Visitor at the stable?

Howdy,

Just wanted to share a photo my mother took at the stable where she boards her horses. The photo was taken last week (as I post this) on Tuesday, March 6th. She did not notice anything out of the ordinary at the time as she took the pic - but as she was going through her photos the next day she noticed a "smudge" on one of them. She was about to delete it but decided to zoom in to see what was going on. (The 'oddity' is on the right side of the pic.)
What do you see here?








For those that like to analyze photos, this was taken with an iPhone 4, and it was zoomed and cropped. I do not believe she has the original still; I believe this photo replaced it.

Thanks!
1080

Could it be a smudge on the lens? My five year old left fingerprints on my iPod and it kinda looks similar.

Of course most everyone knows that it's probably explainable in an earthly sense. But it is one of the better pics I've seen shared here, so who knows.

S&F to get some opinions in here...and because y'all are horse people.

Originally posted by The GUT
Of course most everyone knows that it's probably explainable in an earthly sense. But it is one of the better pics I've seen shared here, so who knows.

S&F to get some opinions in here...and because y'all are horse people.

I agree with the GUT here, plenty of plausible explanations, but it is a quality photo with some sort of anomaly.

Just for the record it does resemble a slender man/boy who might be walking in midstride or perhapsstanding with his foot up on the fence observing his equine friends.

Any other details about the location or the events of when the photo was taken?

One thing I found interesting...are the horses looking at it?

reply to post by TenEighty


Looks like the horse is visiting with Casper the friendly ghost.
Nice picture!

If none of her other pictures have smudges

Originally posted by sad_eyed_lady
reply to post by TenEighty

 

Looks like the horse is visiting with Casper the friendly ghost.
Nice picture!

If none of her other pictures have smudges

Also remember what time of year it is, many places around the globe are still cold enough to see your breath in early March...

Someone's breath? Cigarette smoke? Steaming road apples behind the fence or at the photographers feet? So many possible things. Cool photo though and I like that you didn't sensationalize it OP. Now I want to go ride. May I ask the general area this pic was taken?

reply to post by smyleegrl


Doesn't look like it to me. Generally when they get spooky they'll prick the ears forward and the whites of the eye will show. Ears back is usually content or pissed (if pinned). The actually look very relaxed to me. I grew up on em but it's been awhile.

reply to post by Domo1


All I know about horses: they are bigger than me and very cute.

Ears pinned if they were frightened, but what if they were familiar with it and found it unthreatening?

Just playing devils advocate, my guess is most likely smudge.

reply to post by smyleegrl


Could be, however, she took several pics that day and it did not reappear. One photo did have a white mark, I will try to find it and upload it.

Thanks!
1080

reply to post by youdidntseeme


I will check with Mother to see if she minds my mentioning the location. I don't know of anything unusual that had happened that day but I will check. Generally she is there twice a day, about 3 - 6 hours a day.

Thanks!
1080

I'm gonna play devil's advocate here & say that on first glances, I can actually make out what looks like an outline of a figure walking past the horses (I see legs & an arm swinging mid-way kinda thing)...Creepy.

You mentioned that this is an edited photo, that has been zoomed in to the anomaly.

So there isn't any chance you could get the original photo?

If I had to make a guess, then I'd say it's probably smoke or fog of some kind.

reply to post by TenEighty


TenEighty,
Of course we can all chalk it up to the finger print on the lens..but that shape takes more than just a finger print smudge! I also see that the horses are looking at it, and not your mom taking the picture. First off I noticed light patches in your picture that caused me to scroll over to the right to see the final figure. I do believe you may have had a visitor at the stables! & How cool that would be too. Maybe it was someone how loved the horses so much, he came back to say Hi.. Or never left.
Thanks for sharing I absolutely LOVE ghost pictures!

reply to post by TenEighty


Hey there!

Very cool picture! I agree with some of the other comments; it does look like the horses are looking at it... very strange.

Did your mother report any strange feelings around the time she took the photos?

Originally posted by smyleegrl
reply to post by Domo1

 

All I know about horses: they are bigger than me and very cute.

Ears pinned if they were frightened, but what if they were familiar with it and found it unthreatening?

Just playing devils advocate, my guess is most likely smudge.

Yeah I was thinking the same thing it look like they are looking at it. And yeah maybe they aren't scared of it because it' a regular visitor?

Originally posted by TenEighty
reply to post by smyleegrl

 

Could be, however, she took several pics that day and it did not reappear. One photo did have a white mark, I will try to find it and upload it.

Thanks!
1080

If it was a smudge you'd see it in every photo, don't you think? At least that's what happened when my son smudged mine.

So the multiple pics rules out something on the lens.

Next possibility: environment. I know others mentioned this. Any idea about temp? Anyone smoking? Raging bonfires?

By the way, let me commend you for the calmness of your thread. I've seen lots of weird pics on ATS and sometimes the op gets hammered. You're easy-going replies make your claim that the photo isn't a hoax more believable, IMO.

reply to post by TenEighty


I think that's pretty cool. Like other posters said, it appears like the horses are looking at it, as if they are familiar with it. The position of their ears says to me the figure used to bring them treats or meals. the ears are typical horse talk for 'I'm first'.
I like it, if no other pics had 'smudges' I think it's definatly something worth considering.

I normally dismiss pictures of orbs or mists, but this one is different in my opinion. There is a clear outline of a boy/man, arm swinging, possible foot up on the ledge, and to me it look like they have a hood of a jacket up. As many have said the horses appear to be looking at it, but not at all frightened.

I will be the first one to admit thought, I know very little about cameras and photo shop.

Nic pic! I'll definitely be following the thread to see other's opinions.

reply to post by TenEighty


I see what looks like a grumpy looking old man with a beard and receding hairline, hair seems a little long as well.