We are not just about oxen here on the homestead. We do have a couple horses that retired to Idaho with us when we moved from the ranch in Montana. They’ve earned their retirement and are now teaching our children to ride.
TW is the youngest of the boys our old horse King has patiently born with their learning to ride.
MJW is becoming a good rider, although his fearlessness and ambition still exceed his riding skills.
Last spring we had the opportunity to trim what may be one of the last teams of Belgian Draft horses used for logging in the area. It was the first time the boys had ever seen draft horses. PW, who is into horses, took the opportunity to try and hold up a huge draft foot!
MJW, not to be outdone, also held a draft foot, with a little help from daddy.
This summer CW undertook the job of nailing on his first pair of front shoes on King. Kit was testing out what it would be like to sit and supervise while his sons do the shoeing work.!
CW, at 12 years old, did an excellent job of shoeing the horse. King walked away sound and the shoes stayed on, the ultimate test of a good shoeing job.
King is getting old but he still has enough spunk to give the bigger boys a good ride. It will be a sad day on the homestead when he is no longer around to babysit.
His apprentice, Scout, is coming along nicely and at about 10 years old he is becoming somewhat trust worthy with the older boys, as they gain experience.
Scout is also an experienced pack horse as he is pressed into service from time to time. This is the pack outfit Kit and the boys and granddaddy took into the back country of the Selway Wilderness for a week-long pack trip. Five sleeping bags on the top mantee and food in the pack boxes. Horse, men and boys hiked 50 miles in rough terrain over logs and through brush, and across collapsing pack bridges, a good part of it in the rain!
Three horses make it nicer to ride. More boys can ride this way and they can go further. This summer Kit took on the middle horse for a dear friend and tuned the horse up so the owner felt comfortable riding her again. She's been a good horse and Kit sure has enjoyed riding every day, especially when the boys can go along.
The horses, like the oxen, are teaching our children lessons that they wouldn't otherwise learn.