sarhound
10-17-2008, 12:14 PM
Well, since I've finally found y'all over here and have located a wifi connection so I can actually get on the Internet, I can update everyone on my new addition to the herd...
My boss with the carriage company has finally decided to retire Prince, our oldest Belgian. I've been driving him the longest of all the drafts that we drive, and I wanted him desperately. He was going to be sold to someone in Arkansas who wanted to keep on driving him. He's 20 years old now, and my boss decided that he's earned his retirement, so he told me that he just couldn't sell him to someone who would continue to keep working him at that kind of pace. He came to me last Saturday.
He still can do light driving, and I've been riding him as lead horse for trail rides for awhile, so he's going into light duty now. When I get my little doctor's gig, we'll go for an occasional stroll around the roads, and I'll probably use him as my second sheriff's posse horse, for the lighter patrols.
He's needing some serious groceries (I hadn't seen him for 6 months, so I was a bit concerned about his weight loss, but he tends to do the same thing every summer down here.) He was born in Canada and lived in Alaska for many years, so he doesn't do very well in the Texas heat, but he tends to put his weight back on in the fall and winter. His teeth have been floated, he's on senior feed, he's in grass up to his knees on the new farm, and I'm hoping to have him back up to his usual fat and sassy self by Christmas.
The first pics are of his arrival here to the farm; the carriage pics are from a couple of years ago, around Christmas, when he's team hitched with Dale, the Perchie. Hope to get him back to that level soon...
You can see how big he is by comparing his head size to Deputyhound. DH is 6 feet tall, and the head is as big as his body... and Prince is the smallest of our Belgians. Fred and Ned are both bigger than him.
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o148/sarhoundX2/horses/PrinceOct2008ComingHome.jpghttp://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o148/sarhoundX2/horses/PrinceScratchingBackOct2008.jpghttp://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o148/sarhoundX2/horses/PrinceHeadSizeShotOct2008.jpghttp://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o148/sarhoundX2/horses/DaleAndPrinceByBullDurhamDec2006LoR.jpghttp://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o148/sarhoundX2/horses/DalePrinceByHamburgerStore.jpg
My boss with the carriage company has finally decided to retire Prince, our oldest Belgian. I've been driving him the longest of all the drafts that we drive, and I wanted him desperately. He was going to be sold to someone in Arkansas who wanted to keep on driving him. He's 20 years old now, and my boss decided that he's earned his retirement, so he told me that he just couldn't sell him to someone who would continue to keep working him at that kind of pace. He came to me last Saturday.
He still can do light driving, and I've been riding him as lead horse for trail rides for awhile, so he's going into light duty now. When I get my little doctor's gig, we'll go for an occasional stroll around the roads, and I'll probably use him as my second sheriff's posse horse, for the lighter patrols.
He's needing some serious groceries (I hadn't seen him for 6 months, so I was a bit concerned about his weight loss, but he tends to do the same thing every summer down here.) He was born in Canada and lived in Alaska for many years, so he doesn't do very well in the Texas heat, but he tends to put his weight back on in the fall and winter. His teeth have been floated, he's on senior feed, he's in grass up to his knees on the new farm, and I'm hoping to have him back up to his usual fat and sassy self by Christmas.
The first pics are of his arrival here to the farm; the carriage pics are from a couple of years ago, around Christmas, when he's team hitched with Dale, the Perchie. Hope to get him back to that level soon...
You can see how big he is by comparing his head size to Deputyhound. DH is 6 feet tall, and the head is as big as his body... and Prince is the smallest of our Belgians. Fred and Ned are both bigger than him.
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o148/sarhoundX2/horses/PrinceOct2008ComingHome.jpghttp://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o148/sarhoundX2/horses/PrinceScratchingBackOct2008.jpghttp://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o148/sarhoundX2/horses/PrinceHeadSizeShotOct2008.jpghttp://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o148/sarhoundX2/horses/DaleAndPrinceByBullDurhamDec2006LoR.jpghttp://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o148/sarhoundX2/horses/DalePrinceByHamburgerStore.jpg