Wild Resilience
Windswept, Sable Island, Canada © 2026 Tina Horne Photo, LLC
I can tell you about the history of Sable Island, it is fascinating. I can tell you a narrative about my trip to get there, it is an incredible adventure. I can tell you a play by play account about my day on the island, it was an experience of a lifetime. But I am not going to do that. I feel I need to just speak from the heart. Even then, it takes a long time to write this blog, to put my thoughts to paper. The words to describe this place fail me and I fear I will not do it justice.
It is a twenty-something year dream of mine to visit here. This is a place so pristine and remote that wild horses and seals greatly outnumber people. It is an island very few people ever step foot on and it feels like such a privilege to be one of them.
Free Spirits, Sable Island, Canada © 2026 Tina Horne Photo, LLC
The island, basically an everchanging sandbar, is in the North Atlantic and it is a harsh environment, but on this day it is gentle. The water is turquoise and clear, seal heads pop out of the water and some rest along the vast shoreline. The sand is soft. The sun shines bright the day I am here and the sky is blue, sometimes the shade of cornflowers. The breeze is just enough to rustle through the tall, green grasses that cover the dunes. There are no trees, I notice.
Dune Walker, Sable Island, Canada © 2026 Tina Horne Photo, LLC
It does not take long to spot my first horses, just off the path through the dunes. It is a small band, or social group. I spend the day with several different ones. For each, I sit on a patch of sand nearby. It does not take long to become fully present. My energy slows to match their tranquility. To sit with wild horses is a meditation. They are sensitive beings and I must slow down for them to accept me into their world. That they go about their business in my presence is the ultimate compliment. Babies nurse, juveniles play, everyone grazes. A few minor kerfuffles break out. I can sit for hours, days, weeks, and watch them.
Unfortunately the pleasant weather will not last and I must depart to beat an incoming weather system, meaning I have only one day on the island instead of the planned three days. But what a glorious day it is.
As I sail away from the island, I carry a piece of it with me in my heart. It has a profound impact on me and I know I will return here someday. Sable Island is a place where the only thing you leave behind are footprints and the only things you take home are memories, photographs, and dreams.
Wild Resilience, Sable Island, Canada © 2026 Tina Horne Photo, LLC
Because Many of You Asked:
To get to the island, I sail with Captain Andrew and Sable Ocean Adventures. It is a 24 hour sail from Halifax, Nova Scotia. In spite of a bit of rough weather and waters on my trip, I will do it again in a couple of years. It is truly an adventure.
This island is not just for horses. It also boasts the largest grey seal population in the world and is the exclusive home of the Ipswich Sparrow.
Sable Island is part of Parks Canada
The horses are on the smaller side and have been on the island since the 1700’s. They live completely wild. They are spectacularly beautiful and known for their long manes and tails.
The island is about 26 miles long and a little over a half mile wide. It is made up of evershifting sand dunes.
Thank you for reading…
Tina