Picked out of a hat with several names in the running, the name, Duke, won.

Actually, a lot of family issues have been solved this way. That is, by drawing one out of a hat; short stick vs long stick; rolling dice; or toss of a coin. It has helped to avert several family feuds where no meeting of the minds met.

The name fits him well. He is a gentleman of a horse in every way. Standing about 15 hands, he is all black with a beautiful white star, and three white socks. Right now, in this cold winter weather though, he looks more like a big fuzzy fuzzball.

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June 2020 will mark the fourth year he has been here. It had been a long time since a new horse was brought to the property. A couple bad mistakes were made. The biggest one was not keeping him isolated from the herd for 1-2 weeks. He should have not been allowed to touch noses with the other horses until that time period was over. Many ailments are transmitted through noses, and an upper respiratory illness hit full blast within a week of his arrival.

That was poor management. The high veterinarian bill proved just how poor a move it was. Every other horse in the barn was sick, except Duke, of course. He was the carrier! Two long weeks of coughing was heard from the barn day and night. Wellness and good health came back to all with much relief.

He was put in with the herd a little too quickly as well. He became ‘high horse’ immediately. Because he is a well-tempered horse, that did not cause too much upset. In some herds it can be a huge issue with some horses getting very beat up. Thankfully it was not a problem.

He integrated quickly with students, family and friends. They like his gentle personality, and he is pretty!

He does not like folks mad at him and will leave the barn if able. Part of that is because of his good disposition. It also seems to be the nature of his breed. He is a Tennessee Walking Horse. They are very mild tempered horses.

He came to us late in his life so little is know of how he was trained, raised and handled. Though he responds very well to everyone who rides him. He is easy to work on the ground. He can get a bit jacked-up if his rider gets a little too forceful. Though this is true of most horses. A rider can make them or break them.

Come on out and meet him, along with all the horses. If it is a pretty day, you may get a pony ride on him!