Awesome Cole

Awesome Cole 

Ellen and I were coming home from a trail ride the other day.  I was on Cole, she was on Dante, and we had crossed the river and were going up the hill.  I glanced back and saw some riders that were behind us starting to cross the river.  We heard someone say "walk" really loud.  It was hard to make out what was going on because we were looking down through tree branches, but we heard a noise and a splash.  A horse went down.

The bottom of the river crossing is mostly smooth, and in the summer it grows some very slippery algae.  A rushing horse can easily slip and fall.  Ellen and I were watching to see what was happening.  We saw a horse come out of the river with her rider following.  The horse was loose and heading home.

I hopped off Cole and turned him perpendicular to the trail to block it.  On one side of the trail there is a ditch and the other side is a cliff.  By now, we knew the horse was Candy.  She is a Thoroughbred that did very well on the track, spent some years having babies and at the age of 20 started a successful new career as a trail horse.  She lives a few doors down from where we keep our horses.

She was trotting up the hill, and when she saw Cole, she got slower and slower.  I had some treats in my hand, and I was trying to lure her to me.  I guess somewhere along the way, someone told Candy not to take candy from strangers because she stopped, turned around and trotted back down the hill to be with her friends. 

At that point, I turned to look at Cole.  He was completely blocking the trail--all parked out like a proper Morgan--looking huge for a horse that is only 14.2 hands.  He had no intentions of budging.  No wonder Candy gave up.  Dante was just eating the underbrush...

In any sort of crisis, there is no other horse I would want to be with more than Cole.  He always maintains his cool and knows what to do.  The best was the day I had to leave him loose on the trail to dislodge Kevin, who was hanging upside down from his stirrup.  Cole stood like a statue that day, too.  Whatever we need from him, he gives it to us.  If there is something scary, he is always willing to take the lead and show the other horses they are safe.  Then there was the day he herded the barn goats back home... 

Cole is just an awesome horse