A VERY young Marty Robbins sang a song about a mean Strawberry Roan horse you might get a kick out of listening to here on YouTube. Incidentally, it was this very song Marty sang to get on a radio show when he was first breaking into the music world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3BkHtlSYR4
Our girl, whose name is actually Strawberry, doesn't look at all like that outlaw horse Marty sings about. In fact, we think she's pretty nice. She's also gentle, quiet and friendly.
She doesn't look too big in this picture, but she's very proportional in her size.
However, according to the man I got her from, she CAN, and WILL buck! In fact, his wife tried to ride her, and this mare got serious about bucking. As he put it, "As big as she is, that mare really got with it. So much so that my wife landed on her feet." In other words, rather than just taking a tumble from getting dislodged from the saddle, the horse threw her into the air, allowing her to get her feet under her before she came down.
So, it looks like she won't be a riding horse around here. I don't really want to see if I can come down on my feet. The alternative hurts too badly. There are other plans though, and I'm going to explore them. Like maybe pulling a cart, which may be what she's bred to do anyway.
There exists the very real possibility she has an instinct about being a "puller" not a "rider" and that's why she works so hard at resisting being ridden. But I intend to see what I can do about learning.
When you add Sharon into the view, the perspective changes a bit.
Then Sharon stood on the uphill side of the mare ... and now you can see just how tall Strawberry really is.
You have to realize Sharon's feet are probably a good four to five inches higher than the mare's feet, and all you see is Sharon's head.
We're keeping her in the corral for a few days, allowing she and the other two horses to get acquainted over the fence. There's already been the requisite squealing and that sort of thing, but everybody seems quiet and not very excited about it all. I don't expect any real problems.
After a period of nosing each other across the fence, I'll let her out with the other two, and expect things will be quiet. Probably a bit more territorial stuff, but shouldn't be very difficult.
Anybody know where I can find a nice little two-wheel cart? Or a harness set-up for a drafter?
No comments:
Post a Comment