At 2 months, Leannan is a fuzzy black colt full of curiosity – a characteristic that was reciprocated Sunday by a parade of people walking through the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo’s Pony Trails area.
Leannan and his mother, Brenna, are Gypsy Cob horses – draft horses that were used to pull Gypsy wagons in Ireland and Europe, said owners Jodi Callison and Adam Cox, both of Wellington.
The unique equines are part of Pony Trails, an interactive group of exhibits next to the indoor practice paddock area in the Events Center.
Each day, a different breed of horse can be found on Pony Trails, attracting pats and questions.
Veterinary and biomedical students at Colorado State University display skeletons and other inner workings of horses and offer hands-on educational fun. Little buckaroos can have their pictures taken in several horse cutouts or aboard saddles. English and Western saddles are available for comparison.
Visitors can learn parts of a horse, different brands and types of shoes and tack. In addition, they will find that it takes about 10 bales of hay and four bags of grain each month to satisfy a horse’s appetite and that a horse is measured in “hands,” which equal about 4 inches a hand.
Also available for questions are the human and equine members of the Denver’s mounted police.
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
