Introducing Verde, a 5-year-old Draft Paint Cross Mare standing at a solid 15 hands tall. Verde both Rides & Drives! She is safe and fun both ways. She is nice and stout to carry a bigger rider, but she is not overly drafty.

For driving, Verde is good for hitching, getting on/off the cart, stop signs, and stoplights. She is fine with traffic; she has been driven past semis and heavy traffic, and she never bats an eye. She is easy to control on the lines and drives in just a snaffle bit. She knows the words walk on, trot, easy, and whoa. She automatically starts slowing down when she sees a stop sign coming up. This isn’t her first rodeo; she has loads of road experience and does NOT spook easily. She has a very solid mind.

For riding, she is a blast. She’ll take her canter right off of a walk. Has a nice, smooth, easy-to-sit-to canter. And her trot is smooth as well. For being a draft, she is NOT clumsy; she has just enough draft to make her quiet, yet not too much to make her lazy. She is a good mixture.

She’ll go anywhere out on the trails; she has NO fear whatsoever. She is very smart and picks up on new things quickly. She’ll go up or down a steep bank, through the creeks, rivers, and over the bridges, big or small. She will ride out alone, away from home, and ride fine in a group.

She is the “in-your-pocket” type, so very personable and friendly. Loves to come greet you anytime you go out in her pasture, so she is easy to catch. And loves getting scratches and pettings, she is almost like a big dog.

She loads and hauls great. Stands still for tacking and mounting. She is an easy keeper and NO maintenance required. Your farrier is going to LOVE her she stands stock still for the hot shoe treatment. She is also great at baths; she does not mind the hose.

She gets along out in the herd; she is middle of the pecking order. This girl is DOWN TO EARTH, absolutely NO drama or nonsense. She has a get-her-done attitude as well as a been-there-and-done-that demeanor.

And she is used to riding with a doggy sidekick named Tramp. So she is quite used to his shenanigans of running full speed up behind her and popping in and out of the brush in front and behind her. She has also had several neighbor dogs come out at her while driving, and she doesn’t blink; her eye just gets on with her job. Most of the neighbor dogs that come out either want to play or just bark at her, but there is one that comes and tries to nip her legs, and she just ignores them all.

She is fine with wildlife out on the trail as well. She is great for brush popping and making new trails. She will plow through any thick brush and doesn’t mind if it gets caught up in her legs or comes up and hits her in the hind end. She will stand well for breaking branches overhead as well. And I just love how she takes the steep banks. She doesn’t refuse to go; instead, she finds a way, either climbing up a steep bank or hopping up it if needed. She has NO fear whatsoever, at least I haven’t