Damian Lidgard has spent 30 years studying and photographing wildlife on Nova Scotia’s Sable Island, and hopes his forthcoming book will give people an appreciation for the beauty and hardiness of the wild horses that have thrived on the remote and inhospitable spit of land for centuries.
The photographer and zoologist with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans says he made his first trip to the isolated, crescent-shaped sandbar — about 40 kilometres long and one kilometre across at its widest point — while working on his PhD in December 1996. Since then, his research on its roughly 20,000-strong seal population has brought him back several times each year, almost without interruption.
While his work with seals is the main reason for his visits, he’s amassed a collection of photos of the island’s most famous residents he’s sharing in his new book “Sable Untamed: The Wild Beauty of Sable Island’s Horses”, coming from Nimbus Publishing in June.
“I also just developed a bit of an awe, like an appreciation of how well these horses have adapted to this island,” Lidgard said in a recent interview. “I just felt like I wanted to also be able to share that with people. It’s really inviting people in to be able to see this animal that has been able to adapt to this really hostile environment.”
Sometimes called the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” due to the more than 350 shipwrecks in its surrounding waters, Sable Island is known for its seals, countless seabirds and the roughly 420 wild horses that have called island 290 kilometres southeast of Halifax home since they were introduced in the 1700s.
Lidgard said he didn’t want his new book — his second about the island — to be just another about Sable. He said he used his background to research all the scientific papers about the horse population and integrated it into the work. He’s also included photos from different times of year.
“So there’s pictures of them during the summer when things are wonderful, and there are foals around, and all the grass is green,” he said. “And then it goes through to the winter when it’s harsh winds, and snow and cold temperatures. And so that’s when really the personality of the horses really kind of comes through.”
Lidgard says the ecology of the island impacts the lives of the horses, with the biggest influence being the presence of water. The west side of the island features natural ponds where horses can obtain drinking water, which tends to mean higher growth rates. There’s fewer ponds to the east, so the horse population tends to be smaller. That’s where the horses use their hoofs to dig holes in the beach to access the water table.
Lidgard says there’s multiple bands of horses on Sable with each composed of a stallion, females and their offspring. Bachelor males tend to roam on their own or in small groups.
Researchers travel the island by ATV, and Lidgard says he always keeps a camera with a long lens handy in case he sees something that grabs him. He says he practises a quiet, contemplative form of photography, observing, taking his time and usually snapping just one photograph when something catches his eye.
He says the horses are generally shy, don’t come close to humans and will spook easily with any kind of movement. The foals can be a bit more curious, but the adults tend to guide them away.
Zoologist and photographer Damian Lidgard’s new book, Sable Untamed: The Wild Beauty of Sable Island’s Horses, will be published in June.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout-Elizabeth Miller (Mandatory Credit)
Lidgard says Sable is probably his favourite place to be. He sometimes stays there for six weeks at a time and can feel the layers of stress from the mainland stripping away as he eases into the simple life of research, photography, sand and crashing waves.
Visits to Sable Island are managed by Parks Canada, but as a DFO researcher, Lidgard has a lot of access. He counts himself lucky that he can spend so much time on the island while other photographers might have a just a few hours, or maybe a day.
“I always find it surprising that when you’re flying out to the island and you’re flying over water, open ocean, for an hour or something and then this sandbar appears on the horizon, which is in itself a surprising thing you witness,” he said.
“Then, as you’re flying over the island to see there are horses… is even more surprising and just makes you realize how resilient those animals are to be able to survive in such a remote and somewhat hostile environment.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2026.
By Devin Stevens | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
