If you guys are reaching this post from my last one, thank you for supporting. Today’s post is all about a horse from that lesson program, Big Country.

Big Country, sometimes just called “BC”, was a Missouri Foxtrotter, who was about 25 years old. He was an older looking double branded bay roan 16hh gelding owned by Circle C Stables and used by my last lesson program. He had the most fun looking gait, sassy attitude in turnout and a very set way of going for lessons.

Everyone rode Big Country.

He was an amazing teacher, a fun ride, and a goofy personality. He had been through some hard times previous to being at Circle C, but he still gave his all. He had spooky moments, but they were always for a reason. I always classified them as “teachable moments”. If I had a dollar for as many times as he has spooked with a student, I’d probably have close to 50 bucks. These spooks were always preventable, and the biggest one we had was he loped back to me with a student to safety. It was about 10 feet, and I definitely laughed after that lesson about it.

He got one of my shy students back to walk-trot-loping. He was always honest with how he felt, and kept it together even if he was frustrated or confused by the teaching/learning process. Despite his lordosis, he carried the little ones in lessons with ease. I liked to think his advanced lessons helped with his body condition and strengthened his topline. There was one time my small 14year old working student jumped on and rode him for under 3 mins to demonstrate cantering on him. She loved it, and it was the highlight of her night. He was just a joy!!

Unfortunately, he stepped on me really hard teaching a student to pick hind hooves. To this day it still hurts to poke the forever bruise I’ve developed from it. I went through every color of the rainbow with that one.

He was always drooling with his old man teeth. Sometimes to drool would be so long it was like over a foot. The kids always laughed about it, and joked about it getting on me which it did more often than I expected. Circle C had him body clipped twice, and he looked so dapper after each visit. He had a thick teddy coat otherwise, and it really wasn’t needed out here in Arizona for the majority of the year.

Big Country’s best friend in the program was Moo Man. They would run laps together in the turnout. They had the best time, and worked together to get more time to play by out running and outsmarting myself and my helpers. I so miss those days.

Unfortunately, Circle C lost Big Country August 12, 2024. He will be so missed, and I imagine him running free until the day Moo joins him over the rainbow bridge. I’m so grateful for the time I got with that handsome gelding. I truly believe he knew how loved he was in the end. The lesson kiddos never let him go a minute without treats, pets and love. He will be a part of my horse journey forever. Thank you Biggie 🤍