My Little Palomino Plug

By Laura Crum


Some of you may remember that I wrote awhile back about my new horse, a little (14.3) grade palomino gelding I bought about a year ago now to ride the trails with my son. (See my post “The New Horse”, May 08) Now this horse is not the least bit fancy. He looks a little out of place in my corrals, which (other than Sunny) are occupied by some pretty nicely bred Quarter Horses. Sunny looks like a cross between a pony and a QH. Or maybe a miniature draft horse. He’s coarse, and a bit clunky to ride. I have no idea how he’s bred; he was bought by a horse trader in a sale in El Paso, and was said to have come from old Mexico. I was told he was about eight to ten years old. The vet said he was somewhere between twelve and fifteen. It figures. I was neither surprised nor bothered by this info. Par for the course in the horse trading world.

Sunny is not a particularly well broke horse. He’ll walk, trot, lope around an arena in his clunky way, and do a passable stop. He carries his head low and rock steady—its just his natural head carriage. He does not have much rein on him; I frequently resort to direct reining him when I mean business about the fact that he is to go where I point him. You can rope on him, but he’s too slow and clumsy to be much good at it. His gaits are nothing to brag about, though he is sure-footed outside. He makes an effort (almost every ride) to see if he can be the boss. He isn’t dangerous; he just tries his rider in small ways. The vague gesture at a nip or kick, the small crowhop, the half-hearted attempt at balking. He spooks once in a great while, though overall he’s not a spooky horse. Fortunately he’s too clunky to spook as effectively as my old cutting horse, Gunner, and since I spent ten years riding one that can really move, I’m not threatened by Sunny’s boogers. I may have to grab the horn, but I stay on (cursing the little shit). Sunny never gets away with dominating me. I win every round. But he doesn’t give up. He’s a persistant critter.

At this point, you may be wondering what I see in the horse. Believe me, at times I wonder this, too. However, Sunny does have some virtues. In fact, he has exactly the attributes I need right now in a mount. Sunny is a reliable trail horse. Okay, I just got back from a two hour ride and he made two sudden, 90 degree, swinging gate spooks, one at a green tarp and one at a hostile stump. But overall, he’s very steady on the trail. The spooks are the exception, not the rule. And once he’s had his little jump, he goes right on, quiet and calm. He’s been on a lot of trail rides in his life; he’ll go anywhere. Nothing bothers him. Not crossing busy roads, not wading in the surf, not going solo through the wild woods, not deer leaping out of the trees under his nose. He does not jig. He’s surefooted and a trooper climbing hills. He’s slow but steady on any steep descent. He will stand like a park bench under any circumstances, if I decide to stop for awhile. And he gives my son’s bomb proof trail horse, Henry, a quiet, reliable lead.

Since the one thing I was looking for when I bought Sunny is a solid, reliable trail horse to ride with my son, I’m quite satisfied with my purchase. Sunny didn’t cost much and he’s sound. I run him and Henry barefoot and they do fine (saves me a bundle). Sunny’s an easy keeper, too—always a good trait in a horse. And I actually enjoy his ornery little personality. He’s a smart horse, and I like smart horses. His attempts to dominate me amuse me. And when I decide I’m gonna teach him something (like how to take his wormer like a gentleman) he learns fast. Though I have to get the point across with a certain degree of firmness. Yep, little old Sunshine and I are on the same page.

But here’s the real truth. I have a hard time admitting this, but I like this horse partly because he’s so darn cute. I don’t mean fancy, well-bred cute. I mean little girl’s dream pony cute. Sort of giant stuffed animal cute. Everybody reacts to the horse this way,. Experienced horse people, tough old team ropers, one and all get a grin when they look at Sunny, and want to pet him. Little girls mob him. I rode by the local boarding stable on my way to the trails and a teenage girl came running out of the barn screaming, “That’s the cutest horse I ever saw!”. A middle-aged lady stopped me and begged to give the darling palomino a carrot. And I smile every single morning when I walk down the hill to feed the horses and see his bright gold shape in the corrral. Sunny is just that cute.

I never had a palomino before and I am constantly surprised by how much I enjoy his color. What is it with that bright gold shiny coat. He even sparkles in the sunshine in the winter, despite the fact that I don’t blanket and he’s hairy. I just enjoy looking at the side of his neck while I ride.

So here’s the deal. Its all very well for me to go on and on about how cute the horse is, but it just so happens that I took Sunny for a ride through the hills this afternoon (it was 70 degrees and sunny—weatherwise—here by California’s Monterey Bay) and for once someone was there to take photos as I got ready to go. The local newspaper occasionally decides I am worth a story (local mystery author with horses), and they sent a reporter and photographer out today. And now you can see for yourself. Below are a couple of photos of me and my little palomino plug. Is he not every little girl’s dream come true? And can you see why he makes me smile, little recalcitrant mule that he is?

The photos are courtesy of Shmuel Thayler, photographer for the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Thanks, Shmuel.

Cheers,

Laura