I bet you are all dying to know this, so here it is: THE STORY
OF THE MOOSE!
On a farm somewhere a little standardbred was
born. He had been stuck in the birth canal, so his nose was deformed and he had slight brain damage. This special little
foal grew up a bit. He was registered and branded with a number on his neck. (We do not know if he stayed with the breeder
or was sold. You pick and be creative for that part.) He was then gelded and started as a pacer. He was no good
at pacing and racing so they abandoned him. He was taken in by the wonderful people at the Humane Association.
A young lady named Cara Kettenbach was looking
for a companion horse for her baby and also a horse she could ride if need be. She fell in love with his huge nose and
adopted him. He had no name or papers at the time of adoption so she named him "Odysseus" or Odie for short. Odie played
buddy to the baby hanoverian and Cara and her trainer Patti-Jo worked Odie in dressage. He prooved to be a little bit
of a waddler and couldn't canter. He was used in some lessons and quickly became a favorite for both his looks and goof-ball
personality. Cara called the stanardbred registry and through the number on his neck was able to identify the horse. Odie's
registered name is "SNOTWALKER". Yes, you read that right, Snotwalker. The Walker of Snot. Snotty Walks. She was so disappointed,
she almost cried.
Enter me- Lauren (me) who had known Patti Jo for
some time went to school not too far from the barn. She began working and started riding Odie. Cara, who had 6 horses at the
time, wanted someone to take Odie and thought Lauren would be perfect. They worked it out so with Lauren's limited hours she
could still make enough to pay for the horse. She decided she hated the name Odie and began calling him "The Moose" because
his facial deformity makes him look like one. (Especially when you put gloves on his ears...) Lauren and The Moose have been
working on each other for some time now and have formed a unique and unusual bond.
So, that's it. The story of The Moose. Know you know...
