Ghana Horseman
Ghana, West Africa 2003
The Bassari are one of the few tribes in Africa to own horses. We watched the men tack up their animals. An armor of heavy, colorful, padded quilting covered nearly the entire body of the horse. Strips of leather on the savage-looking bridle obscured the horses vision.
We followed the men to an open field where they put their horses through their paces. It wasn’t a pretty sight. Soon the mouths and flanks of the horses were bleeding from the harsh and careless use of spurs and bit. The man in this photo was kinder than his fellow tribesmen, but it is obvious that the poor animal is trying to evade the pain of a sharp bit.