Gord bought Peppy as a 4 year old back in 1984 and rode him for 20 years. They rode many miles of mountain trails, many cattle drives, and paticipated several times in the Calgary Stampede Parade. In 1989, Peppy and Gord were awarded a trophy, for the Best Looking Horse in the entire parade. With his glorious copper coat and undeniable presence, Peppy was definitely a looker.
Peppy has always been the BOSS of our herd. I'm not sure if that was his choice, but for the other horses, he was the unequivical leader. Rarely did we witness Peppy do more than lay an ear back to another horse. He led the herd with dignity and fairness. He would permit the more submissive horses to share a meal with him and the other dominant horses wouldn't even try.
Dessa Hockly has written a terrific book entitled, "Is Your Horse A Rock Star". (<-- Click link to Dessa's web-site - it really is a fun read). After observing hundreds of horses, Dessa identified 8 different personality types and groups them together to help you identify your horses' personality type. She then goes on to describe each personality type by assigning them appropriate names (i.e. The Rock Star, The Sceptic, The Steady Eddy, etc). This is similar to what has been done by Briggs and Myers for people. Dessa then recommends handling and training methods that work best for that particular personality type. Appropriately, Peppy's personality is identified as "The Boss". Peppy was extremely Dominant, extremely Energetic, extremely Aloof, and extremely Afraid - DEAA and Dessa describes him perfectly in her book. She wrote, "The Boss takes life and his job seriously. Come along for the ride if you like. There will be times when you will do most of the work and they will be there to take more of the glory, even act like they did it all by themselves". For students of our program "Just Horsing Around", Peppy was the complete opposite of the type of horse a beginner should start with. This made him an excellent example of how "The Boss" reacts to life. Interestingly, after students had handled all the horses, I would ask them which horse they would like to purchase and many would say Peppy. Not only was he beautiful, his ground manners were impeccible and he was extremely sensitive and responsive, making him a joy to handle. You could think a change of direction and Peppy would comply whereas duller type horses say, "make me". But - Peppy also had a dark side. For years, Peppy's Aloofness made him difficult to catch and we would have to corner him in a coral away from the other horses. His Fearfulness would make him spooky, causing him to spin and bolt for home if I wasn't paying attention, his Dominance could lead to power strugges under saddle, and his Energy was often difficult to contain. Several years ago Kevin Pole suggested we ask him to gallop until he wanted to stop and then push him a little harder. After 45 minutes, Peppy showed no signs of slowing down and we were both drenched in sweat. All Kevin could say is, "he's got a big motor". Peppy's complicated personality could make him a challenging horse but he and Gord just seemed to work. Gord hunted with him, rode parades with him, and used him to gather cows. There seemed nothing Peppy wouldn't do for Gord. Peppy was very sensitive to cues, and such a beautifully smooth ride, that he always made Gord look good. Needless to say, Peppy was no beginner's horse but he was a wonderful leader of our herd and Gord had 23 good years with him.
Farewell Peppy.
No doubt, the "Boys" will miss having you as "The Boss".
