Fason - Ponying in the Fields

This week I've been going for long walks in the fields with Tao the haflinger.  We have been ponying Fason along, to give him a chance to stretch his legs out of his regular paddock and incorporate some hill work on varied terrain.  Tao is about the most solid citizen I know, and though he be but small he is mighty.  I've known Tao since he was a youngster, and he is about twelve now.  As long as I've known him, he has been a thinker.  For years his "big spook" has been to stop, slowly turn and face the scary thing, and if the other horses in the group are freaking out and no one is watching him, Tao will pause to have a snack.

This makes him the perfect pony horse to introduce the off-track thoroughbreds to riding out in the back forty.  He calmly teaches them about getting close to the neighbor llamas:  "You think they look funny now?  Give it a few weeks and look again once they've been shaved for the summer!".  Tao explains what to do if you are truly afraid of something: "Now you can get close to me, but don't bite me.  If it's really a nerve-wracking situation you should stop and have a snack."

Tao's wisdom on riding with border collies includes:  "The dogs are the bait, if there's really a predator they will get eaten first.  Mostly they just run around and flush the birds and rabbits out of the tall grass so they don't surprise us when we ride by.  If Kim's feeling particularly magnanimous she'll dispense dog treats AND HORSE TREATS so it's best to make friends with the dogs so you're next in line for delectables."

By the end of our long walk around the pastures on Monday Tao had Fason duly indoctrinated in the ways of Bit of Honey Ambling.  Fason gave up his pre-race jigging and calmly moseyed around the fields with us.  He had a loose lead rope with his head down and snagging a mouthful of grass as he went along after Tao had thoroughly demonstrated and clarified the best way to enjoy an afternoon walk.

Since Tao is 14.2 hands tall and Fason is 17.2 hands tall we are an entertaining little group to watch.  The llamas sure thought so, each time we walked past their fence line they all hustled over to get a better view of our mismatched entourage.  Hopefully next time we will get photos of me mounted on Tao, with my shoulders still only just reaching Fason's shoulders.