Tennessee Walking Horses - CLOUD 9 WALKERS (Tennessee Walking Horses and their new owners)

I love to hear back from the horses which leave Cloud 9 Walkers, and have posted some pictures sent back to me here.

A new worker at the barn is a Walker fanatic and she's fallen for him. She's given me some riding pointers and made sure I had the bridle and curb chain right. It came off the first time I rode him and he still responded to my "whoa". I've never ridden such a well trained mannerly horse. Thank you for that.

Today I rode him in the indoor arena with a girl on a huge appaloosa. She used him as her lead horse and led four different horses--one at a time---around for a pretty good workout. They were pretty green and gave her all she could handle. One even got loose and he roared around the arena bucking and having himself a good old fashioned wild romp. None of the horses--even the "Wild Man"--phased my River. As the runaway exploded around the arena, River just stood quietly with his ears perked up as if to say, "What's that crazy horse doing?" I was so proud of him.

Sunday after you delivered him, I went out in the pasture to get him. He wasn't too sure who I was or what I wanted--especially when I had Rueben, my mule, following me around wanting me to take him instead. Rueben--the hay hound--finally lost interest in me when we got to the hay bale. With the rest of the horses at the the bale, I had River's full attention. He pranced off the first time I approached him, so I walked away from him. He immediately stopped and turned toward me. We were about 20 feet apart and I called him and held out my hand. With his beautiful perked up ears, he sauntered up to me and let me scratch his forehead. I backed up a few steps and he came with me. I scratched his head again and slipped the halter on with no trouble. Now he meets me at the fence. Thanks for giving him that trust in humans. He doesn't beat Rueben to the fence, but he's always just behind him. They even hang out together a little. There's a really young Rocky Montain horse in the pasture that still thinks he's a stallion. He bullies everyone else in the pasture. River keeps his distance just like you said he would. He's such a good boy.

We had a monsoon on Monday and the pasture and everywhere else in the tri-state area was deep in mud. River lost a shoe in the muck. I had checked and cleaned his feet on the left side and his right front foot. Then he did something I still don't believe----River raised his back right foot before I even got to it!! Since I didn't get there fast enough, he rested it on his "tiptoe"--if that can be a horse term. I guess "tiphoof" would be better. With the slightest touch he raised it for me. Again---thanks for the great training and trust. Since I've requested the farrier, the stable owner asked if River stands good for the farrier........It made me laugh.

Speaking of the farrier, I believe you told me I could just have his hooves trimmed and shod like a quarter horse. Isn't that right? The stable owner (and Walker owner) suggested I should have his hooves grow out more into a Walker hoof. Being the novice and not having any real knowledge about hooves and the style of the trim, I'm always open to ideas from more knowledgeable people. But for this horse, you are my main source of knowledge. I'm planning on staying with the trim style and shoes you brought him to me with. Please let me know if it should be done differently. I just want what's best for River.

"He's Armed With Champagne", by "Go Boy's Champagne Pride" and out of "Image of A Dangerous Lady".

Here you go Laura- pic of my sweet baby. I braided his hair so I could scratch his shoulders and neck while I was sitting on him and Tyler snapped our picture. Cajun was so relaxed that he just rolled over and fell asleep!! I’ve been on him about 8 times for about 30 min each. He’s a pure pleasure. He doesn’t even mind being the lead horse, although boogers still scare him a lot. We have a lot of construction along the road where we ride and he gets intimidated by the workers and noise. I’m bareback on him right now so I don’t force him to go by as I’m afraid he’ll dump me off onto the pavement, but we do our best. He’s precious!

We are doing a despooking program for one of my horses here and we decided to do it for all of them. Cajun thought the despooking area was a playground. He was into all of it rooting through all the scary stuff. He tried to eat everything we despooked him with. We even dragged a grocery bag full of cans around him and instead of being scared, he chased it! He tried to eat the umbrella we opened up at him and a tug of war trying to get it back from him broke the umbrella! He picks up all my poles that I use for gaiting practice, and unties all the horses from the hitching post. I have to do double knots to keep everyone in their place! He also pushes his food tub around the paddock like a baby carriage. There is always a 2 foot wide smoothed dirt trail winding through the paddocks. Looks like a giant snake slithers through there every day! We used to let the wheelbarrow in the paddocks for the horses to eat out of but after Cajun broke the first one trying to get IN it, we now have to take them out!! He’s a riot!

I attached some pictures I hope you enjoy. Bruce was washing down the wood deck in front of our trailers and Beau came up out of curiosity. You can see in the 3 pictures the steps. The funny one is him asking for Bruce to keep squirting water through his teeth. Crazy horse. He also loves watermelon. The picture with me is him attacking me to get piece. I had to stand up in the truck to keep him from mowing me down. I love this horse! One other is my granddaughter Sydney with him. -- Sharon 9/24/06

I love it when this happens -- I get a good horse back to find a new home for, and in this case, Spirit just grew too big for Wanda (pictured below on this web page), so she brought him back to me to sell for her. Now he belongs to Sharon, whom I call "Ms. America" because no matter how many pictures I take of her, NONE of them are bad! It's impossible to take a bad picture of this lady!

He is just the gentle giant you promised. What a character. I wanted to ask you if he has ever been around cattle. We have some new calves and he is fascinated with them. He went so far as to pull on one of their tails. It was hilarious. The calf did not seem to mind, it just looked at him like he was nuts.

Laura, As promised, here are some pictures of Aubrie and Taylor riding Paris.
They are having a blast. She is such a GREAT horse. She really is. We
are in love. Also are a couple of pictures of Paris and the deer she loves!
Marianne 7/7/06

Here are some pictures of Snickers and Laddy that were taken in the Ozark National Forest in Arkansas only one week after we purchased them from you. We are so pleased with their
trail experience and as you can see from the pictures, they are very calm while posing on the edge of the cliff for a photo opportunity.
We are posing on the edge of the cliff during one of our rides. Thanks again for these wonderful guys. We love them.

Hi Laura! -- Just wanted you to know how pleased I am to have purchased
Speed Racer from you a couple years ago. I am an apprentice of Eric
Clarke, a natural horseman in the Austin, Texas area and he visited you to
pick out a horse for me. I couldn't be happier. It was a challenge at
first to put him into a snaffle bit and ride with a loose rein and leg
cues, but we have progressed continually and I now have my Level II and am
working on Level III in Eric's program. I have attached a few photos from
the Apprentice week we had in Texas in October, 2005. Yes, Speedy and I
have been back to Texas three times since we brought him home to Ohio. We
love to travel! One photo shows four of us "exchanging reins" and riding
at a trot (or gait in my case). When all four of us are together, we "exchange reins", which
means the two in the middle are not controlling their horse at all, only
one rein of the horse on the end! The concept is to get the horses and
the people working together toward a common goal . . . easier said than done!
There is one photo showing me
trailer loading Speed at liberty from across the round pen.

I can't thank you enough. As soon as I get my barn and arena finished I
will be back for more!
Wendy K. Sayer Cavotta
Thompson, Ohio
Eric Clarke Apprentice
"Horses help me keep my sanity!"

You don't know me, but I purchased a mare from Rick & Kathy Vandal back in 1998 or '97...Rick is the Sheriff of Fayette County and Ms. Vandal wrote me a letter stating she purchased Miss Lorisa Sorrel from you all..anyway, I love her soo much & have never ridden a better trained horse in my life...she has such an adventurous attitude with a dose of gusto...just like me...her registered Racking Horse Society name was Miss Lorisa Sorrel...but I shortended that to "Wheezie" & call her "Sleezy Wheezie" because she is soo cool & just breezes right along......thanks for the best horse I have ever known...P.S., the pic is of me & Ms. Wheezie on the dancefloor in an old barn outside of Gonzales...not real great of her, but shows you she will do anything I ask of her...

Laura:

I bought "Chance" from you a couple of years ago after a very bad experience with another horse. I just wanted you to know that he has been the perfect horse for me. We do lots of trail riding and he is so calm and sensible. When other horses balk at an obstacle, Chance can always be counted upon to take the lead. He is a horse that we feel comfortable in letting our friends ride without concern for their safety. Last summer and again this summer my husband and I trailered our horses up to the mountains of Colorado near Steamboat Springs and rode for hours each day. Even in completely strange territory, Chance never spooked. He is a great horse, and I am very happy to have found him.

I just wanted to let you know that Sunshine is my dream horse! I could not ask for a more willing horse, especially after my bad experiences prior to Sunshine. He enjoys being with me, and we have fun together. Sunshine has really boosted my horse confidence just as you told me he would! He is everything you said and then some. We have ridden alone and with Spirit and Wanda. In fact, the other day, I went to get him from the pasture to show him to the water trough, and I just led him by the neck without a halter, lead rope, or feed bucket. He knickers to me each morning when I wake up to tell him “Mornin’ Sunshine!” He is so affectionate. I just can not tell you how happy we all are with Sunshine. He is the best. After we rode with Wanda and Spirit on Sunday, I was washing him off. He stopped eating grass to play in the water hose with me. He actually stuck the whole hose in his mouth and drank like from a straw. He has a personality like I never thought that I would find in a horse. I trust him, and that is saying a lot coming from a horse skeptic! I will send pictures of us riding soon. Gotta go. Just wanted to tell you all about Sunshine and his settling in process. He acts as if he has lived here his whole life!

I wanted to let you know that I am thoroughly enjoying Sunshine. He is the most fun I have ever had with a horse. We started lessons together, and he is the best lesson horse! Our instructor comes to the house twice a week and works with us. We have made so much progress in just two lessons, and the bonding is great. He will follow me anywhere, and if he thinks that he is attached to you with a lead rope, he does not move. Last night, I was putting into another pasture, and I had already unsnapped his lead rope so that he could go to the barn to eat. He thought that since he had a halter on, he was to stay with me even though the other horses were eating and my husband was calling him. He is great and has fit in at our place great! He really likes to show off how gorgeous he is as well. I have taught him to close the gate behind him already. I marvel at how intelligent he really is. My farrier loves him as well. I will keep you updated and will try to get some pictures of us taking our lessons. I have attached a couple of us riding Sunshine the day we came to pick him up, after he got a bath, and some of my QH mare for sale. She is out of an “Impressive” sire. He seems to be to the QH world what “Pride’s Generator” is to the Walker world. She is HYPP N/N. If you know anyone who might be interested, please send them my information so that they can contact me. Thank you again! Hope you enjoy.

I hope all is good your way. I want you to know that this little red/white baby you sold me is about the most spoiled thing I have EVER encountered. He is a shadow that NO DOG could beat I promise.

He is either under the garage, looking in the window, or constantly meddling in something. I am sending you a picture of him snooping in the ice chest that had ice in it up in the back of my cousin's truck. He wanted to play with the ice, but when he touched it with his nose he would jerk his head up with a really funny look on his face, then back he would go. I took the picture through my door that was right off my back porch which as you can see is kinda dirty....the glass has horse lips all over it! Both he and Spirit are just fabulous. I shaved Spirit's winter "whiskers" this evening, his bridal path, and his feet, and it was almost like he was a statue. That horse is truly amazing to me. The temperament of these two walkers is a true representation of the breed. So gentle and people loving. No matter where they are in the pasture, how much they have just eaten, whenever I call them they actually break and RUN to me even if out of site. It is like calling dogs except they are a whole lot bigger and you just hope they find their brakes before the get too close! LOL

Oh Geeze I wish you could know somehow just how much I have grown to love this big, gentle boy I bought from you. He is such a gentleman. He does whatever is asked of him and trusts me through it all. I think I could ask him to ride off a cliff and if he thought that is what I wanted he would do it. I ride him through all the wooded trails around my home, down all kind of highways, through creeks, down very steep hills, and pass loads of charging dogs that are just carefully watched by him. He will pick up his gait with just a click and will walk very slowly with this old quarter horse we have. (Which by the way is extremely boring for me to ride after having a walker!) Thank you so much for your honesty. I look back at what you had written about him on your website and EVERY word of it is very true. Since I know I can trust you I am referring my niece to you for her first horse too!

LEFT: Spirit and Wanda in town; RIGHT: Kristin on Sunshine, Wanda on Spirit and Tony on Tony at Cross Lake.

12/13/05

My Dear Laura,

I sure hope your moving has gone well and you are getting settled for Christmas. I see on your site that your barn is coming along nicely and I know you are proud of that. I could tell it was going to be really nice when I was there. I know you are busy but I just have to send you all these pictures of some wonderful trail rides with this fabulous horse you sold me. We trailered across town, went through uncharted territory including woods, bridges, busy town streets, and even made a swoop through a gas station! LOL...and NOTHING bothered him. The wind was VERY high that day but that was fine with him too. This last Sunday he and I fell in a shallow creek....well up to his belly in mud...he did not want to cross the bridge and preferred to jump the water sooo that is what we did. He kicked in the four wheel drive and we got gracefully out with only a bit of mud that ruined the nice black manicure I had just given his hooves! (and sorta messed up our girth strap but we got cleaned up a bit before getting back home and letting my husband see us!) However on the way back we both decided it would be a bit better to take the bridge .... and we did. But you know what, somehow he kept that gorgeous long tail out of the mud. He has become a real love bug too. I do have a quick question to ask you about a bit when I get a chance to call you, no emergency.

Oh, how I love to sell horses to a home like this! At left, Cartwright, Pride and Skywatch all made the trip from the south to the northeast in good shape, and thanks to Lynn in Connecticut for giving these sweet guys a good home and letting them be horses! While the playful Pride is always looking for a 'victim' to play with, none of these guys ever rear under saddle. At right, Lynn is taking a 'Sunday drive' with her beautiful matching set of Hackneys. I think she lives in Heaven on Earth! Lynn has excellent taste in Tennessee Walking Horses -- she definitely knows a smooth one when she sees it.

Holy cow -- look how young Bud was when Kristy (Houston, Texas) purchased Genius!

This big, beautiful jet black Tennessee Walking Horse was BORN for this lady! "Genius" is a head-shaking, smoooooth walking son of a gun, a gentle giant and an incredible ambassador for the breed. Kristy Ficker is quite remarkable, herself -- in the 'before' picture at left, she had not yet started her dedicated Weight Watcher's lifestyle. In the picture at right, she is slim and has risen to 'heroine' status in all her friends' eyes (mine, included!). Everywhere she goes, she promotes the breed with this fine horse. A week after she purchased Genius from me, before she had picked him up, I had a buyer come by and offer to double her money on this natural lite-shod gelding, but she refused to even consider it. She took him home and they began the bonding process, which is one of the strongest I've seen between horse and owner. About a year later, since she had been busy at work and had not had time to ride Genius much, Kristy brought him back so I could tune him up for her, and she left him with me for about 30 days. He went to work everyday for me, but seemed to be moping. One day, Kristy stopped by to see how he was doing, and before she even made the corner to his pen, before he could even see her, he heard her and began to nicker for her. Who says horses don't love their owners?

"I live back in the woods, you see, the woman and the kids and the dogs and me . . . a country boy can survive" --- Hank Williams, Jr. (Gerald and his menagerie, and Alice; Kingwood, Texas.)

Alice is a true expert on teaching a horse to park out! At left, she is astride the unusual and beautiful grey roan 17H gelding which she and her husband, Gerald purchased before I posted him on the website. At right, she is 'spoiling' JJ (Jumpin Jack Flash), which Gerald bonded with the day he met him by falling off and landing in a big mud puddle, but getting up with a smile and a great sense of humor, and making the purchase! These folks are a ton of fun and are also great ambassadors for the breed.

We hauled 6 horses to East Texas and met with some customers from New Orleans to ride, and instead of doing circles in an arena, I thought I would show them a great time and veer from the proverbial ‘beaten path’. There were 5 of us, with one being the cutest little 7-yr-old girl you ever saw, named Alex (short for Alexandria), who was there to try out "Thriller", a black and white spotted gelding I had for sale (since her birthday was coming up). We saddled up and rode about a mile beside traffic, past a school that had just had their homecoming parade, and all the horses did well considering all the commotion, balloons and floats. My brilliant idea was to ride through the historical cemetery, with gravesites from the early 1800’s, right after Texas became part of the union. We made our way past the big white headstones and all the history they recorded, down to the shores of Sam Rayburn Lake, where everyone gave a sigh at what a beautiful day it was and at the stunning view. I had ridden a couple of horses out into the lake and had a great time a few weeks before, but now the water level was lower. We rode in single file, and everyone was thrilled at the scenery. Lake Rayburn is a man-made lake, and since the water was so low, we actually got to see parts of chimneys, storm cellars and old cattle pens from the 1800’s and 1900’s which were buried underwater when the Army Corp of Engineers came through and made everyone move to make way for the lake.

We had ridden along the shore for about 5 minutes, when Thriller hit a pocket of quicksand. His back end went down, but his front end was still on solid ground. He’s very calm natured, being used to dogs and shooting guns, and tiny little Alex, being a total natural, simply hopped off to the side and held his reins. I stepped off of my horse, took the reins from Alex, and gave Thriller a little pop on the hindquarters and he lunged forward, pulling himself out with his front feet. About that same time, I heard a commotion behind me, and Ruby, the sweetest, most gentle spotted horse mare on Earth went down in a bigger pocket of quicksand, with her whole body being buried halfway up her sides. She is almost 6 years old, and was raised by a very nice lady from the time she was born, being pampered and spoiled, so she doesn’t really understand that she’s a horse! Ruby was literally swimming in liquid sand, and after about 30 seconds, she just flopped over slightly on her right side, gave a little sigh and had the attitude that we got her in this predicament, now she was going to relax and let us get her out of this fine mess!

About three of us got down on our knees and started using our hands to dig her front feet out, and she laid there like she was in a resort getting a massage! She let us take her front legs out, extend them in front of her, and she never moved a muscle the entire time. I was really beginning to think we were going to have to go get a backhoe to pull her out. I unsnapped her reins from her bridle, took one and got behind her and popped her on the hindquarters 3 or 4 times, which was just enough incentive to make her pull herself out with her front feet. Since her back end was mired so deeply in liquid sand, it took all the front strength she could muster, but she did it. After she got out, she stood calmly and let her rider remount, and we moved off toward real land and forgot about the lake! I had myself some real troopers, because when we got back, everyone agreed that it was a little scary, but that it had been a fun ride and a real adventure!

Just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying Ruby. She is the perfect horse for me to get back in the saddle on and regain my horse confidence. I am keeping her at a stable and no one there has been around gaited horses, so they are all amazed by her and everybody comes out to watch every time I saddle her up. The owners are used to quarter horses. I let the man and woman both ride her one day and now they want to switch breeds!
I re-read your write up about her on your web site and so I can't say you didn't warn me. She does like food! The phrase "eats like a horse" pertains to her. Anyway - wanted to let you know she is well loved and much appreciated.

"Sundown" -- 6-1/2-yr-old fiery red sorrel Tennessee Walking Horse Generator/Ebony Masterpiece gelding with beautiful conformation and a wonderful, smooth 4-beat trail pleasure gait.

Pictured at right is Sundown and his new owner,Wanda Tucker (Louisiana), who is getting along well with him. Her husband, Larry, writes: Thought I'd send a shot of Sundown out for a spin on part of his new playground. He has 200 acres of trails to explore and he and Wanda seem to hit it off pretty well. I think you found us a winner!!

I'm writing to let you know that we adore Lacey to death! She is a wonderful horse with so much character and a huge heart. She is very sweet with the little children at the barn, and everyone wants to use her in lessons. Lacey has adjusted very well and has made lots of new horsey friends. Lacey has really bonded with my two year old Appy colt, and they act just like mamma and baby.
We recently took her on an overnight trail ride and she did great. I think she enjoyed that a lot. It looks like we might have some big plans for miss Lacey this spring. I (Laura) will be showing her at some local shows probably in western pleasure or trail class (I haven't quite decided).. and we would also love to breed her this spring as well.
The whole family loves Lacey and we cant thank you enough for selling us this wonderful girl.

Thanks again,
-Laura Hegedus

Hello Laura,

Attached is a recent photo of Lacey and Splash. They make a beautiful riding pair together. My wife and I really enjoy trail riding with them. At the barn where we board, there are over 30 horses. Lacey and Splash are the only two Walkers, but they are everyone's favorites. We get constant requests from kids and adults to ride them. They are gentle and loving with everyone. We're very lucky to have found them on your website. Take care and have a great summer.

Hi Laura,

My name is Lynda Hayes and I bought Colonel from you in April (2004). You introduced me to Janet who bought Mojo the same day and happened to live just down the road from me - we had never met. Since buying our two walkers we have become good friends and ride one to two times a week together. Janet and I are first time gaited owners and will never go back to rough old quarter horses again. Colonel is absolutely wonderful with a smooth gait and a great sweet personality. Janet loves her Mojo who will stay in his gait forever. He's very smooth. Thanks Laura for our wonderful horses.

Lynda and Janet

Magnolia, Texas

Hi. Just wanted to let you know Hobby is doing great. He is everything you said, and I love him. I rode him a few minutes yesterday, but this morning we went down the road and into the woods behind Carter's Country shooting range. He did fantastic. No spooks, just looks over the situation and goes right on. At one point we got to going faster and faster, just breaking into a lope. I then noticed the curb chain had come undone, but he stopped on voice command, no problem. I guess I better get the hang of adjusting that chain to fit. I never used that English kind before. -- Carole

I was looking at your latest horses for sale (I like to do that every once in a while to torment myself with all the cute horses I could own if I had the time for two), and I noticed your page with pictures of horses you've sold with their new owners. I would love to have a picture of Apache posted up there. I have had so much fun with him over the years. We have done everything together - dressage, jumping, competitive trail rides as well as many just for fun, and many shows - both open breed and walker shows, showing trail pleasure, country pleasure, and halter. It's been a blast. The breed is truly versatile and is comfortable all the while! Not to mention that they have the greatest personalities - so sweet and tolerant. It's been so much fun having people comment everywhere we go on how beautiful he is, being so amazed, and asking questions about the gait and the breed. I have several great pictures of us doing various things together that you are free to use if you decide to post us on your page.

Thanks!
Leigh