This is Rusty, a Saddelbred gelding. (For the longest time I thought he was a Paint because of those white markings on his face & side, and his high white socks -- but one day overheard his owner tell someone he was a registered Saddlebred!) I think he stood around 16 hands. When I first rode him, we weren't very compatible -- he was pretty spirited, and would have no respect for his rider for the first half hour. He really mellowed out over the years, and became my second favorite horse -- and it was a very close second behind Rocket! Rusty had won the hunter pleasure trophy 3 years in a row before being retired from showing -- and he certainly was a pleasure to work with! My mom was told by his owner's daughter that he had to be put down in 1996, two weeks before Christmas -- he was 27 years old. I didn't ask his owner what had happened, one reason being that I really preferred not to know.
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