Carolina Marsh Tacky Outdoors
A Special Kind of Love Affair
We have been part of Carolina Marsh Tacky Outdoors (CMTO) for well over a decade. We are a dynamic group of individuals with many different talents and one common passion: the Marsh Tacky Horse.
Founder of CMTO, David Grant was among the new fanciers and long-time owners of the breed who came together in 2007 to create the Carolina Marsh Tacky Association, a non-profit organization charged with the preservation and conservation of the Marsh Tacky. CMTO supported the association's effort to establish a breed registry and to gain state recognition for this critically endangered breed of horse that was such a big part of South Carolina's history. In 2010, the Marsh Tacky was named South Carolina's State Heritage Horse.
We are passionate about the Marsh Tacky for many reasons. The fascinating history that surrounds these horses is incredible. We feel that we simply cannot allow these great stories to pass from our generation to the next undocumented. We take great pride in the fact that we were able to get a movement going to preserve not only the horse, but also the priceless heritage surrounding them.
When we first began photographing Marsh Tackies in 2005, there were very few photos of these Spanish Colonial horses and the breed wasn't widely known, as there were very horses left. Thanks to our partnership with David and the uniqueness of our images, we were able to get our photos published worldwide and in many notable publications. We have since been on many adventures with Team Marsh Tacky and each one has been very different and brought on different sets of challenges. There have been many times when we simply couldn't follow the horses and missed photographing some of the best moments - You can't help but marvel about the ingenious ways in which these horses manage to maneuver in the swamps.
When people recognize not only the beauty, but the rugged spirit and versatility of the Tackies in our photos, then we know we have done our job.
Learn More
Please visit our website for more information about the Marsh Tacky and CMTO.