The things you see when you don’t have your camera
By Gina Spadafori
July 22, 2008
Last night as I often do in the summer, I took the three retrievers (Heather now back in the mix thanks to her life jacket) and met my friend Don and his dogs at the river. There’s a spot that’s popular with dog-lovers, a rocky beach with a natural cove, where the water is shallow and the current not as strong as beyond the protecting point that’s the southern edge of the cove.
The beach is a quarter-mile upstream from the sandy one long beloved by drunken revelers, many of them teens, and among the river regulars there’s a unstated understanding: Dogs on the rocky beach, people on the sandy beach.
Do I have to tell you which beach is a bigger mess? If I do, here’s a hint: Beer cans and disposable diapers.
I usually avoid the river on summer weekends, unless I get there before 7 a.m. The crowds are just too big, and there’s too much drinking, too much pot-smoking, and too many children playing in the river without life jackets for me. (My heavens, what is the matter with some parents? Take your toddler to the beach, let her play in the river without a life jacket and then ignore her while you drink and smoke pot? Aiiiyeeeee!)
Last night the dog-lovers were out in force, probably because we’d all stayed away over the weekend. Tennis balls were flying into the water, and so many black retrievers that we could tell them apart in the water only by the color of their colors. (Heather, in her red life jacket, stood out.)
Then Daisy’s dad said, “Wow, look at those big dogs,” and pointed across the river.
We all looked, and were surprised to see two horse with riders walking across the river. At this time of year, where they were crossing is shallow, but the current so strong a man can’t stand up. The horses managed it easily, though, picking their way across and making landfall just north of us.
Then, to my horror, the riders turned and headed for the dog beach. I called my dogs out of the water and got them collared, and yelled for everyone else to do the same. I’ve been around horses all my life, and I knew this was a dangerous situation. I couldn’t figure out what the riders were thinking, walking their horses into an area with so many dogs, most of whom had likely never seen a horse.
I yelled at the riders, and they waved me off. “These horses won’t spook,” the said, and they stopped on the beach.
One dog barked at the horses, and ran up to sniff the rear hoof of the closest one. I waited the kick to the head that was surely coming, but the horse just swung his head around and looked at the dog, as if to say, “How rude!”
“These are track ponies,” said the man on the paint gelding, gesturing in the general direction of the state fairground, where the harness racing meet is running, the track dark on Monday. “I’m the outrider.” (In case you’re not up on your horse-racing, here’s an article on what outriders do. And the track ponies are always called ponies, even though they’re horses!)
“And I’m a driver,” said the other man, on a red roan who turned out, even more amazing, to be a stallion. “This boy doesn’t know he’s a stallion,” said the man.
I patted the horses, and observed that they were fit and well-groomed, with well-cared-for tack, perfectly fitted. These horses redefined the common — and commonly misused — claim of “bomb-proof” seen in a million “for sale” ads, and at that moment I would have given cash money to have such a fit, healthy and well-mannered trail horse.
But I’m guessing a good track pony is worth his weight in gold, so I wouldn’t even think to offer.
The dozen or so retrievers, for their part, soon decided that the horses weren’t half as interesting as retrieving tennis balls and were soon all back in the water.
The outrider said the paint would kill for peppermints, so I called my brother when I got home. We’ll be going to the harness races Friday night with some peppermints, to see the track ponies at work.
First chickens this spring, then a rescue horse in about three years. Yep, that’s the plan! I’ve seen plenty of horses and dogs get along just fine over the years, but caution is ALWAYS in order in a situation like that.
Comment by C.L.H. — July 22, 2008 @ 10:01 am
I’ve met dozens of track ponies and they are ALL wonderful. As you said, they are smart and gentle. The part that you did not see on their beach ride is that they are lightning-quick! An outrider has to be able to ride his horse at racehorse speed to catch a Thoroughbred if a race goes wrong. If a horse stumbles and loses his jockey, the outriders do their best to catch the loose horse.
Here are a few track and outrider ponies:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/r.....1254821098
http://www.flickr.com/photos/r...../823774511
http://www.flickr.com/photos/r.....2319779945
http://www.flickr.com/photos/r...../474594749
http://www.flickr.com/photos/r.....2641411560
http://www.flickr.com/photos/r...../729997473
http://www.flickr.com/photos/r...../421718133
http://www.flickr.com/photos/r.....1327286970
http://www.flickr.com/photos/r...../957578675
Comment by Sarah K Andrew — July 22, 2008 @ 11:06 am
PS- SO GLAD to hear that Heather is doing well with her jacket. I wonder if they make swimmies for dogs ;^)
Comment by Sarah K Andrew — July 22, 2008 @ 11:07 am
You’ve been around horses all your life and knew it was a dangerous situation??? Huh. That wouldn’t have come close to leaping into my mind if I was there. (IOW, I want you to consider that you perhaps over reacted, just a tiny bit.) I would have waved at the riders, speculated on where they and their horses came from, admired the stallion…. and threw the kong into the river for the dogs to chase.
‘Course, those of us who do real riding, not just around in circles, don’t have any problem with the idea of this sort of thing. Our horses are every kind of bombproof and dogs are just another being in the barnyard.
:-)
(So bummed that the Tevis was cancelled this year. Gina, I was gonna bug you every day to get thee to see some real horses, but alas, it’s not to be.)
Comment by Deanna — July 22, 2008 @ 1:23 pm
Deanna … perhaps if you’d just had this all over the news you’d have been a little more worried about the intersection of a dozen off-leash dogs — most of whom I personally didn’t know — and two horses, both of whom I didn’t know.
When we dog-lovers ask for having a small stretch of the massive American River Parkway set aside for off-leash reaction like Point Isabel, the horse folks are among the most vocal against ANY off-leash dogs, ANYWHERE, even on the parts of the trail system where you almost never see a horse (last night was the first time in nearly 35 years of regular visits to this particular stretch that I’d ever seen horses on it).
I wasn’t worried about MY dogs (or Don’s), since I know they have really good recalls, are not aggressive and are well-socialized. But you’ll have to admit a lot of riders and a lot of dog owners don’t exactly exhibit much in the way of common sense.
That news report … I think the trail the woman was on when her horse was attacked by dogs is part of the Tevis route, by the way.
Finally … this will make you laugh. The harness racers will leave in two weeks for the run of the California State Fair, when the Thoroughbreds (poor cheap claimers … I won’t watch) come in (along with mules and Arabians) for daily racing until the fair is over. The harness-horse driver laughed when I asked him about it, and said, “Those horses aren’t half broke, any of them.”
Hey, don’t hold back!
Sarah … thanks for the links to more of your great pics! I was looking through them this morning for a track pony pic, but was late for work so didn’t get far.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — July 22, 2008 @ 1:44 pm
Gina, thank you once again for making me glad I live where I live! Where I happily share the trail with bikers and hikers. Where people actually train their dogs and horses. And where when we encounter each other, we exchange pleasantries. I live in my little cocoon and forget that things are different elsewhere.
:-)
Comment by Deanna — July 23, 2008 @ 6:37 am