Sitzgelegenheiten

Carin from Goldleaf Stables had called about a horse and asked me to come by.

Gillian: “Hi Carin, I’m Gillian. You called about a horse?”

Carin: “Yes, it’s about Rose. A Percheron mare. We bought her for carriage rides through Golden Hills.”

We went into the stable. Rose was an impressive and beautiful animal.

Gillian: “Wow, she’s gorgeous. What’s the problem?”

Carin: “We tried to break her to the carriage, but the covered wagon scares her. She bolts. We’re hoping you can help.”

Rose came to Meadowland. Since she was barefoot, my first stop with her was the farrier.A draft horse needs proper shoeing — and a Percheron hoof is enormous.

Conrad: “We’ll put on winter shoes right away. She’ll need them for the next weeks.”

For winter, he added snow pads under the horseshoes so hard snow wouldn’t pack into her hooves. I decided to start completely from scratch with Rose. For the first few days, we only worked on long-lining. At walk, it was easy — but at trot, I had to run to keep up with the giant. Rose worked well, steady and obedient. It was time for the next step. Jamie and I hitched her to an old wagon.

Gillian: “Thanks for helping me, Jamie. Let’s see how she handles this. It’s not a covered wagon, but it’ll do.”

Jamie: “After the way she worked these past few days, this shouldn’t be a problem. Maybe it was just the tarp on Carin’s wagon that scared her. Let’s try.”

Jamie climbed onto the wagon and gently asked Rose to move forward. The first few meters went smoothly. But when he asked her to trot — it happened. Rose immediately broke into a fast gallop and swerved sharply. The old wagon wasn’t built for that. It began to wobble — and tipped over.

Gillian: “Oh my God, Jamie!!! Don’t move, I’m coming!”

Jamie: “Doesn’t look like I could move anyway. My leg’s trapped under the wagon. Call someone to help lift it… and catch Rose!”

Rose was in full panic. She tore herself loose and galloped wildly across the yard. It wasn’t easy to catch and calm her, but Wesley finally managed. We pulled Jamie out from under the wagon. His leg looked terrible. I called emergency services immediately. The paramedics arrived quickly and took him to the hospital. The leg was surely broken… he was in so much pain… and it was all my fault… if only I hadn’t asked him to help… what if he could never walk properly again… A week later, Jamie was back. I found him riding Epico across the yard — with a leg brace on his broken leg and a crutch tucked under his arm.

Gillian: “What is going on here?! Jamie, you were in the hospital for a week. You’ve been back one day and you’re already on a horse?!”

Jamie: “Where else should I sit? There’s only a stool in my room, and it’s covered in my clothes. Besides, with the brace I can ride better than I can walk. And for emergencies — the crutch fits perfectly under my arm. See?”

While Jamie had been away, I had continued training Rose. I had hitched her to a sleigh instead — and she loved it. I wanted to show him. I forced him off the horse and into the sleigh. We took a short ride.

Gillian: “See? I told you there’s better seating! Rose loves pulling the sleigh — probably because it doesn’t roll forward as suddenly as a wagon. But we’ll make the wagon appealing to her too.”

Jamie: “I used to be a cool guy once. And where did I end up? As an invalid in a sleigh, driven by my boss. I could cry…”