This message is from: "Norsk Wood Works" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
This message is from Phillip Odden and regards a hunting story involving the fjord gelding Herger. On our 80 acre farm in the woods of Northwestern Wisconsin we are able to find a variety of jobs for our fjord horses. Most of the jobs involve driving horses hitched to wagons, carts, or sleighs for pleasure or to accomplish chores that revolve around the seasons. Those who know us understand that we use the horses to haul fire wood, maple sap, and some logs for lumber. Close to our farm there are many trails on public as well as private land to drive or ride the fjords, which we do year around. The biggest and most important trip of the year is the annual elk hunt. An activity that I have done for over thirty years, but an activity that I was ready to give up on if it weren't for the horses. This year I had two fjord mares shod with drill tech studded shoes and powered up for the elk hunt my friend and I had planned for well over a year. I had chosen the mares because my friend was not an experienced horse rider and both of them, Raude and Britta were capable of taking care of a beginner in the often extreme and difficult conditions faced during the hunt. Well my original partner, a veterinarian, had to cancel the hunt just two days before we were to leave. So I asked to join my horse mentor and good friend John Gurtner on his annual elk hunt to Colorado which was to leave 10 days after the original date of departure. I have hunted with John and his horses in the past. John is the most experienced and capable horseman I know and has been taking horses hunting in Colorado for 18 years. In my experience with John, he is always looking for some kind of trouble to deal with. As a junior partner, I did my best to distract him from getting into any irresolvable trouble. John hunts with Arabs that come from endurance stock. They are also show horses and each of the geldings have won extensively in the ring but are very capable of hazard duty in the rough, steep, and rocky mountains at elevations from 10,000 to 11,600. I decided to take a 6 year old gelding that had come to my farm only six weeks prior named Herger. Herger had been trained by the Unraus of Rock Creek, BC. I wanted a horse that was more forward and maybe stronger to keep up with John's Arabs. Herger had mountain experience I figured. So I worked Herger hard for 10 days, cantering up hills, weaving through the woods over logs and creeks and keeping up a strong pace. Herger never had any problems with the training pace and was always willing to go were ever I asked him to go. Didn't seem to be scared of anything. I trusted him and he trusted me. When we got to Colorado suddenly he wasn't as tough as he was in Wisconsin. The elevation makes a difference and the hills are mighty steep and relentless both up and down. But Herger never gave in and never refused to go anywhere. There were many water crossings in a days hunt. Several of them weren't real pretty. Often they involved slippery rock, deep sucky mud and brush on either side. Rather than get pushy Herger learned quickly to pick his way across one step at a time whether he was lead horse or last horse across. When the trails got really rough with big rocks or even worse, loose footing, Herger just slowed the pace which was fine with me even as the rest of the gang walked out of sight. I could trust Herger to stand anywhere at a ground tie. This came in handy in that as the youngest rider, at a little over fifty, I ended up getting off my horse to pick up ( my partner's ) orange hunting hat, gloves, snoose, and even lost sleeping bags more times than I can count. Helps to not have to tie the horse all the time. When the elk finally appeared, as we were riding through an aspen stand, just stepping off the horse and sliding the rifle out of the scabbard, dropping to a knee and firing the gun made the meat getting part of the elk hunt a success. Herger never reacted to the shots but he didn't much care for the smell of dead elk. So I tied him to a tree directly over the elk as we field dressed it. You could see him wriggle his nose in disgust over the smell of the entrails and blood. This is the part that some horses don't get over. One might have to take the blood of the elk and rub it into the nostrils of the horse to get them to settle down. Herger only wriggled his nose and kept it clean, so to speak. Since it was late in the afternoon, we left the two elk on the mountain and made the ride home in the dark, the sparks from shod hooves accenting the cold mountain air as the full moon rose to reveal the far off white tops. The soft moon light created unfamiliar shadows near the trail to which the horses snorted but never shied. The next day we went back to skin and pack the elk out. We used a single pack horse for the larger elk. The smaller elk was boned and fit in my saddle panniers. Herger seemed willing to haul both me and the elk out, so that is the way it went for all but the steepest sustained climbs where I got off. John rode his big strong and agile gelding and lead the pack horse that was now 18 inches wider on each side. The pack horse is the real hero, winding through the trees protecting the dead weight load. Again we returned after dark in the light of the moon. Who said it isn't hard work providing meat for the family. There were other elk to pack out for neighbor camps who road them despicable 4-wheelers to the hunt. Here again it was a relief to find that Herger could walk beside the growling 4-wheelers with no reaction when we got close to them. Other chores we did was to drag in fire wood dallied to the saddle horn. Plenty of wood was needed for the tents as the temps dropped to single digits. A man has to sacrifice a lot in this activity! Several days we were saddling up before five in the morning. The horses were tied to trees in a group after the morning ride to the hunting place. After hunting hours we rode them home being careful to let them drink all they wanted every chance they had as we crossed the icy creeks. Over-nights for the horses were spent on the picket line, blanketed. Come to think of it the horses had some tough duty too helping to provide for the family. But we never whined too much, man nor beast. Next year we will probably even do it again, God and family willing.
