Some Horses

Horses I have Known:

I thought that some of you might like to see a couple of the horses I've been working with lately. I mentioned Sequila a few months back. Sequila is an Appaloosa mare of foundation stock. Here's a photo of the little brat:



Sequila is always a pain to get saddled. Yesterday, I went out to get her from the second field. I knew she was there, because when I topped the hill on the way down to the fields, I could see her. When I got out into the field, though, she'd totally vanished. The other horses were out there, but no Sequila.

Knowing her, I figured she'd jumped the fence or something when she saw me coming with a rope. I walked out to see if I could figure out where she'd crossed, when I came to a low place in the field, just a dip in the land. There was Sequila, laying down to hide from me.

If a horse could grumble, this one would have when I showed up there and put the rope on her. She'd also stripped off her halter, so I put the rope on her "war bridle" fashion. Naturally, when I started back to the barn, she didn't want to come -- but when the rope pinched down, she grudgingly agreed. As usual, she had her ears plastered back for the saddling. I always take some time to soothe her and scratch her during the process, but you never get a better reaction from her than to see her ears raise forward an inch.

Sequila is a bad-tempered brat, and though she's very smart, she uses all her intelligence in the service of evil. Nevertheless, once you get the saddle on her, she's a real pleasure to ride. She's got a great canter in particular. The canter is a three-beat gait just short of a gallop, but faster than the two-beat trot. The trot is easy on the horse, but harder on the rider. The canter is easy to ride, if you've ever done any boxing -- just like you were taught in the ring, you let your body snap like a whip. This distributes away all the energy, and makes it a pleasure.

Anyway, we had a great ride yesterday, and by the end of it she was too tired to fight. She was gentle and sweet while I put her blanket on her, and took her back to the field.

My favorite horse we have right now is a grey quarter horse. He has a registered name which I've forgotten, but I call him "Colonel Mosby" after the famous cavalry officer (the "Gray Ghost," is why). The Colonel is a friendly animal, and a lot of fun to be around, but a bit sickle-hocked, as well as being cow-hocked. It gives his trot a kind of sway to it, which is really sort of fun. It's going to be hard on his joints, though, as he gets older.

The Colonel and I get along very well, but apparently he tries to pull the reins out of other riders' hands. As a result, we are training him with a martingale and a noseband. Personally, I don't see the need, but his owner really wants to break the habit. I just do what the owners want. If it were my own, I would avoid the training aids, and just use a good bit to "communicate" my displeasure if he tried to yank the reins out of my hands.

Here's a picture of the Colonel:



Here's a second, where you can see the cow-hocked confirmation:



As you can see, he's a very good horse in spite of everything. I like a smart, friendly horse best of all. This one is about the friendliest I have ever met, which goes a long way with me.