Meet Photographer Christine Dallas

This month The Pinto Post chatted with Documenter/Spotter Christine Dallas about her passion for the Virginia Range wild horses and more! Here’s what she had to say:

My love of the horse began at the young age of 4. By 6, I was riding horses and taking lessons. Inside I always had a passion for the spirit of the wild horse. It wasn't until 2012 that I was able to take that love of the horse to the ranges of Western Nevada and I began to combine my passion for photography and off-roading to specifically focus on the wild mustangs.  I would follow their seasonal pattern into the winters, in my jeep for as long as I was able to get into the mountains.

It was in 2017 when I decided to go to a meeting about the wild mustang. I met a few people there and so my mind was made up! I had to be involved in helping them to stay free on our public lands.

Shortly after that meeting, I learned of the fertility control program run by AWHC. I learned they documented all the mustangs in order to track each individual horse. Immediately I thought that was the volunteer job for me! By 2018 I had become a documenter and herd lead in the range-wide wild horse identification database. I feel my favorite part of being a documenter is working to get the best identification photos I can to enter into the system so a darter and spotter can identify the correct horse. Being a documenter also allows me to wear a few different hats. So, I sometimes go out with darters to help them spot and identify the correct mare for darting, and I assist them in finding their darts after the PZP has been administered. On occasion, I am asked to check on injured horses and have helped in some rescues. I have been working with range management for quite a few years now and I enjoy helping Wild Horse Connection and our technical large animals rescue group whenever I can. We have a wonderful village of volunteers!

Wild mustangs are important to me because they represent so much! I feel they are a deep-rooted part of American history. We built America on the backs of horses and burros. A mustang is the most beautiful and magical of all horses. The way they communicate with each other is an ongoing learning process for me and watching them interact with one another is something everyone should see. Their presence on our lands is a gift that we should treasure and I believe they need to remain here for generations to come and see.

It’s been about 4 years or so since I got involved in the American Wild Horse Campaigns fertility control program. I still have a 40 hour-a-week day job. When I am not at work I devote all my time to being on the range photographing the mustangs, assisting the darters, and occasionally checking on injured horses. It is a part of my soul and now runs through my veins. Someday I would like to do a short story book or write a book about some of my ventures and favorite horses!

Next… Meet Wild Horse Preservation League!

There is an alliance of organization who work to protect the wild horses who live on the Virginia Range. Let’s meet one of them!

Wild Horse Preservation League (WHPL) is a Dayton, NV 501c3 nonprofit organization who raises funds to support programs that directly benefit the Virginia Range wild horses. Their goals are reached through providing educational materials to the community on how to safely live around wild horses as well as informing neighborhood communities about laws that address feeding and watering the horses. WHPL also has raised funds to support groups through financial grants. LBL Equine Sanctuary, a local sanctuary, and LRTC were recipients of such grants in 2021.

WHPL has a large corps of volunteers woven into several groups such as LRTC where members have been trained and are certified rescue technicians. They have several certified experienced fertility control darters for the American Wild Horse Campaign, as well as spotters who assist darters, and documenters who support the program through meticulous record keeping. And several members dedicate their hearts to helping care for the rescued horses and foals at LBL Equine Rescue!

Some of the funds raised go to pay for the hay for approved diversionary feeding to help draw horses away from neighborhoods and off the busy highways for public safety. Recently a trailer to transport the hay and water the approved areas was purchased, a big help to the hardworking feeders who deliver the hay!

Wild Horse Preservation League is an all volunteer organization and this group works with other wild horse advocacy groups on the Virginia Range in support of the wild horses. In working together as a team, we accomplish much.

Leeto and his sweet family

Meet Leeto the wild band stallion. I was told his name means to “To embark on a journey”. The last time I saw Leeto was in the spring of 2020 when he was running around the Virginia Range with his bachelor buddies. Recently I took an outing in my jeep, the Rhino, and I saw him with other horses that I did not recognize. They weren’t bachelors either! No one knew who they were. As I photographed them I realized that Leeto was now a band stallion with four mares and four colts. I was fortunate enough to be able to document all eight of his family members. The team came up with great names for them to go with the meaning of Leeto’s name, so they now all have traveling names.

 While I was watching them travel across the desert, I saw that the youngest colt, now named Rover, was stuck behind a fence while the rest of the band was outside the gate and leaving for the hills! Rover couldn’t figure out how to get out and cried out to his dam Saunter. His dam realizing he was stuck ran back to the corner of the fence and looked very frantic and helpless! Leeto recognized there was something wrong and that Saunter was very upset. He ran back to comfort her. They touched noses and it looked as if they were trying to figure out how to get Rover out from behind the fence.

   In the meantime, the younger red roan mare, Hiker, saw the problem and knew how to get Rover to come out the open gate. She walked over to Rover then ran circles around him so that he would follow her out the opening. It almost worked but when he was almost out the gate his dam and Leeto called out for him! Rover stopped just short of stepping out to freedom, and ran back toward his dam still being on the wrong side of the fence! He paced back and forth toward the corner of the fence where Saunter and Leeto were waiting on the other side. Finally, Rover ran full speed at the fence and jumped over it at the lowest spot to meet up with his damn and Leeto! He figured it out! They ran off wild and free again and caught up with the rest of their family band. When they got to an open field, Saunter was so relieved to have Rover back and was so tired she plopped herself down for a short nap while Rover watched over her. They were all together again and I watched while they headed back up the mountain.

If you haven’t gotten your VR plates make an appointment with the DMV today! Funding from these plates by Hidden Valley Wild Horse Protection Fund have helped with rescue, foal care, fencing and more this year! But the funds are only there to help if there are plates on vehicles. It’s a great way to help the Virginia Range wild horses on an easy ongoing basis!