What do you think?
Rate this book
Face to Face With Wild Horses
You approach with caution, drawn to their equine beauty. The sleek stallion, the magnificent mare, and the gentle foal look like any happy family. But don’t get too close. These are wild horses, untamed by humans. Now photographers Yva Momatiuk and John Eastcott take you inside the world of the wild horse. This husband-and-wife team of committed experts makes a case for the conservation of one of America’s favorite wild species.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published May 12, 2009
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 4, 2021
Honestly, what an annoying and frustratingly infuriating bunch of for me supremely strange factual mistakes that are far too often being encountered in photographers Yva Momatiuk’s and John Eastcott’s (seemingly a wife and husband team) utterly problematic 2009 non fiction picture book Face to Face With Wild Horses!
For yes indeed, I can only literally and angrily grit my teeth and proverbially roll my eyes when Yva Momatiuk and John Eastcott totally and with no scientific and historical proof and evidence whatsoever claim in Face to Face With Wild Horses that the mustangs of North America are somehow not really feral horses descended from the domestic horses of the Spanish conquistadors but are supposedly inherently wild equines directly hailing from original and native North American stock (and this even though it has been pretty well lastingly proven by palaeontologists, by bona fide scientists that horses actually did become totally extinct in North America at the end of the last ice age and in fact did not then make a reappearance until domestic horses and ponies were brought over by the Spanish and later by settlers from other European nations as well, with some of them becoming feral, becoming what are today generally known as mustangs). But equally, it is also beyond ridiculous that Momatiuk and Eastcott seem to also actively claim and suggest in Face to Face With Wild Horses that ALL wild and feral horses are supposedly to be collectively known as mustangs and only seemingly inhabit the United States of America. Since guess what, authors/photographers, the USA is of course not the ONLY country in the world with feral wild-living horses. There are for example feral horses (and semi-wild horses) in many parts of Europe (such as the British Isles, Germany and France), Australia’s feral horses (brumbies) are actually the most numerous in the world, and Przewalski’s horse, the only remaining truly wild and as such not feral horse species actually hails from Mongolia, hails from Asia, and not from North America.
And combined with the aggravating and painful fact that Yva Monatiuk and John Eastcott also textually seem to consider that federal land management authorities rounding up (and later often slating for mass slaughter) mustangs and considering them as a problematic invasive species while huge numbers of domestic cattle being herded (ranched) and often overgrazing are somehow not a significant environmental issue, I really cannot and will not consider more than one star for Face to Face With Wild Horses (as not even the visually stunning accompanying photographs and that there is an included bibliography can in any manner save Face to Face With Wild Horses for me).
For yes indeed, I can only literally and angrily grit my teeth and proverbially roll my eyes when Yva Momatiuk and John Eastcott totally and with no scientific and historical proof and evidence whatsoever claim in Face to Face With Wild Horses that the mustangs of North America are somehow not really feral horses descended from the domestic horses of the Spanish conquistadors but are supposedly inherently wild equines directly hailing from original and native North American stock (and this even though it has been pretty well lastingly proven by palaeontologists, by bona fide scientists that horses actually did become totally extinct in North America at the end of the last ice age and in fact did not then make a reappearance until domestic horses and ponies were brought over by the Spanish and later by settlers from other European nations as well, with some of them becoming feral, becoming what are today generally known as mustangs). But equally, it is also beyond ridiculous that Momatiuk and Eastcott seem to also actively claim and suggest in Face to Face With Wild Horses that ALL wild and feral horses are supposedly to be collectively known as mustangs and only seemingly inhabit the United States of America. Since guess what, authors/photographers, the USA is of course not the ONLY country in the world with feral wild-living horses. There are for example feral horses (and semi-wild horses) in many parts of Europe (such as the British Isles, Germany and France), Australia’s feral horses (brumbies) are actually the most numerous in the world, and Przewalski’s horse, the only remaining truly wild and as such not feral horse species actually hails from Mongolia, hails from Asia, and not from North America.
And combined with the aggravating and painful fact that Yva Monatiuk and John Eastcott also textually seem to consider that federal land management authorities rounding up (and later often slating for mass slaughter) mustangs and considering them as a problematic invasive species while huge numbers of domestic cattle being herded (ranched) and often overgrazing are somehow not a significant environmental issue, I really cannot and will not consider more than one star for Face to Face With Wild Horses (as not even the visually stunning accompanying photographs and that there is an included bibliography can in any manner save Face to Face With Wild Horses for me).
May 10, 2017
The authors of Face to Face with Wild Horses can’t seem to make up their minds. The text gallops back and forth between pasting a smiley face on the Bureau of Land Management’s wild horse roundups, and condemning BLM practices as inhumane. At one point, the text reads:
Frightened by a distant helicopter, wild horses gallop toward a hidden trap set by government wranglers between sandstone buttes. Many of the horses will be released to run free again. Others will be moved to adoption centers.
Or, more than likely, they will be warehoused in holding pens for an indefinite amount of time—where they are at risk of going to slaughter.
The author later parrots the lines used by hunters and ranchers who wish to see mustangs disappear from the range:
Left on their own, their numbers would nearly double every five years. There would be too many horses, and they would graze their grassy range bare. They would run out of water and die of hunger and thirst. The Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, is a government agency that manages the public lands. These lands have many uses. Wild horses share the range with grazing cattle, deer, elk, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn antelope. Companies want to use the natural resources, such as coal, gas, uranium, and wind energy. Hunters, fisherman, hikers, and families camp and boat on the rivers and lakes. To balance these needs and protect the range, BLM catches some wild horses.
Argh. *Facepalm* Or, there’s another way of looking at this issue, and that’s sniffing out the big money that drives the capture of mustangs. Michael Markarian of the Humane Society Legislative Fund notes: “When compared to the 4 million cattle grazing on our public lands at taxpayers' expense--more than 100 cows for every horse--no one can reasonably argue that wild horses are overpopulated. Less than 3 percent of the beef consumed in the U.S. is from cattle grazed on public lands, but the ranching industry, along with its allies such as [Sen. Conrad] Burns, has maintained its stranglehold on public lands and its insistence that wild horses need to go.”
To their credit, the authors do also mention the use of contraceptive darting for wild horses to reduce their population more humanely. However, nowhere do we see the idea that our Western rangelands are being overgrazed and destroyed by millions of beef cattle—not the relatively few wild horses.
Strangely enough, the authors then do a near about-face in the final section, which is titled “How you can help:”
Today, some ranchers dislike wild horses, saying they compete with their animals for grazing lands. Some hunters and miners want to get rid of them. Adopted horses have been illegally sold for meat. And wild horses are still shot and killed. These horses are part of our wild open spaces. We love to see them running on the horizon or grazing peacefully. People come from all over to see them. ...
The fate of all wildlife is in our hands. The laws protecting wild horses can change. In 2005, the government allowed the sale of these animals. Since then, many have been slaughtered for food or shipped to other countries for pet food. Hundreds more may be put to death. Ask your parents to help you write to your representatives in Congress, telling them you support strong laws to protect wild horses on public lands. Tell them you want the BLM to control horse populations by controlling the birth rate.
Perhaps the authors wished to showcase the arguments made by both sides of the wild horse debate, but if this was the intent was done in an awkward and confusing way. The result is a book that shies away from taking a stand, and just doesn’t carry the saddle.
Frightened by a distant helicopter, wild horses gallop toward a hidden trap set by government wranglers between sandstone buttes. Many of the horses will be released to run free again. Others will be moved to adoption centers.
Or, more than likely, they will be warehoused in holding pens for an indefinite amount of time—where they are at risk of going to slaughter.
The author later parrots the lines used by hunters and ranchers who wish to see mustangs disappear from the range:
Left on their own, their numbers would nearly double every five years. There would be too many horses, and they would graze their grassy range bare. They would run out of water and die of hunger and thirst. The Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, is a government agency that manages the public lands. These lands have many uses. Wild horses share the range with grazing cattle, deer, elk, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn antelope. Companies want to use the natural resources, such as coal, gas, uranium, and wind energy. Hunters, fisherman, hikers, and families camp and boat on the rivers and lakes. To balance these needs and protect the range, BLM catches some wild horses.
Argh. *Facepalm* Or, there’s another way of looking at this issue, and that’s sniffing out the big money that drives the capture of mustangs. Michael Markarian of the Humane Society Legislative Fund notes: “When compared to the 4 million cattle grazing on our public lands at taxpayers' expense--more than 100 cows for every horse--no one can reasonably argue that wild horses are overpopulated. Less than 3 percent of the beef consumed in the U.S. is from cattle grazed on public lands, but the ranching industry, along with its allies such as [Sen. Conrad] Burns, has maintained its stranglehold on public lands and its insistence that wild horses need to go.”
To their credit, the authors do also mention the use of contraceptive darting for wild horses to reduce their population more humanely. However, nowhere do we see the idea that our Western rangelands are being overgrazed and destroyed by millions of beef cattle—not the relatively few wild horses.
Strangely enough, the authors then do a near about-face in the final section, which is titled “How you can help:”
Today, some ranchers dislike wild horses, saying they compete with their animals for grazing lands. Some hunters and miners want to get rid of them. Adopted horses have been illegally sold for meat. And wild horses are still shot and killed. These horses are part of our wild open spaces. We love to see them running on the horizon or grazing peacefully. People come from all over to see them. ...
The fate of all wildlife is in our hands. The laws protecting wild horses can change. In 2005, the government allowed the sale of these animals. Since then, many have been slaughtered for food or shipped to other countries for pet food. Hundreds more may be put to death. Ask your parents to help you write to your representatives in Congress, telling them you support strong laws to protect wild horses on public lands. Tell them you want the BLM to control horse populations by controlling the birth rate.
Perhaps the authors wished to showcase the arguments made by both sides of the wild horse debate, but if this was the intent was done in an awkward and confusing way. The result is a book that shies away from taking a stand, and just doesn’t carry the saddle.
December 3, 2021
I thrifted this book, would not have purchased it otherwise. Cute to have as decoration but the information gets quite confusing, although it helps you learn more about wild horses. Wouldn’t have bought if it was more than 60 cents tbh. You can read it in half an hour, 45 minutes.
September 23, 2025
not the best
May 2, 2015
This is a great informational book. The authors tell their personal stories that they have encountered while giving a thorough description about wild horses. There is information about what is known about where wild horses originated and where they are located now. It expands about each horse in the herd and what American's do to manage them.
I loved this book! My favorite picture is on page 8, it is of a beautiful wild horse running. The author's spent many days photographing and researching what wild horses do as it explains in the epitext, labeled RESEARCH AND PHOTOGRAHIC NOTES. The frontispiece is decorated with horse shaped hooves. This book truly is face to face with Wild Horses and there are plenty of bold words, bullets, and captions that made it a great informational read.
I loved this book! My favorite picture is on page 8, it is of a beautiful wild horse running. The author's spent many days photographing and researching what wild horses do as it explains in the epitext, labeled RESEARCH AND PHOTOGRAHIC NOTES. The frontispiece is decorated with horse shaped hooves. This book truly is face to face with Wild Horses and there are plenty of bold words, bullets, and captions that made it a great informational read.
February 5, 2011
Mustang researchers and photographers Yva Momatiuk and John Eastcott give first-hand accounts of their encounters with wild horses, tracking a foal they called Flag from birth to his acceptance into the band.
Conservation efforts to protect wild horses in America are also discussed. Solid scientific information on wild horses accompanies the authors' personal experiences in photographing them. The large print and considerable white space work nicely with the large, beautiful photos, creating instant visual appeal. Useful appendices include an index, resources for further reading, and a section on how readers can help preserve wild horses.
Conservation efforts to protect wild horses in America are also discussed. Solid scientific information on wild horses accompanies the authors' personal experiences in photographing them. The large print and considerable white space work nicely with the large, beautiful photos, creating instant visual appeal. Useful appendices include an index, resources for further reading, and a section on how readers can help preserve wild horses.
April 21, 2012
Loved this book.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews