The Horses

Although we've been on the farm less than three years, it seems like we've already had a lot of horses come and go. 

DH calls them "hay burners" or "money pits" (and of course he's right, in a sense) but I love horses.  I figure what's the point of living in the country if you don't keep a horse or two? 

Once we got (sort of) settled in, I started looking for a pony.  Shortly before we moved, we met a woman who told us about the fun she and her children had had driving their Shetland pony.  We bought a beat-up little pony cart from her and the kids had a blast one evening carting each other around our neighborhood.  Nearly three years later and that pony cart is still in pieces in the barn.  We'll get back to it . . . eventually.

Patchy Pony was our first equine.   His first owners called him "Cupcake" - ugh - so we re-named him "Apache."  We call him "Patchy Pony" except when we joke his name should be "Napoleon."  He's little but thinks he's all that. 

We took him to a clinic this summer and he learned to step up onto a pedestal.  He seemed so proud of himself!

DD rode him a little bit right after we got him.

 

But we're teaching him to drive so (eventually) he can pull the cart.

 

 

We were supposed to have Belle for only a few months but she ended up staying nearly a year and a half.  I kept hoping she would work out for us.  I (mostly) enjoyed riding her but I was the only one in the family who could - she had a wicked buck she would throw every once in a while and she would run her rider all over if she thought she could get away with it.  When she finally threw me off this summer, I reluctantly admitted she wasn't the quiet, family horse we were looking for and we took her back to her owner.

 

 

Tigger and Noah were camp horse retirees that came at the same time.  We bought Tigger and some friends, who were looking for a quiet horse for their children, bought Noah.  We kept Noah at our farm until they could get their barn put up and their fencing installed.  The children had a great time riding them all over the place. 

 

 

Unfortunately, shortly after Noah was moved into his new home, we realized that it was time to put Tigger down.  It was a tough thing to do but the right thing to do.  He was going downhill fast, despite all our efforts.  I had hoped he would live here years and years but it got to the point where it was more cruel to keep him, so we had to say goodbye.  He was a wonderful horse and we have some great memories of him.

 

Patchy was the only equine in the pasture for a while.  He became so lonely he even stooped to the point of fraternizing with the goats.  I was looking for a horse quiet enough for the family to ride but lively enough for DD to jump and maybe take cross-country.  

 

We really took a chance on Rio. 

 

He came from a horse rescue after he was sold through auction.  I chose to buy him based on a few pictures, a description and a short video.  We named him "Rio Grande Cowboy" and arranged to have him shipped up to the farm.   

 

My heart sank as he stepped off the shipper's trailer.  He was thin and beat up and had a huge, open, seeping wound under his chin.  The woman pushed on one side of the lump and pus streamed out onto the ground.  It was obvious he had strangles.

 

 

He was put into strict quarantine for six weeks while he rested, healed and gained some weight.  Once he was better, we arranged for him to be seen by the equine dentist, the farrier and the veterinarian.  When DD and I got a chance to work with him under saddle, we found he's a lot of fun to ride.  He's quiet but eager to please and is ready to run if you ask him to step it up.  I think he'll be a good match for our family.

 

 

     DD rode him in a clinic this fall with some girlfriends and their ponies. 

 

 

Well, now that we had a mount for one of us we (obviously!) needed another horse.  DD and I would take Rio out and take turns riding him in the fields near our farm, or she would work on exercises she'd learned during her riding lessons while I watched.  But I did not feel comfortable sending her off on the trails by herself on this pony we didn't really know.  We needed another horse.

 

Just before Thanksgiving, Calico was brought to our place.

 

 

Calico is a Tennessee Walker.  He's used during the summer as a child's camp horse but in the spring and fall he is transportation for a judge at dog field trials.  He just came off a three week field trial where, we were told, he was ridden on average thirty miles a day.  Needless to say, he's very fit.

 

There was a striking difference in height when he met Patchy and Rio over the fence!

 

 

I'm so excited to have another quiet, fun horse to ride!  We've already taken Rio and Calico out on trail rides.  In fact, a minor miracle happened - DH rode Calico!  We've been married fourteen years and I believe this is the third time I've seen him on a horse.  It's really good of him to appease me every once in a while. 

 

But this time he had his own reasons to go riding.  We went out a day ahead of time to map the route for our first Sticky Bun Run.  But that's a post for another day . . .