The Wild Horses of Shannon County...

This elusive herd of wild horses in Shannon County, Missouri stirs the imagination & spurs romantic notions of freedom & unbridled passion...

...for locals & tourists alike they have become majestic symbols... reflections of a time when, though day to day life was a bit more of a struggle, times were somehow simpler & the stresses of modern society had yet to be conceived of...

...for the past couple of years I've taken many hikes through the area where the herd has been known to frequent, reserving the notion that, 'perhaps today will be the day I will be blessed enough to encounter these untamed, royal descendants of pioneer ancestry' ...

...it wasn't until a few short weeks ago, however, that we were lucky enough to happen upon the equine family as they grazed in an open meadow adjacent to the Ozark Trail...

...quieting our three dogs & keeping them behind us was a bit of a chore as we, quietly as we could, inched our way along the path...trying to keep the crisp blanket of dried, autumn leaves from crunching too loudly beneath our feet...

...even after getting close enough to be able to stand & safely observe them from the treeline at the meadow's edge, photographing them was a bit difficult...

...at one point they all galloped across the field to the edge where we were standing & formed a solid line directly in front of us...what a magnificent picture it would have made...however, as I tried to inch my way around the trees obstructing my vision, they began to spook a little & dispersed their formation...

...only their fearless leader, the black stallion, stood his ground...

...finally, with their new colts in playful tow, they sauntered away to the other side of the field...leaving us feeling blessed & somehow renewed...assured that, though simpler times & freedoms are seemingly gone, their reflective presence can still be found...like a hidden treasure...waiting to be discovered by those willing to part from the illusions of a consumer driven world & patiently...reverently follow the path back to Nature...