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Sable Island: Where Horses Run Free

Helen Kohl

Imagine a small crescent-shaped sandbar of an island in the Atlantic, almost 200 km east of Nova Scotia. And then picture, on that island, hundreds of horses running free, their only

companions the largest grey seal colony in the world, a few native birds and insects, and seven humans.


No, it’s not a fantasy. That ocean sandbar really exists. It’s called Sable Island.


Naturalist/photographer Ted Krug recently shared pictures of his visit to this magical, fog-shrouded wild horse haven with Parry Sound Nature Club members at their monthly meeting.


“Most Canadians don’t realize we have some of the world’s greatest wildlife opportunities right here in this country,” he said. “Sable Island is one of them. It’s one of Canada’s great wildlife hotspots.”


Sable Island is a small sandbar, only 43 km long and just over 1km wide. Getting there is an adventure in itself. It’s literally the foggiest place on earth, and located where two strong ocean currents meet. Sailors call the turbulent waters around it the graveyard of the Atlantic.

Krug and two fellow photographers could only visit once they had gotten the necessary permissions and conditions permitted. They flew in from Sydney, Nova Scotia, on a helicopter equipped with flotation devices.


Nature rules the roost on Sable Island.


They landed at the island’s second heliport, built because the first one was taken over by a tern colony and had to be relocated.


No roads, obviously. They walked along trails created by wild horses, snapping photos and moving out of the way of its equine inhabitants. They stayed at least 20 metres away from them, as required.


The horses are doing fine without humans. Some had coats like unsheared sheep, some had tangled manes, some were having a bad hair day, and others looked fully groomed. What they all had in common: good health, thanks to the lack of natural predators and their diet of fresh water from the island’s ponds and local grasses.


Long may they run!

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