- Cajun truly is a very special horse. If we had bred him originally, you would expect us to say that, but we didn't. We found Cajun a long time ago on the internet just as you have. From first glance we knew we were looking at a wonderful animal, but it would take almost two years for us to find out just how great he is, and then, by the grace of God, be blessed with the opportunity to own him.
- What I learned as I talked with people from coast to coast about Cajun was that he was possibly the most loved and admired animal I'd ever had the fortune of coming in contact with. Everywhere he went, people fell in love with him. Now he may be beautiful, but I knew there had to be something more. I figured he must be nice and smooth to ride. He is. But, there was still something more. There was something that no matter how often I was told I wouldn't understand until I met him. No amount of video, or photos or word of mouth could tell me how wonderfully tempered Cajun is. When was the last time you heard of a 16.2h, 1250lb young stallion being ridden and shown around mares and other stallions by children? The last time Cajun was shown before leaving California was by a young girl. Cajun came in as the reserve champion of that show. He hadn't shown in more than a year at that time, or been in formal training for nearly three years, he was just being himself.
- Cajun arrived at The JBiT Ranch on Saturday March 20, 1999. When he stepped off of that trailer, nothing we had seen or heard about him had prepared us for the animal we were about to meet. Cajun stepped off that truck larger than life. He threw his head high and screamed his arrival into the night. Our herd of horses rushed the fence in awe. There was never any doubt from the first moment that there was a new sherriff in town.
- As luck would have it, it rained for the next 36 hours, but in the afternoon of his third day, I rode him. I was a little concerned about how he would act. You see, our riding ring is bordered on one side by our mare field and on the adjacent side by our geldings. As I prepared to step into the leather, two mares were whinying and showing to Cajun at one fence while a gelding raced wildly at the other whistling challenges and snorting his anger. Cajun, stallion that he is, never flinched. Once I put a foot in the stirrup Cajun was all business. As we rode past those mares and the racing gelding, he never even looked at them. He was perfectly under control and rode on a loose, relaxed rein.
- I soon learned one more thing about Cajun. Cajun loves to be ridden. Everything about his nature said "I'm having fun!" We had a wonderful ride. I put Cajun through his paces. His flatwalk was smooth yet ground covering. His running walk was textbook perfect and a joy to sit. When we pushed it up to a rack, he had all the right stuff, and he easily slid into a wonderfully collected canter with little urging as we headed out of the ring. From the canter, of course, I had to know what he could do (it's a guy thing) I asked for a gallop. Cajun picked it up to a hand gallop that devoured the landscape while being prefectly under control and easy to sit. It was very obvious that Cajun was not straining. There is a whole other gear there that I may want to think twice before asking for. When we'd galloped for a few moments, I asked him to come back down. There was no resistence. Every cue was met with a response that seemed to say "my pleasure." His downward transitions were as smooth as they were on the way up. We came down gait by gait until we were gliding along at his wonderful walk. Cajun never got "hot" or "wired" like many horses do when they are allowed to run. The extent of his willing, pleasing attitude was a joy to experience.
- The entire time Cajun was displaying his natural gait and talent to me, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself -- He's BAREFOOT!! Cajun was showing me exactly how a walking horse should gait and he was un-shod. In today's walking horse world, when all too often the gaits are induced by artificial means, I was beside myself with excitment knowing that I was riding the epitome of the breed. Cajun passes on these natural gaits to all of his foals. We are proud to be in a position to add a line of horses to the walking horse/spotted saddle horse world that will be able to carry any rider, regardless of experience, smoothly and enjoyably without the special farrier needs that many have come to believe are a requirement of the breed. While, as with any breed, a good farrier can help the horse to make the most of it's natural abilty, it should always be just that -- an enhancement, not and inducement of the gait.
- Come meet Cajun for yourself. Even if you don't have a mare to breed, come see him. We are proud to be able to stand this magnificent ambassador of the breed to the public. He could change the way you look at walking horses forever.
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