JT's Trail Adventure 9-28-12

To understand this story you need to know that the entire property where my horse lives is fenced in except for the driveway, and the driveway can be closed off by tying a rope between the hay shed and the corner fence post. Because JT's paddock has lots of lovely pine trees it has very little grass, Traci (the BO) will often let him out on the yard so he can graze. He is a good boy who prefers to stay near the other horses and doesn't test fences or try to jump over them so this works fine.

Last Friday the farrier was scheduled to come out in the evening to trim JT and put on new shoes. It had been several weeks since her horse was last trimmed so Traci was going to piggyback on my appointment and have the farrier trim her mare Tori as well. (She's unhappy with her farrier's attitude/behavior the past two times he came out, so she is "in between" farriers and has been trying out other people.) She decided to use up some of Tori's energy by taking her out on a trail ride so she would be more tired and wouldn't mind standing around for the farrier. JT was out on the yard and Traci figured that when she left through the back gate JT would go find the other horse boarded there and eat grass near him.

Well, she underestimated how much JT loves her mare because when the two of them left for their trail ride JT started running the fence line in the woodsy part of the yard. He found a hole in the fence that Traci didn't know was there, and although she hollered at him to WHOA! he didn't listen and slipped through! Then he came galloping up to them with an incredibly proud look on his face. Because the acreage where we trail ride is all fenced in Traci decided to let him follow along and see how that went. He followed along with them the whole time like a horse-sized puppy dog! Sometimes he'd go off to the side and check out something that interested him but he'd catch up to them again after a moment or two. When they trotted he trotted and when they cantered he cantered.

My horse is such a stinker! I cracked up when Traci told me the story. I think if he wore his breakaway halter and she took a lead rope (just in case) he could tag along with her on a trail ride again. It seems to be a good way for him to get some added exercise.