horse, originally uploaded by wilmatthews.

I stared at this photo for a looooooong time before I figured it out. Your eye goes to the hands, not what’s beneath…and that is a horse’s head.

Once I figured out what it was, I was torn by how to react. Is this brutality or kindness? Is that gloved thumb pushing too hard? And the ring on that bare hand, is that a horseshoe?

Wilma Mathews shot this interesting angle at an event that I thought I had seen from every angle. It shows what a creative eye can find.

Wilma got down on her hands and knees and photographed just this head of one of the wild Chincoteague/Assateague ponies in Virgina last month.

I know you all read Misty so I don’t have to say much more. But part of the routine is that the ponies have their hooves trimmed at the roundup. It only takes a minute or two, but it takes a small army of people to hold down the incredibly frightened and WILD pony while the farrier works on the hooves.

Perhaps this was shot in a moment of violence but the stop-action makes it look like the pony is lying still. I hope none of them were injured and that this one is now back on the island, tail to the wind atop a high sand dune.

Thanks to Wilma for sharing this photo.