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Together we came to Alaska seeking adventure.....and we found it!
When we left Florida, we planned only to stay the summer of '94, however,
the new Alyeska Prince Hotel & Resort opened that summer and we saw the need for small businesses to provide activities for the guests. That fall we purchased and had shipped up from Viking, Canada, 2 Percheron geldings named Kobuk and Tecumpseh, "The Boys" and started Chugach Carriage Company.
From there we needed a place to house the horses and ourselves. Hence The Carriage House, a beautiful timber post and beam frame home designed for the lower level as storage for the carriages and the equipment needed for the horses with Jake and Rachel living on the second level.
Before construction began it was decided to enclose the lower level and build a B & B, therefore the name "The Carriage House Bed & Breakfast/Stables".
History of the Horses.
KOBUK and TECUMPSEH Magnificent Percheron Draft Horses.
Chugach Carriage Company operated for 14 years with the boys shuttling guest and locals around the valley. Being the only horses in town the boys became part of the community, the children loved to feed them and go on "pony rides". The boys gentleness with the children made it clear why draft horses are call the "gentle giants" often weighing well over a ton each.
The boys aged gracefully going from completely black when we got them as young geldings, ages 4 and 5, to almost white at age 19 and 20. This color change is very common in the Percheron breed, depending on their bloodlines.
The winter of 2008 Kobuk had some health problems and eventually it became evident that it wasn't fair to prolong his life. Several months later, although Tecumpsch seemed to have adjusted fine without his brother, we felt he would be happier with other horses. So Tecumpsch is living in the Valley with his new girlfriend and has plenty of space to roam and grass to eat in his retirement.
Currently the Carriage House B&B/Suite is without horses and the carriage, but displays the wonderful memories of "The Boys".
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