The primary reason for moving to the farm, and the reason we planned it out for so long, was that Gary Lee wanted to have horses. After working on the barns to renovate the facilities, and considering many kinds of horses, we finally bought a team of Haflinger geldings on July 4, 1999. Archie and Asher come to us from Rolling 10 Acres in Pecatonica, Illinois. They are 6 years old, half-brothers, and very well-trained for harness work. We got their wagon and harnesses with them. They will be going to our teacher and trainer for a few weeks so she can start them out on saddle work before we bring them home.
First, though, they had to have a vet exam. This is always a good idea when buying a horse, so we had Dr. Lowry come out to Rolling 10 Acres to check the boys out. These photos were taken while he was there on Friday, July 9.
Archie is the "smart" horse. He takes the street side in harness, and seems to be the leader when the two are playing freely in the pasture. He stands about 14.1 hands. Here Gary is grooming him before the vet arrives.
Archie may look sleepy here because he really is. It was very hot, about 95 degrees outside the barn and 85 inside.
Asher is the "little brother" type even though he stands about an inch taller. He lets Archie plot the mischief, as he takes the curb side in harness. Compare this with the photo of Archie above, and you will see how nicely matched they are as a team.
Here Dr. Lowry checks Asher's feet. He also tested the boys' heart and breathing both before and after exercise, examined teeth and eyes, and checked their movement and gaits for any flaws.
Asher takes a little run up and down the road so Dr. Lowry can check his action. Just like a halter class at a show!
Here Linda and Dr. Lowry are measuring Asher's height, which was about 14.2 hands or 58 inches.
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