Harvey loves his shaky tail horses

When I first moved Harvey to Pennsylvania in 1998, we boarded at a farm that had once been a Saddlebred facility. There were still a number of "shaky tail horses" there and Harv bonded with one in particular that he was paired with for turnout. The horse was a dark chestnut with a blaze, and you could have tied them together with a lead rope and they would not have noticed, because they moved around the pasture "as one." At that farm, I grew to appreciate what marvelous animals Saddlebreds are. Like thoroughbreds and Arabs, they are sensitive, hard-working, and typey. A few of them scared me initially -- when I was turning them out, they seemed ready to explode! They would prance and blow and carry on -- but the lead rope was always slack in my hand. For all of their energy, they were polite and easy.

Coming full circle
This Spring, I moved Harv to a new barn. The barn owner has ridden a variety of disciplines and spent some time in Kentucky. In the barn there are a number of -- guess what? Saddlebreds! Harvey was turned out with two of them right away -- big chestnuts that looked very high energy. One night I monitored them for a bit -- wanted to make sure they weren't too much for my old weak-hocked Harv.

Hah! I shouldn't have worried. First of all, one of them -- a dark chestnut with a blaze -- is almost as old as Harv. Secondly, it's a laid-back group -- they graze within a few feet of each other and they move around the pasture like they're all joined at the hip -- they even drink together out of the same muck bucket container. Harv has totally bonded with the other oldster -- it's adorable.