Moose

Moose came to us as a dangerously skinny, ring-worm-infested, snot-nosed weanling, one of three PMU foals we picked up from a local farmer who had shipped dozens of these unwanted babies to Ontario for re-sale. For several weeks we could not get near Moose or his buddies. Their only experiences with humans had not been good ones. But eventually we won them over and they learned to stand very still while we groomed them out in their quarantine paddock. This must have felt especially good because the ring-worm and matted winter coats made them very itchy. Once they discovered grain, carrots, apples and the other good things that came with life off the PMU ranch, their hearts (or stomachs) were conquered!

Moose is four years old, 17hh (and growing!) and starting his training to be a riding horse for my husband, Robert. Despite his impressive size, Moose is a bit of a coward, and still acts like a baby, exploring the world with his lips. He is fully aware of his good looks, too, (probably because people tell him so often), and he likes to pose on the hill in his paddock where the wind catches his mane "just so". Several of our riders' moms have taken to calling him "Fabio", after the long-haired hunk seen on the covers of Romance novels.

Moose's Belgian ancestry is obvious from his conformation, size and colour, but he is quite long-legged and has an elegant, surprisingly fluid trot and canter which are probably inherited from Thoroughbred or some other light-horse breeding. Moose lives with my family and me at Stonegate Farm, north-west of Orillia, Ontario. ~ Lillian Tepera.

Congratulations to Moose for being our January 14^th, 2008 Horse of the Week!