| Foxy By Lalita Creighton |
Real Foxy Wolf, a.k.a. Foxy, is a dark bay 18 year old registered Quarter Horse gelding
that I've owned for 11 years. My first ride on him was in March of 1994 in an outdoor arena
at the stable I boarded my previous horse. As we quietly cantered around the ring, someone
started up a chainsaw to trim some bushes along the edge of the arena. Foxy's only reaction
was to swivel his ears towards the sound and very slightly raise his head. I also took him out
on their trails by himself and he didn't mind going up and down hills, across the creek, under
the power lines, you name it, he went there. That willingness, and the smoothest lope ever,
sold me on him and I bought him on the spot. He wasn't very pretty at the time-truthfully, I
thought he was pretty ugly. He was underweight (the stable had bought him at an auction and
he hadn't had time to put on a lot of weight) and his fuzzy winter coat was dry and in horrible
shape-it felt like straw. It was also multi-colored from the various scars growing in dark, with
the rest of the coat bleached out almost to a golden color. He had this strange way of picking
up his hocks, he lifted his knees almost like he was gaited, and he didn't know one lead from
the other, so I knew we would have some work to do.
At the time, I wanted to show Western Pleasure so I spent many hours working with Foxy,
taking lessons, and I had 30 days of professional training put on him to get us started.
Although we were never stellar, we did get to where we could go to the local fun shows and
usually at least place if not win in the WP classes. He also usually placed in Hunter Under
Saddle. In addition to showing, I rode Foxy on trails at the boarding stable and at various
local parks.
We usually rode at Greensfelder, West Tyson, Queeny, or Cuivre River State Park, but after
a year or so of trailering we started going further, and went riding at places such as St.
Francois State Park, St. Joe State Park, and the Berryman Trail. Several of our trail rides
were overnight rides at Greensfelder. We would traditionally ride a particular trail at night if
we were on an overnight trip, but we always rode it during the day to check for obstacles
and would take flashlights with us. Sometimes there was as many as 20 of us riding during
that night ride. Foxy never once offered to get scared, and was always happy to lead a
group around the trail or wait for a straggler while the rest of the group went on ahead.
At the end of 1996, we stopped showing and I moved him from the boarding stable to our
home in Jefferson County where we still live. Of course, being an avid trail rider I
immediately began to search out more and new places to ride. For the next four years, we
went to many places we hadn't been before in Missouri including Sam Baker State Park,
conservation areas (Meramec, Forest 44, Long Ridge, Daniel Boone, Little Indian Creek),
portions of the Ozark Trail (Trace Creek and Courtois sections) and Bell Mountain Trail in
Mark Twain National Forest. During this time, our partnership really blossomed while riding
these more challenging trails. I also discovered that in addition to willingly standing tied in tie
stalls or to a trailer all night, he ties on a high-line and is a willing camper.
One of his nicknames is 'Old Reliable' and several times people have asked us to ride with
them when they take a new horse on trails for the first time. If there is an obstacle on the trail
that every other horse backs away from, Foxy will calmly walk up and negotiate through it.
Although for safety reasons I can't recommend the practice, I frequently rode him by myself
on familiar trails. I honestly can't recall him every truly spooking at anything. Flocks of wild
turkeys taking off in a meadow sound startlingly similar to helicopters, but that didn't bother
him. Riding under a bridge over Interstate 44 didn't faze him, even when the semis thundered
overhead. Deer, mountain bikes, ATV's, tents, backpackers, and other common trail
'bogeymen' never bothered him.
He likes other animals as well, including dogs, cats, and even potbellied pigs. Goats,
however, are not his favorite friends. I had hauled to a private residence to ride, and after I
was saddled up and waiting for the rest of the group, the owner's goats came to investigate.
Foxy never spooked or ran, but any time a goat walked up he stepped back. It didn't take
long for ALL the goats to figure out they could get this great big thing to back away from
them. Until then, I didn't know how agile a horse could be in reverse!
In 2001 I didn't ride at all due to my work schedule and getting married, and in 2002 Foxy
was diagnosed with heaves (COPD-chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder). Through
careful management, I was still able to ride him, but we had to scale back on the length and
ruggedness of the trails that we rode.
In 2003, I purchased another Quarter Horse gelding (dark bay, too, but only 3 years old)
and officially gave Foxy to my husband David, a beginning rider. He had been on horses a
grand total of four times at this point if you count the pony ride when he was 12. It gave him
confidence and me peace of mind to know that he had such an experienced, well-behaved
horse to ride. My new horse isn't as trail-savvy as Foxy yet, but we have many years and
miles to practice, and I've relied heavily on Foxy to help us through the learning curve.
Unfortunately, Foxy's heaves have been worse than usual this year due to the dryness and
the dust so is presently semi-retired. We're hoping that next year doesn't prove to hold a
drought for our area, and that Foxy will be closer to his usual self. We dread the day he has
to retire fully, and hope that it is still many years in the future.
Update: Foxy is now retired full time and enjoying his retirement at a friend's place in Troy,
where he is enjoying lazy days and lots of attention.
that I've owned for 11 years. My first ride on him was in March of 1994 in an outdoor arena
at the stable I boarded my previous horse. As we quietly cantered around the ring, someone
started up a chainsaw to trim some bushes along the edge of the arena. Foxy's only reaction
was to swivel his ears towards the sound and very slightly raise his head. I also took him out
on their trails by himself and he didn't mind going up and down hills, across the creek, under
the power lines, you name it, he went there. That willingness, and the smoothest lope ever,
sold me on him and I bought him on the spot. He wasn't very pretty at the time-truthfully, I
thought he was pretty ugly. He was underweight (the stable had bought him at an auction and
he hadn't had time to put on a lot of weight) and his fuzzy winter coat was dry and in horrible
shape-it felt like straw. It was also multi-colored from the various scars growing in dark, with
the rest of the coat bleached out almost to a golden color. He had this strange way of picking
up his hocks, he lifted his knees almost like he was gaited, and he didn't know one lead from
the other, so I knew we would have some work to do.
At the time, I wanted to show Western Pleasure so I spent many hours working with Foxy,
taking lessons, and I had 30 days of professional training put on him to get us started.
Although we were never stellar, we did get to where we could go to the local fun shows and
usually at least place if not win in the WP classes. He also usually placed in Hunter Under
Saddle. In addition to showing, I rode Foxy on trails at the boarding stable and at various
local parks.
We usually rode at Greensfelder, West Tyson, Queeny, or Cuivre River State Park, but after
a year or so of trailering we started going further, and went riding at places such as St.
Francois State Park, St. Joe State Park, and the Berryman Trail. Several of our trail rides
were overnight rides at Greensfelder. We would traditionally ride a particular trail at night if
we were on an overnight trip, but we always rode it during the day to check for obstacles
and would take flashlights with us. Sometimes there was as many as 20 of us riding during
that night ride. Foxy never once offered to get scared, and was always happy to lead a
group around the trail or wait for a straggler while the rest of the group went on ahead.
At the end of 1996, we stopped showing and I moved him from the boarding stable to our
home in Jefferson County where we still live. Of course, being an avid trail rider I
immediately began to search out more and new places to ride. For the next four years, we
went to many places we hadn't been before in Missouri including Sam Baker State Park,
conservation areas (Meramec, Forest 44, Long Ridge, Daniel Boone, Little Indian Creek),
portions of the Ozark Trail (Trace Creek and Courtois sections) and Bell Mountain Trail in
Mark Twain National Forest. During this time, our partnership really blossomed while riding
these more challenging trails. I also discovered that in addition to willingly standing tied in tie
stalls or to a trailer all night, he ties on a high-line and is a willing camper.
One of his nicknames is 'Old Reliable' and several times people have asked us to ride with
them when they take a new horse on trails for the first time. If there is an obstacle on the trail
that every other horse backs away from, Foxy will calmly walk up and negotiate through it.
Although for safety reasons I can't recommend the practice, I frequently rode him by myself
on familiar trails. I honestly can't recall him every truly spooking at anything. Flocks of wild
turkeys taking off in a meadow sound startlingly similar to helicopters, but that didn't bother
him. Riding under a bridge over Interstate 44 didn't faze him, even when the semis thundered
overhead. Deer, mountain bikes, ATV's, tents, backpackers, and other common trail
'bogeymen' never bothered him.
He likes other animals as well, including dogs, cats, and even potbellied pigs. Goats,
however, are not his favorite friends. I had hauled to a private residence to ride, and after I
was saddled up and waiting for the rest of the group, the owner's goats came to investigate.
Foxy never spooked or ran, but any time a goat walked up he stepped back. It didn't take
long for ALL the goats to figure out they could get this great big thing to back away from
them. Until then, I didn't know how agile a horse could be in reverse!
In 2001 I didn't ride at all due to my work schedule and getting married, and in 2002 Foxy
was diagnosed with heaves (COPD-chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder). Through
careful management, I was still able to ride him, but we had to scale back on the length and
ruggedness of the trails that we rode.
In 2003, I purchased another Quarter Horse gelding (dark bay, too, but only 3 years old)
and officially gave Foxy to my husband David, a beginning rider. He had been on horses a
grand total of four times at this point if you count the pony ride when he was 12. It gave him
confidence and me peace of mind to know that he had such an experienced, well-behaved
horse to ride. My new horse isn't as trail-savvy as Foxy yet, but we have many years and
miles to practice, and I've relied heavily on Foxy to help us through the learning curve.
Unfortunately, Foxy's heaves have been worse than usual this year due to the dryness and
the dust so is presently semi-retired. We're hoping that next year doesn't prove to hold a
drought for our area, and that Foxy will be closer to his usual self. We dread the day he has
to retire fully, and hope that it is still many years in the future.
Update: Foxy is now retired full time and enjoying his retirement at a friend's place in Troy,
where he is enjoying lazy days and lots of attention.
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