Howell of Sweetwater , Tennessee .
Sue Elder of Athens , Tennessee has sold both of her horses ; STER LING SILVER B , a light gray roan gelding , and SHADOW ’ S ACE , a black gelding . Send all your stable notes to me .
NEWS from MONTANA by PEARL THOMPKINS This has been a happy and busy summer in Montana for the Walking Horse people .
The show in Billings was very well attended and the competition was such that ribbons won were well earned .
At Great Falls there were about a dozen horses in the Stake Class and these classes were by far the largest ever seen in Montana .
The interest in Walking Horses is growing by leaps and bounds and the quality of the horses raised here in the Northwest has been bringing in buyers from neighboring states .
This is all to the good for every one connected with the Walking Horse business .
The stallions that have been brought up from the homeland in Tennessee will be having their first crop of colts on the ground next spring and we are waiting eagerly for them .
Eddie and Jack Newman of Brookwood Stables of Great Falls , Montana , brough several head of Walkers up from Tennessee last February .
Among them , WEBCO ’ S JOKER , a beautiful blue roan with conformation to spare . He is bound to be in demand as a sire as soon as his colts appear .
Brookwood Sables deserve a story of their own and we will try to have one at some later time .
The beautiful new stable being built by Dr . and Mrs . Virgil Ferree of Kalispell is nearing completion and Roy and Dianne Larson have moved their horses in . Doug Mefford has joined the training staff and a very busy season is in prospect for the next year .
We will have a report on their open house in our next letter .
One of the most important phases of any horse operation is transportation . There are several excellent methods of moving horses but perhaps the most wide-spread is the two-horse trailer . We have received numerous requests for information on working with horses to teach them to load , haul and unload . It is common knowledge that many good show horses leave their show at home because they are a problem to haul . I have also heard of many so-called top horses that could put on a tremendous show at home in the barn , but they couldn ’ t get him in a trailer or van .
I personally know of one such horse which required that a special trailer be constructed in order to get him to a show . This horse had an aversion to going anywhere in a trailer or van . He would get in without any trouble but the minute they started moving . . . WHAM ! He was on the way out ! The answer was to find a small , one-horse trailer that was strong enough to contain him . The trainer found such a trailer , had it padded on three sides , installed heavy webb belts to keep him from rearing up and similar belting to keep him from laying down . Windows were installed so that he could see where he was going ( one vet suggested that he was getting sick because he couldn ’ t see out ) and an extra heavy rear door was put on to absorb his kicking .
The first step on the part of the trainer was to instill confidence in the horse that this particular trailer was not going to hurt him . He was carried through a training program that lasted for about six weeks . This program included many hours of just standing in the trailer during feeding time with the back door open , so he could back out when he began to panic . After he learned to stay in the trailer ( he was fed here for several weeks ) the back door was shut on him gently . This proved to be fatal on the first try as he put his right rear foot through a 3 / 4-inch piece of plywood just like a cannon ball . The rear door was reinforced and gradually he quit kicking .
Finally H-Day ( Hauling Day ) came and he was put in as usual , strapped down gently and was left to think the situation over for a while . When the car started to move with the big black stud and his trailer , he immediately reverted to his old custom of exploding . His efforts proved to be in vain however and soon he gave up and began to eat . From this time on , he was no trouble to haul anywhere , just as long as he was in his trailer . When the horse was sold , his trailer went with him . Our last report was that the new owners decided that the business of hauling him in only one trailer was not necessary and they sold the trailer . To our knowledge they haven ’ t gotten him to a show since .
This is just a little experience that will serve to prove that your method of hauling is important and that a horse can be trained to haul as well as load and unload . I am also sure that out there in “ reader land ” there is a horse whose owner will give him to me if I can get him in a trailer and on the road to a show !
As part of our complete report on the various methods of hauling and handling horses we have been in contact with Mr . Warren Jinkins , owner of the Vidalia Trailer Company , Vidalia , Georgia , regarding the construction of a horse
OCTOBER , 1964 35