Meet "Mo"

Well, it may be love.....this feeling that's come over me. This past Saturday I had the chance to meet Amos Esh. Amos is a local Amishman who raises Haflinger Ponies. We had the most amazing visit to Amo's farm. This farm was beautiful...first of all, it was enormous..with pastures all over just filled with Haflingers.

The stable was one of the nicest I have ever seen....with stalls filled with mares and colts and stallions....all sweet as pie. So, after I got over the excitement of just being there, I had a chance to ride a couple of his horses. Amos raises, trains and sells Haflinger ponies primarily for driving. But, because he also has a large family, the ponies get ridden by all of the kids. And the kids range in age from 4 to about 14. I watched the kids tack up the horses and then all of the kids took turn crawling on their backs and riding them around the ring. And then I had the chance to ride. There was no question about it, the smoothest ride came from a horse called Moonbeam. Moonbeam is a 6 or 7 year old gelding that was previously a driving champion.

And best of all, Moonbeam rides like a dream. Now, to me, at 50, the most important feature of a horse are the brakes. If a horse does not have solid brakes, I don't want him. I have spent the past year frustratingly trying to get my quarterhorse arena-worthy. In the process, I have suffered broken ribs and a dislocated pelvis. At my age, I have to have a solid, dependable mount....these bones are too old to be falling on from 5 feet up while going 20 miles an hour.

I have decided to bring Moonbeam home on a trial basis. I will ride him at home on our trails and in our arena. If he continues to be a solid mount with no bad manners.......then he's a keeper!! I am so excited. They call the Haflinger the "Golden Retriever" of the equine world. We'll see if that holds true.