Skewbalds

Pintos by Bev Doolittle

Fields of praise

Groet, early morning: horses in mist, originally uploaded by docman.

And then to awake, and the farm, like a wanderer white
With the dew, come back, the cock on his shoulder: it was all
Shining, it was Adam and maiden,
The sky gathered again
And the sun grew round that very day.
So it must have been after the birth of the simple light
In the first, spinning place, the spellbound horses walking warm
Out of the whinnying green stable
On to the fields of praise.

From “Fern Hill“, by Dylan Thomas

On this stagecoach, finish is hard to see

How’s that for an awkward headline? Today’s New York Times has a feature on the “obscure” sport of carriage driving; use BugMeNot if it asks you to register. Meanwhile, at the Ventura County fairgrounds in California, about 140 horse-drawn carriages will be auctioned today — some for tens of thousands of dollars — along with saddles, harnesses and other Western tools and memorabilia.

Wendy Bailey of Juniper Hills, CA peruses harnesses at the sale

Lee Crafton update

In November I told you about Lee Crafton, who was driving a pair of Suffolk Punches from Montana to Boston. They’ve made it to Minnesota already; story and video.

New Zealand horses doing their part for charity

A horse-powered charity fundraiser trotting up the South Island could have motorists thinking they have driven back in time.

The cavalcade will be on the road for more than a month, testing the stamina of both horses and riders.

About 30 horses and as many people are on the road, raising money for the Lion Rescue Helicopter which they say does a lot for horse people in the back country.

Five wagons and saddle-sore riders are taking six weeks to plod from Bluff to Picton. Link (with video)