Horses are everything to Louise Sedgman. They have been since she was a toddler, and she’s not the only one. The Drouin photographer spoke to CASEY NEILL about capturing the special bond that other equine owners share with their horses.
“I could draw horses before I could write my name.”
Louise Sedgman was 12 years old when she got her horse Ebony.
“She died four days before my 30th birthday,” she said.
“It broke my heart.”
Worse, Louise had little to show for the special relationship they’d shared.
“I have very few photos of her,” she said.
“I haven’t had another horse since with the same connection.
“Some beautiful photos would have made those memories last longer.
“I’ve got just a few little old-fashioned, faded film photos.
“After all those years where we went through everything together, I had nothing at the end.”
Louise started taking photos about 20 years ago.
“I was an artist at the time, drawing, and was having trouble getting subject matter so decided to take some photos of my own I could draw,” she said.
Her mum bought her first camera for her – a film SLR.
“I don’t draw anymore,” she said.
“Photography started out as a hobby and I just love it.
“It’s my entire world.”
After losing Ebony she started photographing horses.
“Then I did a few business-type workshops and a few people had said ‘you need to capture people in your photos as well’,” she said.
“That’s when I made that connection between women and horses.
“Often it’s come through adversity or tragedy.
“It’s unique to everyone.
“I capture those moments that are really special to them.
“I’ve never marketed just to ladies, it just seems to be ladies that I get.
“I’m happy to do fellas as well.”
Most of Louise’s shoots are done on-property.
“I get to know her and what her journey has been with her horse,” she said.
“The story is such a huge part of the experience for me.
“I meet their horses and I let everybody relax for a little bit.
“I feel that my job is to help them relax.
“No one likes having their photo taken.
“It’s not all just about the shoot, it’s about the relationship that I build with my clients.
“It’s more about their relationship with their horse.
“I just stand back and let the photos happen.”
Louise became an Australian Institute of Professional Photographers (AIPP) member in 2015.
Last year the organisation presented her with a silver award at its national awards ceremony for one of her images.
Earlier this year Louise won two silver awards at the state titles.
But it’s the horses that drive her passion.
“I just remember as a kid – and I can see my four-year-old daughter doing the same thing – even as a toddler I was interested in horses,” she said.
“I used to be a horse all of the time.
“I used to neigh.
“I could draw horses before I could write my name.
“I used to wear all of the knees out of my pants because I was crawling around.”
She was six years old when she got her first pony.
“I was completely besotted with her,” she said.
“I’ve never not had horses in my life from that time.
“I love everything about them and I always have.
“It’s much deeper than that.
“I love their shape, I love their smell, I love the way they make me feel, I love that they can challenge, that no ride is ever the same.
“There’s never any judgement.
“I can’t imagine life without them.”
Louise and her husband, Stan, have a few Clydesdales that they breed and she still rides once or twice a week.
“I bred my riding horse,” she said.
“We show our Clydesdales every now and then still.
“My husband used to go to Melbourne, but we don’t have the time now to do what we used to do.
“His grandfather bred them so he grew up with them and continued on breeding.
“We don’t have many now, we only have two horses.
“A lot of people really resonate with Clydesdales.”
Their daughters Emma and Grace are aged four and seven and both have horses.
“One is exactly like I was at this age.
“My seven-year-old is naturally gifted as a horse person but she could live without them.
“The four-year-old eats, breathes, sleeps horses.”
