>>What type of horses are the Trespass Horses, by the way?
They are a bit of a mutt, though they can trace back through some early
Spanish stock and then up to when Ft Polk (then Camp Polk) was a Cavalry remount
station-the usual TBs/Arabs and yes, saddle horses (gaited stock) were turned
out. From there they have had infusions from QH that were allowed to run
free range back when the inactive post was used as "Free Range" for local
folks...and new additions when they tempt "pet" horses to jump the fence or they
come charging through the pasture fences of those who live close to their range
(yep, it does OCCAISIONALLY happen!) and turn out "domestic" horses.
The majority of them are in the 13.2-14.2hh range, VERY hardy, with a larger,
rounder foot than most "wild" horses (just a guess, but it's probably from
dealing with the soggy grounds...) Their legal status became a problem
when Louisiana passed a law requiring ALL equines in the state to be
MICROCHIPPED, tattooed or branded, and have a yearly Coggins test....the post
CAN'T do that (it is NOT easy to catch horses in these lands...ask anyone who
has done a training rotation here at JRTC), they don't want the liability from
the animals falling to them...so they proposed to round them up and adopt them
out...Humane Society of New Orleans Threw a HISSY...it's STILL being legally
contested...
...In the meantime, you may find this part interesting (I did, at
least...): They rounded up a "sampling" of these animals and tested for
disease...and found NO EIA (Swamp Fever-what a Coggins test checks for)
or other forms of Encephalitis-they are remarkably healthy...Oh yes, and the
folks who used to catch a few (before the legal issues and the new fines
for disturbing these horses) found that many of them would gait! They seem
to be pretty much of the same stock as what has been called the Creole
Pony...
