08/25/2026
Meet Theo and part of his family. While in Utah, I had the opportunity to photograph the Onaqui wild horses and had the great fortune to meet Britta ∙ Being Herd. She studies and specializes in understanding horses and herd behavior. Britta knows a lot about these horses, and I asked if she could share some history about Theo and his band. Thank you, Britta, and here is what she had to say:
"Theo is a seven-year-old bay roan stallion from the Onaqui Mountains, born in 2019 to Ripley and band stallion Reece. He stayed with his family until about three and a half, then spent some time as a bachelor until, in the summer of 2024, everything changed for him: the young mare Oakley chose him, and Theo became a band stallion. What makes Theo special isn't his size or beauty, but how calm and kind he is. He's patient, protective of his family, and gives his mares and foals plenty of space. He also prefers to stay away from the crowd, so you'll usually find him roaming the range with his band – now 13 members, an unusually large family for a stallion his age."