The Artful Dodger
This horse will soon be one of the ranch favorites. He comes to the ranch after being run through local auction and ending up in the "unwanted" pen.
Statistics - A Description of Dodger
The Artful Dodger goes by the barn name "Dodger". He is a registered Tennesee Walking
Horse gelding that was born in 1999 and he can really gait (walk fast) when he wants too.
He stands about 15-2 hands (or 62 inches) tall.
Dodgers main body color is black with random old age white hairs. His mane and tail are also
black. He has a fading white star on his forehead and a short stripe coming out of the white
snip on his nose. He also has short white socks on both the front and
back right legs. At some point in his life he was branded on his left rump cheek; first with
the numbers 725 and above that with a symbol similar to the outline of a bell. Perhaps someday
` we will make the time to search the internet for more information on them.
The Beginning - How We Obtained Dodger
We found Dodger in February 2014. A horse rescue group was trying to save him from the
"unwanted" pen of the local livestock auction barn. A few people had posted comments that
they knew him to be a kind and rideable horse, but our attempts to learn more went unanswered.
We took a chance and bought him over the phone using our credit card.
When we arrived to pick him up, Dodger looked very sound and healthy. But he was very
difficult to catch in the small pen. He dodged behind other horses in the pen; thus the name
The Artful Dodger. It took us almost an hour to get him cornered alone and only then did he
easily slip his nose into the halter.
Horse Tails - Funny Things & Stories About Dodger
Dodger soon took over leadership of the herd. And grazing in the neighbors front yard one
evening, he decided to take the herd for a run down the main roadway. Out of sight, all we
could hear were hooves at a run on pavement.
We didn't know which way the herd was running, left or right on the main road. We jumped into
the truck and hurried to look down both directions, the herd was no where in sight and
there was no evidence (poop) to give us hints as to their direction. The sheriff was
notified and we continued to search. After several hours, they were reported safely in
a fenced yard about two miles away.
The finding deputy was very upset that Dodger had threatened to run him over several times
in his attempts to keep the herd from being captured. We were just happy to get everyone
home safely. And we learned our lesson to keep Dodger securely penned up when the other
horses are loose.
The Present - What We Think About Dodger
Dodger has had substantial training. He both neck reins and accepts direction through leg and
body cues. It is hard for us to fathom him as "unwanted" by anyone, let alone by an owner who
actually knew him.
He continues to be wary when we try and catch him, but our gentle approach makes him give up
much sooner than he used to. He remains wary in other ways to, constantly watching while he
is tied. And a relentless caution during the trail rides. Admittedly this is our first
ownership of a Tennessee Walking Horse (TWH) and we are not sure if this is just his
personality or a breed trait (as Riddle, also a TWH, has a similar cautious demeanor).