HIHK IV

Horses, IV:

About a week ago, we got in a whole new shipment of horses from Wisconsin. They were fuzzy beasts, with the shaggy winter coat you'd need up Wisconsin way if you were in an open field. They apparently never had shoes, not any of them, because I spent the better part of last week helping the farrier get them fixed up. One of them in particular, named Sherlock, really does not like to have his feet messed with. Even now that he has shoes on, you have to rope him three different ways to clean his back feet, and he still tries to get you.

They were at one point or another broken to riding, but, ah, not all of it stuck with them all the way down to Georgia. We train horses both for Western trail riding and various English sports, and so we have several trainers who work with the animals. Our top dressage trainer got bucked right off the new mare last week, which is always hilarious as long as nobody really gets hurt.

And then there's Romeo:



This one was a diamond in the rough. Once we clipped off his coat, we found a very charming, patient horse who can go straight to a canter from a walk. He's not quite as brave as some horses, but he's easy and willing and friendly.

And he's a handsome beast, too.



Yeah, I figured that if I wanted some pictures of Romeo for you, I'd better get them up in a hurry. I don't expect he'll be around real long.

By the way, that vest in the picture is from Coronado Leather. They're famous because they were the ones who came up with the idea of building concealed holsters into the vest. I use that vest for camping and hiking, because it's like a cuirass against briars and thorns and brush. It's not ideal for trail riding because it's not cut right for the saddle, but they make some that are. They also make leather jackets, for those of you who want a full-sized bomber or something similar.

The thing holds up beautifully with little effort. I carry my short-barrled Ruger New Model Vaquero .45 in it, and it retains the revolver just fine when the horse is at the canter.

My point is that Coronado's stuff is good kit, for those of you who like to adventure in the backcountry.