It has been pointed out to me that the blog is running slowly these days. I am working on another major writing project for a film that is occupying my thinking time. (In fact I should be working on that right now.)
However, I cannot help but note how surprised I was Sunday afternoon riding Joey, the pinto Choctaw Colonial Spanish horse shown above.
I know smoothness. I ride mustangs.
I know toughness. I ride mustangs.
I know stamina. I ride mustangs.
I know heat and humidity. I ride in Tidewater Virginia.
But I really did not know how fast a mustang could move out while gaiting until Sunday. Joey sought to find a place where there were no biting flies. He seemed to think that such a place must be just up the path. He gaited out at such a speed that the other mustangs loping behind me were barely keeping up. Snow on Her is an SMR and was certainly able to move with us, but she was carrying much less weight than Joey.
There is a great deal of good to be said for the Choctaws. There is a great deal of bad to be said for a horse world that would even consider the possibility of allowing these horses to become extinct.
I know that how physically beautiful something is does not reside high on your list of importance, but I thought I should mention this. We live in a world where we have set everything up so that our lives revolve around how we look, but the simple (and in some instances, complex) beauty of the mustangs is practically unbelievable, and they didn't need to go to a plastic surgeon to look it. For everyone who thinks that they need to just get the right clothes or the right make-up, just get on one of these horses and the problem is solved. Joey is not only capable, gentle, powerful, and smooth, he is also gorgeous. And that prettiness is not fake.
ReplyDelete-AM
AM nailed it.
ReplyDeleteSnow on Her and I like to follow Joey up the trail she is mover and likes it..Joey pushes her on up into new places in her gaits. I have known since the one time I have ridden Joey that he is faster than Snow..alot faster..and I strongly suspect with alot more stamina. The one time I got to turn him loose and let him run, somewhere between an eighth, and a quarter mile...by the time I had to rein him up he was still finding his stride and accelerating. Almost violently fast gallop. I cannot fathom how it has come to be that there are so few Choctaws...it took alot of people being very, very shortsighted to allow that to happen. The world needs more Choctaws and a whole lot less throwaway race babies.
It will be interesting to see what Twister is capable of when he gets a little farther along in his training..I expect great things from him as well. -Lloyd