Personally, I like percherons because they have the lines of a standard horse.
They're just big.
We call them the gentle giants, and they really are.
You know, I'm 4'11", a little over 100 pounds. And I work with a 2,000 lb horse.
He could easily drag me down the road if he wanted to. Or run off. Or anything.
And, they don't do that. They're just very calm and very kind.
And just really good horses.
I started with Jon about 10 and 1/2 years ago. As a stable hand.
So, cleaning the barn, and then I just stayed.
Bob. Bob weighs about 2,000 lbs, he's 18 years old.
Brave Bob is what I like to call him. He's a little bit more nervous than some of the others...
But, he's a hard worker, he really enjoys moving and going.
My favorite horse, actually. I love them all, but Bob has a special place in my heart.
Horses don't have a very big vocabulary. Maybe a couple dozen words that they understand.
But, what they respond mostly to is emotion. Jaylee is a good example...
Of how Bob interacts with her. She can get that horse to do anything.
And, he's really a high strung guy. When he gets excited, he stays excited for a long time
But, she's one who can tone him down, and get done what needs to be done.
I talk to them, I think a little bit for me and a little bit for them.
It's a relationship. For Bob, and for all of them really...
I've known them for a really long time.
And, I want to feel like I'm letting them know what a good job they're doing.
And... yeah.
We do hay, sleigh and carriage rides. Been in operation over 30 years, nearly 40.
When I do a sleigh ride, I'm trapper Jon and I have a big silver fox hat.
And, if I'm doing a hay ride, I'm Cowboy Jon.
I don't really consider myself a cowboy, but I have a cowboy hat.
And, if I'm driving a carriage, very seldom will you see me
driving a carriage without my top hat. So, I'm Gentleman Jon then.
How would I describe Jon? Jon is a umm. Jon is a really good person.
He cares a lot about other people, he wants to do such a great job for people.
And, he wants to give people great memories.
His Myra passed away last year.
His business, I think is the same. But, she was a big part of the company as well.
She supported him for all these years.
You can never stop when you have horses. There's not a day off.
You always have to be on, and you always have to be doing something.
Because there is always something that needs to be done.
Horses to be fed, or things to be fixed. So, it does definitely give him something
that he can keep doing. You know, he likes to say he's retired.
But, I don't think that's actually true.
Everything is so expensive, so it's hard to know where to put what dollar.
And, yet you've got to spend money to keep things working.
Make sure you have enough hay to feed, and to pay for the insurance.
Yeah, that's tough. I often tell people, any business like what I'm doing...
Would have been out of business a long time ago.
I do it mainly... Some people would say out of love.
This is really a family company. You know, we're not blood related
but, we're really good friends, and we take care of eachother.
And we all get along really well.
I know that I can also be a big pain for him. Because I am constantly
Trying to remind him of things we have to do...
Or how we should do things. I don't know. That's uh... I hope in a good way.
There's nothing that woman can't do. Always willing to do something.
Doesn't ever seem to get tired. And, like I say, she's good at what she does.
Everything she does. It doesn't matter what kind of predicament I've given her...
She figures out how to make people happy, and gets it done.
There's not very many people like that.
They are such amazing animals, and they take care of us so well...
I just really do hope that they fell how much we love them.
I give a ride downtown, and somebody comes up. They haven't touched a horse...
For a long time, and they come up. And, they just rub their hands all over the horse.
And say, "Oh, I just can't get enough of that feel, or that smell."
Some people don't understand that.
But, the overall thing is... are you happy what you're doing. Yeah. I'm.
I like doing what I'm doing.