Max In Harness

Today was another good day for the horses. For the first time ever, our Clydesdale, Ambrosius Maximus (Max), wore a harness. It is also the first time I put a work harness on a horse by myself.

Tracy was off on a trail ride, so I decided to spend some quality time with Max. Max has been getting markedly better about being handled and obeying voice commands, so setting a harness on him and seeing how he reacted seemed a logical next step. In the past, he had bolted during training sessions but this seemed more a case of bad manners and wanting to play rather than panic, as was the case with Aggie.

Things started a bit rough as Max wanted to munch the fresh spring grass, not pay attention to me. I finally got him to the snubbing tree and showed him the harness. No bad reaction there, though he was a still pouting about not being able to munch grass. Having last been on Aggie, the harness was ridiculously too large and needed a few adjustments. In the end it fit quite well.

With the distraction of the fresh grass, Max could not have cared less about the harness being on his back. So I let him munch for a bit then took him back to the main pasture where there is less distraction. Now it was time to see what he really thought.

I lead him all around the pasture and he never seemed to mind the harness at all. Then I thought, “I wonder if he can drive?” I was not sure he would take a bridle, and did not have one handy anyway, so I hooked the lines to his halter.

Progress was a bit erratic, but he took to driving well. Most of the time, I could get him within about five feet of where I intended. After about 20 minutes he was getting the hang of the voice commands and the pull of the lines.

We made one last triumphant lap of the main pasture then it was a reward of 45 minutes of uninterrupted munching among the wildflowers of the lower pasture.

Horse Blanket

A short time ago, I was reading some beer reviews in a national magazine. In one of the reviews, the statement was made that the subject beer had a "warm and pleasing horse blanket aroma and flavor". I have seem similar statements many times over the years. While this particular reviewer meant their statement as a compliment, it set me to thinking.

I have a long association with horses, currently I own three, and it has never crossed my mind to taste their blankets. In fact I cannot imagine it would be very pleasant at all. Ever see what the water looks like after washing one of those things? This leads me to believe that those who created and continue to propagate this description have never been particularly intimate with a real horse blanket.

Yet why does the description of beer as having horse blanket aroma/taste continue to be used? My best guess is that it was used once and became a catch phrase and, like most catch phrases, became so over used that it lost any association with its origin. No literal meaning remains.

These days the "horse blanket" description is most used in reference to Guinness, which to me tastes nothing like a what I would imagine a horse blanket to taste like. I wonder if the first beer so described really did taste like a horse blanket. If it did, I would bet that is why no one remembers it.

Would you really want to taste my blanket?