Amish Horse Trivia

Did you know that many Amish buggy horses began their careers as racehorses? Yep!

       Standard-bred horses have been carefully developed over the past several hundred years for sulky racing. At one time this was a huge attraction at local fairs. Almost everyone in the old-days drove a buggy and admired a good horse that could move really fast at the trot. When you see a jockey sitting on a horses back during a race, those horses are galloping. That galloping motion is not desirable when a horse pulls a cart, it is way too jerky. Therefore, the trotting horse was developed; a horse with a fast, long stride in the trot. Standardbred horses are the king of that motion and have great endurance. The same traits that make a great racehorse, translate into the makings of a wonderful buggy-horse.

Actually, this blog post is not about Amish horse trivia, but trivia about the Amish Horses Series.

       Did you know that the horses pictured on the covers of Under the Heavens and Catbird Singing actually were born and raised on an Amish farm? The horses on the covers belong to me, Thomas Nye, the author of the Amish Horses Series. I purchased Karma and Coke from an Amish family that lives a few miles from my home. Karm and Coke have never been in a horse trailer. A son of the guy I bought the horses from helped me drive them home to my place. I describe that experience in a short story you can read on this blog. On the "tool bar" above click on "Back in Time". The young man protraying Lenny on the cover of Under the Heavens is my son, Dallas. We purchased his hat at the local Amish "Country Store" as well as a pair of suspenders. The young girl, who is on both Under the Heavens and Catbird Singing, happens to be my daughter, Natalie. We borrowed an Amish dress from a local Amish girl (who will not be named here) for the first book. The dress she is wearing on Book II was also made in a local Amish home and given as a gift to our family friend. (Thanks for loaning us your dress, Meredith)

Another interesting bit of trivia: The character "Aaron Burr" in Catbird Singing, was named after my wife's great-grandpa, Aaron Burr Gingerich, who happened to be Amish. My wife's great-grandpa also had a brother with the name George Washington Gingerich. I know these are odd names for Amish men to have, but it's true. The historical Aaron Burr was infamous, as he killed a man during a duel. My wife's great-grandpa lived a few miles from where we now live. One of his great-grandsons  is still Amish and farms his home-place

Thomas Nye &
Karma and Coke wearing the bridles made by Jess Peachy

       I patterned the character "Grandpa Jesse" after one of my favorite Amishmen, a man named Jess Peachy, who is now deceased. This Jess Peachy was a harness-maker who lived not far from my home. He was very kind and willing to talk about his faith openly, and also shared excellent horse advice with me. Whenever I had an incident with my horses and needed harness repair, I would go to him to get my harness fixed, and more importantly, to get horse wisdom. We had many wonderful conversations while he worked on my harness. In fact, he made the bridles that my horses are wearing on the cover of Under the Heavens. I also patterned Aaron Burr (the harness maker in the Amish Horses Series) after this real life Amishman. It just so happens, the story of Fanny Ella's pony, Dusty, is based on a true story Jess Peachy told me. He had a pony that would climb steps into their home, jump onto a hay-rack and go for a ride behind a team of draft horses. He was offered a great deal of money for that pony and turned it down. (just like in Catbird Singing) and the true-life story (of his pony) ended just the same way it ends in the Amish Horses Series.

Horse and Buggy

 

Downtown Kalona, Iowa.

       There is something soothing about the sound of horses trotting down a road.  We lived in Harrisonburg, Virginia for a few years during the 80's and our closest neighbors were Old Order Mennonites, similar to Amish.  We lived on a little paved road in the country, our view was of a dairy farm's pasture with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background, I sure miss that!  Old Order Mennonites passed our house all day riding bikes or driving buggies. Our little 2 year old daughter (at that time) Bethany used to love to watch the horses go by.  When we did what parents do, and asked Bethany, "What does a horses say?" Her answer was to make a clucking sound with her tongue, mimicking the sound of horse hooves on the road.

  

  

       Here is a picture of our pony "Dusty" what a great family pony she was!  The girl driving is an Old Order Mennonite family friend, Lisa Dawn.  My own daughter, Lisa, is on the right, and my daughter Robyn is holding Lisa Dawn's little brother, Kevin.  You can see our great view in the background.  I bought this little cart at a garage sale and my Old Order Mennonite neighbor gave me this harness, I think he enjoyed seeing me and my children go past his place on this little cart.

Your's truly (it was the 80's) and my daughter Bethany on Dusty.

     My daughter Bethany was crazy about this pony, for some reason she wanted to lay back like this on Dusty for hours if I would let her, Dusty didn't mind as long as she was grazing.  You can see our Old Order neighbor's farm in the background, and beyond that the little town of Dayton, Virginia.  Beyond that is either Round Hill or Mole Hill, I forget which hill was which.  I have some great stories about this pony but I am saving those for a collection of short stories about all the horses I have owned.

My parents used to have a little Chihuahua that one of Mom's Amish students gave her. The little guy was a typical Chihuahua with bulging eyes and a raspy bark. Mom told me, "Do you know how to tell this is an Amish dog? Because he's hoarse and buggy."

Amish girl driving a buggy in Kalona, Iowa.

Amish family near Shipshewanna, Indiana.

Buggy Horses

Some standard-bred horses are born on Amish farms

          Almost all buggy horses come off the race track. In most major cities in the U.S., there is a horse-racing track. Thoroughbred horse racing, puts the rider on the horse's back, such as the Kentucky Derby style of racing. However, there are more tracks that specialize in Sulky racing. Standard-bred horses are used in harness to pull a little cart called a sulky, in this type of racing.

          These Standard-bred horses are bred up and trained to have a very quick trot. A trot is the best gate for pulling a sulky or a buggy for a long way as fast as possible. Race track horses usually have a very short racing life, after that has run-its-course, they are sold at auction and most end up on Amish farms. These horses often end up pulling buggies for years.

                                                                                

          My dad bought one of these horses at an auction, with intentions to use him as a riding horse.  Dad worked with him for a while but after Danny threw him one day, the horse was handed down to me. I worked hard to finish breaking him to ride, until I took a job on a local dairy farm and gave up all free time completely!  I put him in the paper, advertised as:  Standard-bred horse, for sale. I will trade for a riding horse.

                                                                                

                                 These horses are grazing on the playground of a one-room school                              

          I received a number of calls from local Amish. Twice, I visited Amish farms with prospective riding 

horses, as a possible trade. One of the families had a nice sized, riding pony. I enjoyed my visit to their farm; they were very friendly and showed me around a little. When it came to, wheeling and dealing, both Amish families let their sons do the talking.  These were boys about 12-14, and I was quite impressed with their knowledge, and that their dads gave them this kind of respect. The family with the riding pony encouraged me to take a ride, to see how I liked their pony.  I'm not that proud of my riding skills, so I suggested that one of the boys ride the horse, while I watched. The man of the house told one of the boys to get on. His face instantly looked pale, and he said, "No Dad, he bucks!" Needless to say that was a deal breaker, I went on my merry way. I sold Danny at the Kalona Sale Barn later, and he fetched a handsome price.

Under the Heavens, Amish Novel