It Takes A Team

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12/14/09, Dutchtown, MO - We continue to move south, just west of the Mississippi River. Like yesterday, the terrain was pretty hilly, proving a hard pull for the horses.  A lot of ups and downs requires about twice the calories as pulling though flat terrain. At night, they spend more time laying down and resting, and less time eating. Fortunately, I have plenty of oats to replace lost calories in a short period of time, otherwise they would be losing condition.  It’s a rare night after a day of pulling, when I can get more then a 70 pound bale of hay in the three of them.  Days like this, I feed about 20 pounds of oats, per horse, per day.

The picture below, shows us stopped on the side of the road, while Denise ran up to the Post Office in Jackson, MO.  All of the Christmas trees were a little big for the wagon, so we weren’t tempted to buy one (I just had to tell Denise- ‘There’s no way!’)

Later in Jackson, we stopped at a supermarket for lunch. After unhitching the team, watering, and feeding them, we both had a chance to go in for a little grocery shopping.  Throughout lunch, a lot of folks stopped by to talk, and see the horses, including a reporter from the local newspaper.

As always, they managed to put a few smiles on some young faces.

With only one small hill standing between us and some flat ground, we, and the team, are looking forward to some easier going.

This time of year, it’s nice to be headed straight south.  With any amount of luck, we’ll manage to keep ahead of the worst of the winter weather. If I find a good seamstress, maybe I can get a Hawaiian shirt made for Doc - I think he would look rather sporting!