Sable Island just off Nova Scotia- the land of wild horses- they own this island.... population of humans- 1- 5 at most
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UPDATE: JUNE 6 2014
Sultans
of String - Sable Island - duo at the London Music Club
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JUNE 6 2014
A
powerful chorus of truth to power
ANDREA
NEMETZ Arts Reporter
Published
June 5, 2014 - 5:01pm
Choral
theatre show Free as the Wind tells tale of how kids saved Sable Island horses
Rory
Flynn is Lucy in Free as the Wind, a choral theatre show by Xara Youth Ensemble
based on a book about the horses of Sable Island. Free as the Wind opens
Saturday night at Bethany United Church, Halifax, then goes on tour. (TED
PRITCHARD / Staff)
Free
as the Wind is about the power of one voice to make a difference, says
Christina Murray, co-artistic director and conductor of Xara Youth Ensemble.
A
blend of choral singing, drama and movement, XYE’s third show premieres
Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Bethany United Church, Halifax.
It
is based on the children’s book of the same name by Jamie Bastedo, illustrated
by Halifax artist Susan Tooke, and is a fictionalized tale of the children’s
letter-writing campaign to Prime Minister John Diefenbaker that successfully
prevented the wild horses of Sable Island from being slaughtered.
And
it is a perfect fit for the group of 17 girls, aged 14 to 18, hailing from
Oyster Pond to Glen Margaret, says Murray.
“It’s
a special story about one child who reached out to his peers to start a
cross-Canada letter writing campaign that got the horses of Sable Island
protected in perpetuity.
“It
has gorgeous messages about civic engagement, political empowerment — even if
you’re not of voting age — and the power of a community to make a difference.”
The
book’s fictional main character Lucas has been changed to two sisters, portrayed
by Rory Flynn, 16, and Brittany Durnford, 15, who are children of the last
superintendent of the lighthouse on Sable Island.
The
45-minute show includes choral music ranging from a duet from Delibes’ opera
Lakme, to ’50s doo-wop, to a choral arrangement of the Brothers Four’s
Greenfield, a folk song popular in the 1960s when the story took place.
There
is also dramatic dialogue, including the text of three of the actual letters,
“so people feel the period from the perspective of the young people,” says Murray.
“It’s
like a choir concert with a storyline,” says Alison Dickson, a member of the
chorus, who was also part of a group that composed the music for two big
scenes, including a scary dream sequence.
Original
paintings by Tooke, including some from the book, are projected larger than
life on a screen behind the singers and shift and change so “it looks like you
are living inside the paintings,” says Murray.
The
two sisters are never onstage alone, and Rory, a Grade 10 student at Halifax’s
Sacred Heart School, says “without everyone else, the story wouldn’t be as
powerful.”
Rory
takes private singing lessons with Kim Umphrey, has sung in the Halifax Girls
Honour Choir and school musicals, and spent several summers in the Festival
Antigonish youth program, performing in the original musical Lost and Found,
Grease, Willy Wonka and Godspell. She took piano lessons for many years.
She
was part of XYE’s first term in the fall of 2012 and their debut with Daughters
of Fire, then took a break in the fall of 2013.
Free
as the Wind is the second XYE show for Alison, 15, who joined the group in the
fall of 2013 and was a lead in the second show Pulse, which Murray describes as
“a contemporary realistic story about finding your voice.”
The
Grade 10 student at Halifax West High School has been part of the Halifax Girls
Honour Choir and the Youth Honour Choir, as well as school choirs, and has
become interested in musical theatre. She was in her school musical, Fame, and
is part of the improv club.
XYE
“is the best thing that has happened to me. There are so many inviting people
and we work on skills in a bunch of areas. The people are inclusive and
awesome,” Alison says.
Murray
notes XYE has one non-negotiable rule: no cliques. “Everyone has to be friends
with everyone and it genuinely affects the quality of their experience and the
quality of their show.”
XYE
is “unique because the music is choral and rooted in classical practice, so is
more demanding than musical theatre, with harmonies and music more complex than
most of musical theatre music. The vocal training is paired with acting,
moving, lighting, costumes and stories, with a heavy focus on the role of
community,” she says.
When
Rory, who is contemplating either a career in law or music, saw Pulse, “I felt
awful I wasn’t there so I came back and auditioned for a part and got a larger
acting role.”
Sable horses inspire New
York photographer’s exhibit in Halifax
ELISSA
BARNARD ARTS REPORTER
Published June 6, 2014 - 4:16pm
Last Updated June 6, 2014 - 4:22pm
Published June 6, 2014 - 4:16pm
Last Updated June 6, 2014 - 4:22pm
New York
photographer Roberto Dutesco stands next to an image from his Wild Horses of
Sable Island exhibit, at the Museum of Natural History in Halifax to Oct. 13.
(INGRID BULMER / Staff)
New York
photographer Roberto Dutesco is in love with Sable Island horses.
It’s a
relationship he takes very seriously.
He’s
worried that opening up the Sable Island National Park Reserve to tourists will
change life for the island’s 400 wild horses, “perhaps the last wild band of
its kind.”
“Sable
Island should be left alone, outside of human interference,” he said during a
media preview for his exhibit The Wild Horses of Sable Island, at the Museum of
Natural History in Halifax to Oct. 13.
“Sable
Island exists as a perfect example of what the wild is,” said Dutesco, also a
poet and filmmaker.
“The
national park system may challenge that.”
So far
about 200 people have registered to make the expensive trip this year which is
in line with numbers over the last decade, a Parks Canada spokesperson said.
Dutesco
first went to the island in June 1994 after seeing a short National Film Board
documentary on the crescent of sand, 300 kilometres southeast of Nova Scotia.
“I was
shooting a lot of fashion and living in Montreal. I was enchanted by a place
which is outside humanity.”
He has
been back eight times over 20 years and is going back in five weeks.
“Some
horses, when they see me, they run straight towards me and kind of get glued to
me, and they’re so close I can’t take pictures.”
One day
he was low to the ground trying to photograph a horse through the grass.
Suddenly, he was surrounded by seven horses. The horse he was trying to
photograph moved toward him. The animal leaned its head into Dutesco’s.
“I’m in
this semicircle of horses and just going to sleep. Moments like that are so
precious. I leave the camera.”
Love, 1994, is in Roberto Dutesco's exhibit The
Wild Horses of Sable Island at the Museum of Natural History on Summer Street
in Hailfax. (CONTRIBUTED)
The
horses, left on the island in the late 1700s, have no predators.
“The
horses exist in a unique environment unlike any in the world,” Dutesco said.
“They
live outside fear, and when you exist without fear, that’s when love happens.
These photographs represent love.”
Dutesco
shoots only in film and only in black and white to get at “the essence of
things, the essence of emotion,” he said.
“The
emotion comes out in its pure form as it exists deep down inside.”
He thinks
of the Sable Island ponies as “beings from a distant land I know very little
about.”
“Some of
these photographs I thought of these horses being models, of them having their
own personalities.”
His
portraits express the horses’ characters, affectionate relationships,
playfulness and freedom.
The
images are “baked into” an aluminum surface, which shimmers in the light.
“I chose
that because it relates to Sable Island. The images shift as you walk around
them. They move. They become three-dimensional. They become foggy.”
Dutesco,
who took his first picture at the age of six, leaves the film sprocket marks
visible on his images. He is “romanticizing the idea of film,” he said, in a
digital world “where tactile environments and objects are less and less
available.”
Born in
Romania, he moved to Montreal as a teenager and studied photography. He became
a fashion photographer shooting images for magazines, billboards and
advertising campaigns. He took portraits of prominent personalities, including
Pierre Trudeau, the Dalai Lama and Mikhail Gorbachev.
Dutesco
moved to New York in the early 1990s. He has travelled through over 60
countries, made the short films Times Square and Sable Horses and was featured
in the multiple award-winning documentary Chasing Wild Horses, a CBC-Arcadia
co-production. In 2005, he returned to Romania to photograph Brancusi’s
sculpture The Endless Column, after it was restored for a series of black and
white interpretations.
Dutesco
stopped fashion photography five years ago and is focusing on Sable Island, a
“life project.” He is building a mobile museum to contain 100 Sable Island
photographs and to travel the world starting in 2015.
He hopes
that his images of the island will inspire people to look at the “wild” in
their own environment and to protect wild places and animals.
“In
truth, we depend on the wild. Shouldn’t we do everything in our heart to
protect it?”
The
exhibit includes Dutesco’s giant new coffee table book on the horses, with a
preface in Chinese since it is the year of the horse. It will be for sale for
about $150 in the gift shop. The photographer also sent postcards and posters
that are available at the museum, which opens a Sable Island interpretive
exhibit in the fall.
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And all the wild horses …. in Halifax: Sable Island being brought to life in photo exhibit
Published on June 06, 2014
A visit to the Museum of Natural History in Halifax can now bring you
face-to-face with Sable Island’s iconic horses – in picture form.
Photographer Roberto Dutesco puts the final shine on an exhibit of his Sable
Island horse pictures at the Museum of National History.HISTORY
Sable Island Ponies after being unloaded from a steamer to be sold at auction – 1902
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Nova Scotia...our Canada- we love our kids, troops, nature, fishers, farmers, miners, truckers, waiters, store workers- the everyday people who make us... come visit and have a cuppa tea and... bring your children.... we love families- see Sable Island Year of the Horse- first year limited tourists in history...
CANADA'S NEWEST NATIONAL PARK
Where the wild things are: Sable Island, Nova Scotia
Picture this: You are up before the rest of the house stirs. You pull on some clothes, grab your journal and noiselessly slip outside. This is what the fresh air that your mother always wanted you to get feels like. Except for the pink-hued sand that squeaks in anticipation as you make your way to North Beach, all is quiet. In 10 minutes, you're settled in your usual "thinking spot," sneakers off, sand between your toes. You sense you are not alone. You nod your head in acknowledgment toward a handful of Harbour seals about five metres away. Seemingly indifferent, like you, they are soaking up the morning sun. You laugh at a particularly ingenious seal, his usually lumbering body nestled crossways in a sandy groove, the sand displaced by the wide tires of the off-road vehicle the day before, his head resting against the furrow's slope as if it's a pillow.
You notice the azure sky. Was that tone of blue hiding behind the pea-soup fog of yesterday as you explored South Beach? You smile as you remember the band of wild horses that bore down upon you, full-gallop, chased by a stallion from another band as you searched for a spot from which you could both watch safely, and unobtrusively. You held your breath as they suddenly came to a stop, convinced you were the cause when unbeknownst to you a second stallion high atop the dune behind you, was challenging them. Breaking from the pack, the band's stallion and a chestnut male, with a splash of white on his otherwise ginger-coloured face, came so close that you felt the chestnut's hot breath on your cheek. While lost in his gentle brown eyes, the rest of the band quietly skulked by, heads down, as if trying to make themselves as invisible as you, and you remembered a line from the Sable Island Visitor's Guide: "Wildlife has the right-of-way."
But today under a clear sky, you do a salute to the sun. Your daybreak comrades rouse somewhat inquisitively, responding with their own favourite yoga poses - cobra…boat - keeping time with the rhythmic soundtrack of the ever-pounding surf. You write in your journal that you will never forget your time on Sable Island; that moments like these will become touchstones of tranquillity when life on the mainland becomes too overwhelming. But for now, like your blithe companions, there is nowhere you have to be, and you let that realization, deliciously and leisurely, wash over you.
No Day at the Beach
Seeing Sable Island - which the federal government announced this week will become a national park - is no easy feat. Less than 100 people each year are granted permission to visit this fragile, protected ecosystem, 300 kilometres east-southeast of Halifax. Travelling to this breathtaking isle of sand is not recommended to anyone on a tight schedule - or any schedule at all: Set in the wild North Atlantic, travel delays due to weather are the norm. (Sable Island is the foggiest place in the Maritimes, receiving up to 127 days of fog annually.) And because you can only get there by chartering a plane, helicopter or boat, delays can be costly.
In the past 30 years, 10 of the 14 cruise ships that have attempted to visit Sable Island were turned away because of the weather. Air travel is always a risk, as much for the fog, as having a suitable place to land. The 1 ½-by-42 kilometre island lies directly in the pathway of most of the storms that track up the Atlantic coast, and with three opposing currents constantly hammering its shores, Sable's "runway" - basically a firm spot on the beach - can easily wash out.
Sable Island is not for the faint-hearted - figuratively and literally. Walking in the deep sand can be strenuous and there is no medical help. So if an emergency arises, you have to be air-lifted off the island at your own cost. A waiver warning of tsunamis, quicksand, attacking wildlife and sharks (18 species including the Great White) must be signed. Even the sun can pose a problem as there is no shade on the island. Only the hardiest of vegetation can withstand the constant wind and sandy conditions and Sable is devoid of trees except for one stunted pine - the lone survivor, despite 80,000 tree plantings over the past 100 years.
But all risks are forgotten once you step foot on this magical island. Sable's unspoiled and untamed beauty outweighs any travelling issues. With its singing sand and wandering dunes (dunes lacking vegetation to anchor them in place), Sable Island is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Wildlife is king on Sable. A migratory bird sanctuary, the island has one of the largest tern populations in Canada. The tiny Ipswich sparrow nests only here. Sable is home to the world's largest grey seal colony with about 50,000 pups born on its beaches every year. And Sable's most famous inhabitants? The Sable Island horses.
Legend has it they are descendants of horses confiscated from the Acadians during the deportation. Left in the mid-1700s by Boston merchant Thomas Hancock (uncle to John), these once-domesticated horses quickly reverted to their feral ways.
Today, about 350 horses roam the windswept dunes of Sable, protected from human interference by law - a law brought into effect after a 1959 media report stated the horses were to be transported to the mainland for their eventual disposal, the implication being they would meet their demise at glue or dog-food factories.
The public was outraged and schoolchildren from coast-to-coast wrote prime minister John Diefenbaker begging him to save the horses. In June, 1960, Diefenbaker - an animal lover and no political fool - passed a law protecting the Sable Island horses for as long as there was a government presence on the island.
That government presence is now stronger than ever before, with Parks Canada's announcement it is conferring national parks status on Sable, and relieving the Canadian Coast Guard of the jurisdiction it maintained (because of frequent shipwrecks) since Confederation.
Parks Canada's foremost priority is preserving the ecological integrity of the island; national park status brings with it Canada's toughest environmental legislation. But if not managed properly, increased traffic and the need for infrastructure to accommodate visitors could affect the island's unique and vulnerable flora and fauna. Parks Canada will soon begin consultations with the public and Sable stakeholders to hammer out a plan that both respects and conserves the fragile ecosystem, while balancing the desire for more formalized tourism to the island. What this means for travellers hungry to experience this rarely touched landscape will be known in about six months.
Perhaps in the end, though, one of the island's biggest barriers may turn out to be its protector: Sable's erratic weather (which enables the island to wreck ships on its hidden sandbars then swallow them whole, or to ground incoming planes by playing hide-and-seek in the fog) may ensure that Sable Island's wildlife will always have the right-of-way.
Special to The Globe and Mail
THE GRAVEYARD OF THE ATLANTIC
Known for its shipwrecks as much as its wild horses, Sable Island has had more than 350 wrecks since 1583, contributing to the island's grim moniker, "the Graveyard of the Atlantic." Storms, heavy fog and hidden sandbars that extend 27 kilometres beyond the island have sent thousands to their watery graves, their ships swallowed whole by Sable's self-cleaning, shifting sands.
--Sable Island's life-saving station, which was established in 1801, closed in 1958. With the advent of modern navigational tools, the area had been shipwreck-free for 11 years. But the graveyard had not claimed its last victim. The Merrimac, a pleasure yacht that set out from Rhode Island on a transatlantic voyage, wrecked on Sable's coast in 1999 during a storm. Luckily, no one was hurt but the boat was destroyed and buried in the Sable sands. Today, sun-bleached remnants of the Merrimac are still visible on South Beach.
--The crew of the Andrea Gail in 1991, however, was not as fortunate. Featured in the book and the feature film The Perfect Storm, the Massachusetts boat is believed to have wrecked not far from Sable Island. The emergency beacon belonging to the ill-fated fishing boat washed up on Sable's shores within days of the famous Nor'easter, which presumably took all lives onboard.
IF YOU GO
The best time to visit Sable Island is from August to October. Visitors must obtain written approval from the Canadian Coast Guard; daytrips are allowed, but visitors must leave the island by 6 p.m. Camping is forbidden and pets are not allowed. There is no formal tourism, but overnight accommodations at the station house may be available (workers' needs come first) for $150 per night per person. Reservations must be made in advance.
By air: Maritime Air Charter, outside of Halifax, operates the only plane to Sable Island. The six-seater, twin-engine plane has strict weight limits.
By sea: There is no wharf on Sable Island, so if travelling by sea, a Zodiac inflatable boat is required. There are no vehicles for rent but you may charter a station vehicle and driver, provided one is available. Landing fees apply to all modes of transportation and station business takes precedence.
Expect delays: Visitors must be prepared financially and have sufficient supplies in case weather extends their stay. As the Sable Island Visitor's Guide states: "Persons are expected to demonstrate good humour and maturity" about delays.
For more on Sable Island, go to www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/e0003805.
For Maritime Air Charters Ltd., go to www.maritimeair.com.
For an island point of view, go to www.greenhorsesociety.com.
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The Boys of Sable Island Rule- Sable Island off Nova Scotia- photo Diane Williams 
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkkGa9wqX4g
comment:
Thanks for the beautiful photos. I love this island - its inaccessibility, fragility as a dune between three currents, and its foreboding history as the graveyard of the North Atlantic.
Sable Island now Formally Protected under National Park Legislation
Only one full time person- never more than 5 live on Sable Island- Owned by Nature and Horses
OTTAWA, Dec. 1, 2013 -- /CNW/ - The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Canada's Environment Minister and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, and the Honourable Peter MacKay, Canada's Justice Minister and Attorney General, announced today that the Expansion and Conservation of Canada's National Parks Act has come into force and that the final step in Sable Island becoming a national park reserve is now complete.
"This final step legally brings Sable Island under Canada's strongest legislation for the protection of natural areas - the Canada National Parks Act - and provides Parks Canada with full administrative and legal authority to manage Sable Island as a national park," said Minister Aglukkaq. "This significant achievement was only possible thanks to the hard work and dedication of many Canadians."
"Nova Scotians should feel very proud of this accomplishment," said Minister Mackay. "Today we can officially celebrate that Sable Island National Park Reserve will be protected for future generations of Nova Scotians, and all Canadians, so that everyone may continue to nurture their special bond to this unique and iconic location. With the addition of Sable Island, our province now has three national parks."
The governments of Canada and Nova Scotia both passed legislation to enact a legislative ban against industrial drilling from the surface of Sable Island and out to one nautical mile offshore, thereby creating a 200 square kilometre buffer zone around the national park reserve.
Located in the middle of the Atlantic where many ships came to their last port, Sable Island is an important part of Nova Scotia's maritime heritage. It is a long, narrow, crescent-shaped island located at the edge of the Continental Shelf approximately 290 kilometres southeast of Halifax. It is characterized by sand dunes and grasses and is home to over 190 plant species and 350 species of birds, including the endangered roseate tern. The island's most famous inhabitants are its iconic wild horses, of which there are approximately 500
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sable-island-now-formally-protected-under-national-park-legislation-233982671.html
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GOD'S NATURE- HIS GIFT 2 OUR PLANET- OUR CANADA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA60N0cXRZU
This was a song many heard when they were young.
This song was done by The Traveller's greatest folk group in Canada! This group empowered North America people for many years.
It was recorded in 1967 on Centennial Album called "This Land" English version and was sung in French as well!
Woody Guthrie did the first song "This Land is yours" for USA! He was with Almanac Singers Woody Guthrie & Pete Seeker
Video by Alfred with the help of Choy Hong (Jasmine) Grech, Mosta, Malta.
comment: Here's a trip down memory lane. Haven't heard this since I was a kid.
comment: Grade IV music class all the way
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DIANE WILLIAMS- SABLE ISLAND- HORSES - incredible photos... magical and mystical.... Sable Island... off Nova Scotia
http://www.dianewilliamsart.com/sable-island-horses.php
Alberta Equine Artist Diane Williams
Paintings and Photography of the Sable Island Horses
Sable Island off Nova Scotia Canada Photo: Diane Williams- Journey
TRUST- Sable Island-Nova Scotia- Diane Williams
A ten day spiritual journey~
To be a photographer- equine painter on Sable Island, 300km from Halifax, Nova Scotia, a remote 42km crescent sand spit is to be detached from the mainstream world. Somewhere around 500 wild Stallions, mares, bachelors and foals inhabit this space. These horses have no predators.
There is nothing more captivating than being in the moment with the wind, sand, grass, ponds, and the wild horses. Spending time sitting in the grass next to them, they invite you into their peaceful world.
The young Stallions, (Bachelors) revel in their pretend play. They have a youthful sense of humor as they attack and wrestle and play with each other necks, manes, tails and legs. They remind me of the grade 9 boys I taught in my Art Classes back in Vancouver, B.C.; a short attention span.
Coming back to civilization I realized how these ten days left strong impressions on me. I am seeking deeper, more truthful connections with my own horses and friends. Mostly in search of a less complicated, graceful way to pursue my journey.
I am truly excited about gathering this beautiful energy to paint landscapes and portraits of the spirit of the Sable Island Horses.
Enjoy the photographic images and the paintings of the Sable Island Horses. Do the horses speak to you with their special energy? Contact me to create the image as a painting or a photograph.
Studio : 403-931-2733. Inquires and questions are most welcome.
See below six of my favorite Sable Island photographs for sale,
on silver and white metal dibond.
As pieces of art, I have created only 25 images of each photograph.
Archival for 100 years.
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Chasing Wild Horses
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aeg35Bcvho
I do not own this video or copyright.
"This feature length documentary tells the story of photographer Roberto Dutesco and his passion for the incredible wild horses of Sable Island."
Source: http://www.dutescoart.com/chasingwild...
https://www.facebook.com/TheWildHorsesOfSableIsland
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Keep in mind folks.... Rick Mercer is the Lady GaGa and closest thing 2 a Space Alien Proudly of Canada....
RMR: Rick Visits Sable Island
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAldKJAgLo4
comment:
one of the last truly pristine places left
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Facts About Sable Island by Elizabeth Connors
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfVXSEIOabg
Published on Sep 3, 2013
Facts About Sable Island- Reflective Statement
My video, Facts About Sable Island, was presented using a combination of images, voice recordings, and music. The intent was to provide the audience with interesting facts I have learned during my research of the island, prior to making the video. I decided that this was the best method to show the aspects of the island without actually travelling there.
I chose to use Images to visually present the characteristics of Sable Island. These Images were provided courtesy of Paul Illsley. In my opinion, one cannot learn about the island without viewing its beauty. Since I could not physically travel there to make a video, I used these Images. Images were chosen that show all of the aspects of the island, including the buildings, shorelines, wildlife, airplanes, and the drilling rigs.
The facts I chose were found during Internet research, and were derived from Wikipedia and Maritime Air Charters. This method was chosen to excite the audience, and teach them about various aspects of the Island. Different facts keep their interest. Rather than discussing one very long topic. I am a fact-orientated person, so I enjoyed making it as well. Instead of listing the facts on the screen, I chose to do a voice recording, this was to stimulate Interest and appeal to audio learners too.
Recording myself play the fiddle created the music. This was to provide an introduction and end to the video. It also makes the video more personal and unique tome.
I really enjoyed making this video, because I didn't know that much about Sable Island. I learned some very interesting things, and maybe someday I will get to visit the island myself. This is why I used both audio and visual components-so that everyone get the most out of this video, and see Sable Island's true charm.
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Sable Island’s Equine Survivors: Wildlife has the right-of-way…always!
Sable Island Ponies after being unloaded from a steamer to be sold at auction – 1902.
Sable Island is a 1.5 by 42 kilometre long remote windswept ecosystem, 300 kilometres east-southeast of Halifax known as “the Graveyard of The Atlantic” thanks to the 350 plus ships who have foundered and lost their fight against the fog, storms and hidden sandbars since 1583. This begs the question: with all the shipwrecks, how did the horses get on the island in the first place? Fiction and folklore would have us believe that they jumped off the doomed ship decks and swam to the island and survived. The truth is slightly less romantic and involves the deportation of the Acadians and the placement of the horses, sheep and other animals by Boston merchant Thomas Hancock (cousin of John Hancock of the American Declaration of Independence fame) in the mid-1700s.
In 1801, after forced shipwrecks and pirate plundering, a “Humane Establishment” was set up on the island and James Morris and his family along with some male employees took on the daunting task of manning the life stations, patrolling the beaches, erecting warning flagstaffs and surviving whatever Sable Island threw at them year round. Records tell us that some of the wild horses were trained to help in saving shipwrecked sailors and a stallion called Jolly was brought to the island to improve the breed.
In 1916, a fisherman/lighthouse keeper was posted to the number 3 life station on Sable Island with his family and other employees. In 1988 his daughter left a wonderful recording of her 14 years there which showed that life there was an incredible experience with much of it centering around their leisure and work activities with their horses, both tame and wild.
Sable Changes Once Again
In 1958 with fewer shipwrecks and advancement in science, the rescue station was closed and Sable Island became a weather research station. The wild horses remained and in 1960 intervention by an animal loving Prime Minister John Diefenbaker saved them from a planned slaughter after Canadian schoolchildren wrote him countless letters asking him to spare them. In 1961 The Canadian Shipping Act prohibited interfering or removing them and today they exist on the island as a largely healthy herd ranging from 200 to 350 horses. In 2008, the Nova Scotia government made them one of the official provincial symbols and they are also the official horse of Nova Scotia. There are other horses from Sable Island who exist at Shubenacadie Wildlife Park in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia; they are descendants of horses taken from the island in the 1960s and 1980s.
Summertime is pleasant but winter can be brutal.
Zoe Lucas is a researcher on Sable Island and she gives us great insight into her work with the horses saying that, “The horses have the same status as other wildlife here – protected from disturbance and invasive procedures, except where research permits are provided by Parks Canada. Thus far, being considered as a population of wild animals, the horses have not received veterinary care. I’ve been involved in long-term monitoring of the population, all of which has been based on using non-invasive procedures.”
Biological samples are only taken from dead animals that die of natural causes and while this is a slow way to collect data, it means that researchers don’t interfere with the lives of the horses. One interesting fact is that this data will be used to assess foot health with results possibly available in 2014. Regarding internal parasites, Lucas says that the Sable Island horses through preliminary surveys appear to have the same ones as domestic horses in Canada.
Not for the Faint of Heart
The horses are left alone to enjoy their days free from human interference.
• Sable Island became Canada’s 43rd National Park on June 20, 2013.
• Arthur McUrdy first photographed the horses in 1898 when visiting with Alexander Graham Bell.
• Photographer Roberto Dutesco began photographing the horses on 1994 and has a permanent display “Wild Horses of Sable Island” at his New York Studio. His photos are really stunning; take a look at the website.
• Although often referred to as ponies due to their small size, the Sable Island equines have a horse phenotype.
• While Sable Island is the windiest place in Nova Scotia, has the least sunshine and the most fog, winter temperatures range from +5 to -5 and the hottest summer days at 25C usually occur in August.
• Data on the horses and herd size is collected though incoming fog and weather conditions sometimes hamper efforts; some foals may be a few weeks old before they are noticed and recorded.
• About 40% of the island is covered in vegetation and over 175 plant species can be found including sandwort, cranberry communities, bayberry, wild rose, blueberry and six species of orchid.
http://www.horse-canada.com/horses-and-history/sable-island%E2%80%99s-equine-survivors/
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