At 5'6", I'm not a short gal. But this guy sure made me feel that way.
Meet Riggs, a four year old, 18.3 hand black Percheron gelding, the biggest horse I have ever seen.
He was so tall, I could not even reach the top of his head. I felt short for the first time in my life! His handler told us that they use a ladder for grooming and tacking him up.
Still, I could give his chest a good scratch. Soon those lips were loose and waggling in pleasure.
Jessica took me to see Riggs and the other black Percherons at Young Living, a farm near her home in Santaquin, Utah that grows lavender for essential oils and raises black Percherons.
Visitors are welcome in the barns and Riggs was brought out for us to visit.
The Percherons are used for harness exhibits and shows and the walls of the barn are lined with their winnings.
Getting to visit such a magnificent horse was an unexpected treat during our trip out west to Denver and Utah. I've been around draft horses before (and even got to sit on one of the Budweiser Clydesdales as a child when they visited my hometown years ago), but Riggs was quite an awe inspiring experience.
I think I may now be a Percheron fan!
