| Abrazos Adventure Portales New Mexico offering family and individual recreation to Portales, Clovis, Cannon AFB and the surrounding area with horseback riding and lessons Wendy Toombs owner/instructor 575.607.7344 MEET DRAFTY |
In 2005 I received a phone call from a lady in Clovis. Her granddaughter rode
three years earlier and she had acquired a horse for her since they were
here. At the time of the call, the granddaughter quit visiting and grandmother
didn’t want to keep the horse, she already had two of her own. She called to
offer him to me for the school. When I asked how much she wanted, she said
she liked the way I treated my horses and wanted to give him to me.
My husband decided to let me go and check him out by myself. When I saw
him he was at the back of the pen and not interested in anything. I talked with
the lady to gain as much of his history as I could and things sounded good. I
checked his teeth and thought he was between 18 –20 years old – not too
old. He was also in good shape other than feet, which hadn’t been tended to
since the year before.
I told her I would take him pending a vet visit. I couldn’t bring in a horse with a
major health problem since I was already dealing with a Cushings case. My
vet checked him out and said if I didn’t want him he would take him. What I
thought was a bit funky way of going on his hind legs was due to the fact he
is part draft horse and his fetlocks are constructed differently than the
western horses I am used to.
Within 24 hours of being on our place, Drafty’s attitude perked up and he
was interested in what was going on. When I rode him it was like he didn’t
know where his feet were. It took the summer to get him into riding condition.
The really good news was that he went to work within a week of picking him
up.
His name was Midnight and since I already had one I had to come up with a
new name. I wanted something to inspire confidence in the riders so Drafty
he became.
His first year with us I rode him in the Homecoming Parade and it was fun. He
let me know he didn’t like a lot of things but was polite about his
disagreements.
He has turned out to be a horse that is not affected if the rider has fear. He
will go slowly and the rider has to make him go faster. This inspires
confidence for the rider.
In the fall of 2008, we were able to put six of the geldings together 24/7. As of
March 2009, I pulled him out and put him into a pen of his own because his
weight was not where it should be. This way he can eat undisturbed and I
can give him Equine Senior, a concentrated feed for old horses. Dan feeds
him the Equine Senior in the morning and all day long Drafty nickers at me to
try to get another feeding.
When I took Drafty to the vet he thought he might have been born about
1987. He is 14 hands 2 inches tall.
three years earlier and she had acquired a horse for her since they were
here. At the time of the call, the granddaughter quit visiting and grandmother
didn’t want to keep the horse, she already had two of her own. She called to
offer him to me for the school. When I asked how much she wanted, she said
she liked the way I treated my horses and wanted to give him to me.
My husband decided to let me go and check him out by myself. When I saw
him he was at the back of the pen and not interested in anything. I talked with
the lady to gain as much of his history as I could and things sounded good. I
checked his teeth and thought he was between 18 –20 years old – not too
old. He was also in good shape other than feet, which hadn’t been tended to
since the year before.
I told her I would take him pending a vet visit. I couldn’t bring in a horse with a
major health problem since I was already dealing with a Cushings case. My
vet checked him out and said if I didn’t want him he would take him. What I
thought was a bit funky way of going on his hind legs was due to the fact he
is part draft horse and his fetlocks are constructed differently than the
western horses I am used to.
Within 24 hours of being on our place, Drafty’s attitude perked up and he
was interested in what was going on. When I rode him it was like he didn’t
know where his feet were. It took the summer to get him into riding condition.
The really good news was that he went to work within a week of picking him
up.
His name was Midnight and since I already had one I had to come up with a
new name. I wanted something to inspire confidence in the riders so Drafty
he became.
His first year with us I rode him in the Homecoming Parade and it was fun. He
let me know he didn’t like a lot of things but was polite about his
disagreements.
He has turned out to be a horse that is not affected if the rider has fear. He
will go slowly and the rider has to make him go faster. This inspires
confidence for the rider.
In the fall of 2008, we were able to put six of the geldings together 24/7. As of
March 2009, I pulled him out and put him into a pen of his own because his
weight was not where it should be. This way he can eat undisturbed and I
can give him Equine Senior, a concentrated feed for old horses. Dan feeds
him the Equine Senior in the morning and all day long Drafty nickers at me to
try to get another feeding.
When I took Drafty to the vet he thought he might have been born about
1987. He is 14 hands 2 inches tall.
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