Don't Ride Em, Cowboy
As I mentioned in an earlier post we went camping with the horses last weekend. There were several other horse campers there as well. The afternoon was winding down and most were getting their fires going for dinner and just relaxing after afternoon rides.
A small group returned to camp on horse back and they stopped to chat with some folks down the way. The camp ground was rather silent with tired horses and riders. Suddenly one of the horses that came in exploded and started bucking with a rider on its back. All you could hear was the rhythmic breathing and the rhythm of the hooves smashing the ground each time the horse came down.
The rider tried to regain control of the horse and stay on. He lasted for probably five vaults and then he went flying. A guy with a lot of rodeo experience got the horse under control.
This horse was a new purchase and no one really knew its history. Most folks would wonder if it was being pinched by the saddle or girth, but the rodeo guy insisted someone get back on to show the horse so the horse wouldn’t learn a bad behavior that he could get his way by acting badly. Someone with training experience stepped up. Within 30 seconds the trainer was flying through the air. The horse dumped him and ran through camp bucking the entire time. He ran around some horse trailers and went into an empty corral stall right next to my horse. At this point all the horse in camp were freaking out. I could see my horse wondering if he should start kicking at this psycho horse or jump the fence himself.
We closed the bucking horse in to let him calm down. We reached in to loosen his saddle and within 15 minutes he had calmed down enough to be escorted out. He remained in his own corral stall the rest of the weekend. We never got to the bottom of what the cause was, but something tells me this horse will soon become a menu item in Paris.
It’s funny how often we’ve seen illustrations of bucking broncs and how we have romantic notions of this being the symbol of the wild west, but in fact it is a very dangerous situation. This horse could have injured several people and damaged a lot of peoples’ possessions.
Camp remained quiet for hours after the event. All the horses and people were shaken. It is a sight and a sound I’ll never forget.
posted by The Guy Who Writes This at 4:00 AM
7 Comments:
my very first sit on a horse was when I was about 5. One of Adam West's horses. My aunt used to care for his horses... but her boyfriend lifted me up onto the bare back of this horse and accidentally kneed it somewhere tender and there I was clinging to its mane. I guess it calmed down quickly because I remember not being thrown off.
A menu item in Paris??
Unfortunately, I never got along with horses. Or any other large animals for that matter. I have a deep distrust for anything with a head larger than mine. Edwin Meese, for example. My first real experience with a horse was at my cousins house when they conned me into riding their horse. I was too naive to know what the two barrels in the corral were for and the first time that sucker took one of those corners like any good barrel racing horse will, I went south. Of course, my cousins thought it was all in good fun. The next time I met up with that horse he bit me. Now I just have dogs with small heads.
BTW... thanks for the statcounter idea. Seems to work well.
Adam West? Batman on a horse? Wow. I can see it, but... wow.
Pril, Batman's horse, very cool. It was a far better memory than being thrown.
Beth, They eat horses in France.
Darev, It's funny how many people want to force their horses on you. I won't consider riding someone's horse until after I check out their ground manners and run them around in a round pen for at least a half hour. I find most horses are green broke at best and that's one rocket I don't care to ride.
There are too many good ones out there to be putting up w/ dangerous vices (kicking, biting, bucking, etc.) Same for dogs. And there's nothing worse than a horse you can't catch and a dog who won't come when you call it! I have had experiences, horses that were acting bad (bucking) because they were in pain and just needed to go to the chiropractor. One visit fixed 'em right up.
yup. Batman's horse. My aunt was a student at Pepperdine and a horse freak, and for extra money she took care of a lot of the horses for them fancy folks in Mally-boo.
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