the images in this article are of horses that should very well be dead if wasn’t for a human who held their hand high at an auction, or found it in their hearts to take in one more. There are so many missed opportunities most horse photographers don’t take, rather passing by that “sorry little rescue pony” in the corner when stopping to talk to him or her could make all the difference in its day and quite possibly yours.



For 5 years I have dedicated my photography business to rescued equines. I have received so much in return, whether it was a soft nuzzle of acknowledgement or a warm foals breath on a cold winter day, yes, I have won awards and accolades for my work, but it is all because of them and what they want to share with me. Some only give me their moment once, others are hams, but it never ceases to amaze me at who will allow me in and at what split second.

I can’t take all the credit; I donate back, because without them I wouldn’t have witnessed what I have in my life. The gratefulness that shows in their eyes, watching them blossom from sorrow to joy and yes, watching them load to up and go home to forever homes, often that is my own home.
I have had my knee deep in mud, in the middle of a wild stallion fight with no one else around except my good friend and photographer Lynne Pomeranz, asleep with hay in my hair, and learned to embrace the dust at a thunderous speed.


From wild mustangs on the range, to wild babies just saved from slaughter, they all have touched me. My 7 year old daughter received her first horse kiss from a rescued PMU colt who was untouched until she laid her hands on him.

Without taking this journey I wouldn’t have ever truly understood the true and raw meaning of the spirit of the horse. Some are gone now, no longer free, some have passed on, but all have given me a lifetime of smiles, tears, and memories, more then I could ever repay. Again, I am grateful and may my journey continue.




-Rachael Waller is a professional photographer in Southern CA & West Texas
To view Rachael's Online gallery please visit:
www.RachaelWallerphotography.smugmug.com