About 20 years ago I heard of 2 horses in MA that needed new homes. It was a brother / sister team of drafts, Belgian / Percheron crosses, Jesse & Annie. The couple who owned them were moving and could no longer keep them. The horses were a hobby for the husband who had always wanted a team.  I went to see them, and when the husband harnessed them and started to ground drive them around the yard I thought "What is wrong here?" Horses and man were hardly in sync! I soon realized that the coupling reins were on the outside of the team. After rethreading the lines, the horses were happy to go where they were pointed. Turns out this man had very little experience with driving and thankfully had no vehicle to hitch them to.

Jesse and Annie came home with me that day. I paid $2-- $1 per horse. For the first year I was sure I had paid too much! Jesse would drag anyone who led him around the yard wherever he chose to go. He and I had several "get smart" sessions resulting in him learning to respect humans a bit. However in harness Jesse was always a willing participant. Annie proved to be very strong-willed and resistant to new ideas. It was a case of "My way or the highway!" with her. She finally convinced me that she was not destined for commercial carriage work by kicking at cars as they passed the carriage. I gave her to a friend, a superb horseman, who had no interest in working her on the street.

Jesse, on the other hand, blossomed. I drove him for a few years in a team with a tried-and-true Belgian, since Jesse had never been hitched to a vehicle. The first time he came to a crosswalk in a city he slammed on the brakes. Immediately the more seasoned horse reached over and bit him on the neck. Jesse jumped ahead and learned a valuable lesson. However, he never lost his worry about manhole covers and was always careful to avoid them, no matter what! Even if he had to take a little hop over one, they were NOT to be trusted.

When the day came to ask him to drive single he truly acted like he had been waiting forever to do it. Without being asked he backed up to the carriage so fast that he stepped on the shafts before I could raise them and broke one. Not only did he excel at driving single but he did so with such pizzazz that several times people would ask, "Is that a Friesian?" as he proudly trotted past. I am sure that in Jesse flows the blood and the spirit of knights' steeds. (Historian's note: In fact, they do.)

Jesse's commercial career spanned many years and many types of events. He pulled carriages for weddings, haywagons and wagonettes for festivals and caroling, our hearse or our caisson for funerals, sleighs filled with bundled passengers to countless versions of "Jingle Bells" over the snow, and floats through parades. He even led the Halloween parade in New Haven, CT, carrying the mayor dressed as Zorro, and this fellow had never sat on a horse before! No parade was too loud, no crowd to big, no challenge too scary.

Jesse will always have a special place in our hearts. I am delighted that he is now in such a special place where he can continue to interact with the public in his golden years!

Beth Podhajecki
Horse &  Carriage Livery of Loon Meadow Farm
Norfolk, CT

Since his arrival at Blue Star Equiculture, Jesse has found his way right into the heart of the herd. He is wonderful friends with Mike - so much so that they will eat from the same flake of hay quite contendedly.

Jesse is also Peggy's knight in shining armor; he's become her protector in the field. When other horses (like Tom) make the mistake of playing too rough with the baby, otherwise-laid-back Jesse is there to ferociously defend her. Beth tells us that Jesse behaved the same way at Loon Meadow Farm:

A few years ago we had a black pony named Gage. He looked like a smaller version of Jesse, and they actually buddied up and became good friends. I had let the drafts out on the grass to graze forgetting that Gage was out there. You see our big team, Doc and Sam, hated ponies. Soon afterwards I heard the horses galloping. Looking out I saw Doc and Sam, 17 hand Percherons, chasing Gage with ears pinned. It did not look good for Gage, who was running as fast as he could possibly run with the big guys bearing down on him. Just then, Jesse, who had been eating, picked up his head and ran to Gage's side putting himself between Gage and the big team as he ran beside the little guy. Doc and Sam went one way and Gage and Jesse the other giving me the chance to get the little guy out safely. I would not have believed it if I had not seen it, but I really think Jesse saved him!

Beth also tells us that in the last few years of his career, Jesse took to bumping people with his nose if they passed in front of him. Not too hard, just enough to say, "Hey, I'm here!" He gave one man in New Haven quite a scare as he walked past him in a crosswalk as they stood at the red light.

Well, Jesse has certainly nudged his way into everyone's heart here at Blue Star Equiculture. His quiet dignity, generous personality and accumulated wisdom speak everyday - "Hey, I'm here!"

"Hey, I'm here!

Video below shows Jesse giving a ride on Memorial Day, 2009.