Hucul breed and Herr Schulze's Around the World Trip

[connie B Berto <cberto@juno.com>]

I guided Manfred Schulze across Marin County and although Puschkin, his
stout little  Hucul gelding, is admirably suited for getting him around
the world I would not select this breed for endurance riding as we
practice it.    Sturdy, wide body, good legs;  very  short and  thick
neck, a  common head.  Dorsal stripe, prob. from the Tarpan ancestry. 
I'd guess that in their home territory this breed is used for a wide
range of utilitarian purposes and probably do them very well.  Puschkin
was barefoot, packing a fair amount of extra weight  and somewhat out of
shape from transit- and quarantine-enforced inactivity so when I rode
with the pair we kept to a walk for the 25 - 27 mile trip, which took us 
7-1/2 hours.   Manfred did a LOT of handwalking, esp. over the rocks in
Marin fire roads, and  he stopped to let his horse breath fairly often. 
I didn't see the Hucul mare, but  the "surprise" foal,  probably sired by
a Mongolian stallion in Ulan Bator, will be one very interesting horse!
    I was surprised that Manfred did not carry any water nor food with
him.   I shared my apples with our two horses and my granola bar,
grapefruit, and water with Manfred, but I wondered that he would go along
without what we call basic supplies.     Manfred himself is in excellent
physical condition, tanned and hardy, and a very pleasant companion even
tho his English is v. limited and my German is essentially nil.  He
appeared to take very good care for his horses and was very fond of 
Puschkin.   My hat is off to him for his accomplishments.   What a vision
he had, what determination, really awesome!    He'll be writing a book
about his journey and adventures and that should be interesting.   
Cheers,   Connie B

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