A date with Thor

So I arranged a session with a very nice horse owner, Sara, at a gorgeous barn in Walpole. I walked around for a few minutes to get the lay of the land and see there are some very nice, very photogenic paddocks with several horses grazing. I popped my head in the barn and saw Sara at the other end, so I waved and walked in. I passed several horses, all of decent stature and wondered which one was Thor. It was at that moment that Sara pointed out Thor, who was cross tied to a grooming stall and I had to crane my head up to make eye contact with him. Now, I’m 6’2”, so I don’t usually have to look up at much, but Thor was definitely an exception to this. I’ll be honest… I was mildly intimidated. I asked Sara how tall Thor was, to which she said, “17.3 Hands.” Almost 18 hands!! Thor was aptly named for sure and was an extremely impressive horse. Once my initial awe waned, I gave Thor some pats on the head, along with a peppermint treat and we were friends.

Sara finished up some grooming while I took some test shots, as well as a few silhouette pictures and we moved out into a nearby paddock. After walking down a small hill I saw the paddock we were heading to and got excited by the private paddock with its own small pond. The grass was about knee height, which made great snacking for Thor, but as we walked through it discovered that it kicked up clouds of pollen!! Sara turned and asked, “You aren’t allergic to pollen, right?” I am… I am very allergic to pollen and knew I would pay for the session, but I had taken some medicine and I wanted to get these images of this gorgeous horse in this incredible paddock area.

First, we did a few posed shots by the pond and then Thor was off to the races… galloping this way and that while I tried to keep up. Thor’s mane was flowing behind him, his ears up and confident as he showed off for the camera. Clouds of pollen were being kicked up and I didn’t care. My shoes were a tinge of green, but I didn’t care. Thor showed off his strong stride and dappled coat as I tried to crop and freeze the action.

After a bit of running it was time for a nice cool drink from the nearby brook. Thor played with the water with his hoof for a minute then settled in and took a drink. It was interesting to watch him and Sara interact, as she would tell me exactly what he was going to do before he did it because she knew him so well.

Once he was refreshed the three of us walked up to a painted barn for some more posed shots and nearly got dive bombed by some barn birds. A few more close ups of Thor and he was about done. The three of us walked back down to the stalls and I gave Thor a little more love before Sara got Thor settled back into his stall.

All in all it was an impressive outing for an impressive horse. I knew I had some great images of Thor and couldn’t wait to get home to upload them. I wasn’t wrong, as I sifted through I was awed by the beauty of Thor bending down and drinking from the brook. It was a good day!