Horsey Dreams...

This is a rare shot of Punkin not only holding still, but actually sleeping during the daylight hours. A rare and unexpected moment of absolute stillness...

Here we have Cowboy Jack sitting on our buddy Herndon. (Sorry the pictures are blurry, but I think the camera was rebelling because it was low on juice) I'm actually taking lessons to try and become a halfway competant rider, and Jack gets on and looks like a natural! My friend Marlie pointed out that they sense fear, and that would probably be why they give me such a hard time. Well I figure if they sense fear, then they must also be able to sense outright TERROR! I'll talk about that in a little bit, but first I'd like to talk about Cowboy Jack. Uncle Neal will appreciate the nickname because he is his favorite "cowboy". Please excuse the blatant "Brokeback Mountain" reference, but Neal and Jack do make a cute couple! Anyway... Jack has been embracing mine and the kids obsession with horses and he even practices "driving like a honkey". A useful skill I'm sure. After getting off of Herndon he was thinking out loud that he wanted to get himself a cowboy hat, and I have a really hard time picturing it, nickname aside. I wear boots, but only because I have fears of getting my feet caught in the stirrups and because there is no tread with which to get horse crap in. Not that I don't think cowboys in a nice hat are hot, I just can't imagine Jack in one. You know, it just doesn't go with his cargo shorts or his red and silver Nike's. Maybe it's just me but...

Back to my terror story. This is a story that happened a long time ago. We won't talk about how long ago, because then I'll start feeling old and get all cranky. It is a story about a girl who was dumb (me), and an adult who was dumber (we'll call her Sally because she sure was silly!).

Once upon a time I went to my friend Rochelle's cabin up in the woods. It was a beautiful fall day and she had this genius idea that we would go catch ourselves a couple of the horses in the pasture and go do some trail riding. I was soo excited! I honestly don't think I had been on a horse at that point since I was a toddler and my mom had put me on her horse with her. Not exactly alot of experience. I distinctly remember walking up the path after Rochelle caught them and put on their harnesses, musing that my horse named Rebel seemed so sweet and mannerly. In fact, I specifically said "Why did they name this horse Rebel? He seems like such a nice horse." Notice I said the word "seems". I think back to that and cringe because I was just sooo stupid. When we got up to the front drive Rochelle just put some bareback pads on them and we were off! Actually, no. WE were not off. Rochelle and her little mare started off down the drive while I sat on my giant horse wondering how to get him to go. I yelled my dilemma to Rochelle to figure out what to do since he didn't respond to "Alright, let's go Rebel". I don't remember what her advice was at this point because it was the beginning of the end of our little outing. Something about my ignorance made Mr. Rebel want to earn his name. Next thing I know, hooves are pawing the air, and his head was thrown back just right so that it could make contact with my facial bones. I don't even know how many times he reared up and beat me in the head but it was long enough to have a mental debate as to whether I should stay on and take the abuse, or to take my chances getting off. I decided that bailing would be the best route. It seemed to work for me as I did not get trampled. After my not so glamorous dismount, he was once again deceptively un-rebellious. As if I still held him in that light anymore. He was a Hell Horse from what I could see out of my blurry vision! So here's the part where Sally comes in. Sally was actually the owner of the horses and had seen the whole thing. She had said nothing to me about the nature of Mr. Rebel before I got on him. After though, she just had to tell me, "I actually don't even ride Rebel. I just didn't want to scare you." I'm sorry, whaa? Scare me? Caution is not usually scary. My wild ride was! I wanted to beat her then, but since I was still seeing two of her it would have been a bit difficult. I was redeemed by Rochelle's sometimes volatile dad though. He came home, saw my face, got the story, and went downstairs and let Sally HAVE IT!

So herein lies my horsey fears that keep on creeping up. I am doing pretty good overcoming them, but that first moment of terror when they actually start moving still creeps up, and then I realize that I know what to do, and I'm all good. I shall conquer the beast!

*Rochelle- I thought it was time to share this story. It was just time. Maybe the one with the rope swing will be next! That is one of our classics!