Quirks

For the last couple of weeks I have been riding a friend's horse for him. Koko is a 10- year-old chestnut Arabian gelding. He has a quirk about trailer loading. My friend told me that if Koko refused to get into my trailer, I should take a chain, like the one at the end of a lead rope and jingle it. Then I should act like I put around his nose, but not to really put it on him, and he will get in. Well, it works every time.

I am really beginning to enjoy the warmer weather here in Illinois. I am actually wearing shorts today! I am checking out the possibility of purchasing a horse within a month. She is a sweet dark brown mare with a star and a snip on her nose. I don't know much else about her, but I spoke with the owner last night, and he has decided to drop the price for me. Now if only I could find a place to keep her! I had also better get my breeches out of that box in the camper to see if they even still fit! If they don't, I suppose I will have to start riding or running. Otherwise, this horse is going to be VERY expensive!

Kladrupy. It's a town in the Czech Republic, two hours or so by train from Prague. It also happens to be the name of a rare breed of Czech horses, and I am on a mission to find them. Only they're proving to be elusive.

Today Scot (S.O) humored me and we took the train to a town named Stribroi, where we were instructed by guidebooks to take the bus to Kladruby; there was no mention of horses, but there is a big famous monestary there, so Kladruby does appear in one or two guidebooks. Only in small-town Czech Republic the bus, too, seemed a little elusive. So after waiting around a bit, we realized it was only six kilometers, which, when you do the math, isn't that much at all--not any more than what Scot and I normally tackle on a weekend Sunday in the mountains. It turned out to be a lovely walk through the countryside, and when we arrived at Kladruby, we were just in time for lunch of gravy, beef, cranberries, and the ubiquitous dumplings at a local pub.