Saturday, June 12, 2004

The First Roundup


Getting our first horses required a long weekend trip to Selmer, TN with a return through Franklin, NC. As we didn't yet have a horse trailer of our own, B's horse trainer at the time, Charlene, was gracious enough to loan us her trailer and accompany us on the trip. Lord knows, as green as we were at the time, we were glad to have the epertise along. As my luck would typically have it, the trip was made without the benefit of trailer brakes. For some reason, the trailer did not like the connection with our truck and we had to defeat the brake system.
Overall, it was not an issue, but it did result in added time coming back through the mountains of western North Carolina. That, and a few extra white knuckles. First on board was Thunder Jam (TJ), a 3yo registered Quarter Horse. After driving all day, we over-nighted in Fayettville, TN and picked TJ up first thing the next morning. It was quite an ordeal getting him to load, but having an experienced hand along certainly made a difference.
Next it was on to Murphy, where B test drove Apollo, a 3yo Arabian, and we decided he was a keeper. Apollo proved to be a much easier 'load' and we were soon on our way home. After spending the night near Maggie Valley, it was on home to unload our first horses at Charlene's, where they would be boarded for the near term.