Excellent Equine Adventure

Horses at JLD Equine. (Photo by BobbaLew.)

Yesterday (Monday, May 7, 2012), in an attempt to fill the tremendous void since my wife’s passing, I visited our old friend Karin (“car-in”) Morgan at JLD Equine.
JLD is on the east side of Rochester (N.Y.), and stables perhaps 60-70 horses, mostly privately-owned.
Karin is an old friend of my wife, a native of the Bronx in New York City, and very opinionated.
Karin, originally Karin Wahlstrom (“WALL-strum”) became fast friends with my wife during college, the city-mouse and the country-mouse. (My wife was the country-mouse.)
JLD was an easy find, except I drove right by on first try.
After turning in I drove past various barns, and there was Karin, exercising her Appaloosa “Streak” in a riding-ring.
Karin owns two horses: “Streak” and “Cody.”
Both are geldings, that is, castrated males.
Cody is almost 30 years old, and very ornery.
He likes to roll in mud. His coat was caked with dirt.
He was in a pasture, but Karin got him.


Karin with Cody. (Photo by BobbaLew.)

Karin is very much a horse-lover, much like I love trains.
My schtick is railfanning, Karin’s equestrianism.
I had taken along our dog, a head-strong puller. I had been told she’d be okay as long as she was on leash.
We got out and went over to the riding-ring.
“Streak” was trotting, and Karin was “posting,” what I tried to do not too long ago, and found I couldn’t.
Posting is an up-and-down motion that partially cancels the bounce of trotting.
It involves leg-extensions I no longer can do.
When I was a teenager, I worked in a boys camp stable, and my horseback riding got fairly good while there.
That was about 1960; now I can’t even mount a horse without a step-stool.
And my horseback-riding was western. Karin’s is “Dressage” (“dress-ODG;” as in “Dodge”), a system of telling the horse what to do with small silent body-motions.
Karin spun Streak slowly on a dime. Little prompting was needed.
Western is a lot of neck-reining and bridle-pulling.
Dressage was apparently a French way of controlling horses used in battle. Control had to be silent.

Photo by BobbaLew.

Karin on “Streak.” (Streak is listening to Karin.)

I had taken along my camera, but found driving both a camera and a rambunctious dog was near impossible.
Karin dismounted, and put Streak away in his stall.
It was the first time our dog had ever been in a horse-barn. Strong smells abounded.
Karin then took over the dog so I could drive my camera.
We went to a pasture and got Cody.
We then went to another pen where two mares were out with two newborn foals.
One was only a few days old, the other a few weeks.
Our dog was unexcited; this was fortunate. I was expecting her to be a handfull.
She goes bonkers over cows, alpacas, and deer, but horses are apparently big dogs.

Photo by BobbaLew.

The two newborn foals with their mothers.

Other horses in various pastures were curious. Who were we? “We’ve never seen you before.”
Although the mares with their foals paid little attention to us.
I left after about two hours, still not a horse-lover.
But I understand Karin. Most people aren’t train-lovers, and I have a hard time explaining.
My visit was just filling the awesome void of my wife’s passing, and it’s nice Karin can do this.
I didn’t come away a horse-lover, but appreciate Karin sharing her enthusiasm with me.
Back to reality; an empty house, and supper to make.
At almost age-67, Karin is the oldest rider at JLD; although there are older riders from other stables that compete.
Karin doesn’t compete — can’t afford it. All she does is dressage training, and ride off into the sunset. A horse-lover supreme.