Portraits Of Dogs By Tim Flach

Tim Flach’s first book, Equus, is a comprehensive photographic study of equus: “the family of animals: that goes from Ass to Zebra, but is mostly Horses” and has 180 photographs of forty different horse breeds, including donkey and zebra breeds. Humans are intentionally absent from the images. "Historically equestrian art has essentially been a mechanism used to impose status upon patrons. What I'm doing is distinctive because it chooses not to show man with horse. By separating the horse from the man I am able to focus upon celebrating the horse itself."
The images in Equus fall into three sections. The first contains a range of close-up studio-portraits. The second explores how location has played a part in shaping the horse and features different horse breeds, including the only remaining undomesticated horse in the world, the Przewalski's Horse from Mongolia, shown in their natural environment. “Flach has crossed continents in pursuit of equines in their natural environment. He has photographed Mustangs in the deserts of Utah, Haflinger’s high in the Austrian Alps, Arabians in expansive deserts, Icelandic horses against glacial backdrops and racing Thoroughbreds in the pristine confinement of their training environments.” The third examines the myriad ways humanity has shaped the horse, including photographs of cross-bred horses such as the Zonkey, a collection of images of horses wearing headgear ranging from armour to respiratory masks, and a series of photographs shot at Cambridge University showing the development of a horse from embryo to fetus.