Harlequin Romancer
Stout and steady, this horse has history with both the Amish and a salad family. He has some secret scars that do not affect his love ability. But watch out for his licking as it will eventually lead to a nip.
Statistics - A Description of Harley
Harlequin Romancer goes by the barn name "Harley". He is a Pinto gelding about
15-2 hands (or 62 inches) tall. He was born about 1999.
Another black and white pinto, Harleys coloring has a blending gray stripe about one half
inch wide between the black and white; this is known as lace. He also has the typical four
white legs that iscommon to most Tobiano pintos. And he has a faint white spot on his
upper lip that might pass as a snip.
Harley has some facial scars of unknown origin. The tip of his right ear is split and may
have been caught on a fence or intentionally cut for culling purposes. The right side of his
mouth also has some scaring like a bit had been pulled through his mouth, slicing the lips
and mouth as it passed through.
The Beginning - How We Obtained Harley
In 2013, Harley’s owner was gaining interest in gaited horses and searching for a good
home for Harley. She offered him to the ranch, but while waiting for a friend to deliver him
from the Portland area, a young girl fell in love. Knowing that the family, who also owned a
major salad company, would also take good care of him, she sent him there.
After a year, the salad family felt they did not have sufficient time to allot to Harley and
he was bored. So in May of 2014, the original owner visited the ranch and brought Harley with
her.
Horse Tails - Funny Things & Stories About Harley
We have had a few issues getting Harley to trust us; for example, he will not back out of the
horse trailer. Upon reaching the edge, he fears that first step down as falling off a cliff.
Instead he will scramble turning around in the trailer, which is dangerous to both him and us. So
we decided to take him to a safety clinic and work on bonding and communicating with him.
We learned a lot at the clinic. Harley still will not back out of the trailer, but we better
understand his fears and motives. We also learned that he is very smart, patient, and willing.
He will ground tie and he tries very hard to do the things we ask, if only we clearly
communicate our requests.
When complimenting our experience to the prior owner, she shared that Harley was trained by
an Amish trainer who also taught him to pull cart both as a single or as a two horse team.
As an example of his strength, Harley pulled a 400# wagon out of mud that a tractor could
not move.
The Present - What We Think About Harley
Harley seems to enjoy attention and is a willing hard worker. He was put to ride his first
weekend at the ranch and continues to be a favorite of all who ride him.
There have been some challenges reminding Harley that he must have some ground manners. He
has stepped on a few toes and almost knocked people.
But he is improving and under saddle, he is a great horse. He remains calm and patient when
with a group of horses. He does sometimes turn around on new riders, but willingly accepts
direction and with a bump to his side will get started back down the trail.
