As Told by Copper, the 32-Yr.-Old Quarter Horse.
See this picture of my herd mate, Bella? She’s a Mustang, so she thinks she’s hot stuff!
Now look at this picture of me, Copper.
Okay, which do you feel is the obvious most reliable horse here? Ahem . . . I won’t gloat, but to prove my point let me tell you what happened here this past Sunday afternoon.
Our leader Leta, who usually writes this blog but sometimes takes dictation from me when I have something important to say, and her friend April decided to get on Bella and me, respectively. Leta loaded up but, for reasons of that back injury she has described, could only walk about for 10 minutes or so before having to dismount. So she asked another family member if she would like to hop up on Bella. (We’ll call her “Sue” so the real person won’t be embarrassed.) “Sure!” Sue said. Big mistake. I mean, theoretically it shouldn’t have been, but Sue hasn’t ridden in years, or so I hear, and Bella hasn’t been ridden in 8 months.
Now let me make an aside here: MOST horses who have not been ridden for that long need to have that fact taken into consideration when ridden again. But yours truly, on the other hand, can go for longer than that even (years!) and still be hopped up on by just about anybody and behave in a trustworthy manner. But Bella? Ha! Well, you’ll see.
Leta has always bragged about Bella, how mellow she is, how sweet she is, how she’s never bucked in her entire life, blah-de, blah-de, blah-de — ’til the cows come home. But if you ask me that’s a little misguided. I don’t know if she’s really reading Bella right, because here’s what happened.
Sue and April took Bella and me up to our little sand riding arena, and Sue started trotting on Bella. I led the way up there — Bella didn’t even want to go — and I started trotting right away, and having a good ole time of it in fact. Bella started shaking her head and objecting strenuously. She has gotten so big and fat these last few months that she’s like a garden slug so trotting probably did not feel that great to her — or just moving at all, in my opinion.
Sue thought she should get off, but Leta urged her to keep going so as to get Bella off her fat ass and moving a little. So, of course, the unbelievable happened. Bella turned into a rodeo horse and started bucking (and it was pretty darn amazing looking, if I do say so myself), and on the third buck, with all four of Bella’s feet off the ground and her back bowed, Sue went flying! Screaming all the way, landing in a prickly-type shrub, getting knocked up pretty darn good.
No bones broken, no head smashed, they tell me. And Bella was in total shock (I guess she hadn’t thought she had it in her). But I must say, I could have warned them. Bella was just not “up” for this particular activity on this particular day, which, by the way, occurred just before feeding time, and you know eating is her favorite past-time.
Bella gets by with murder because she puts on this act of coyness for Leta all the time, and Leta buys it. But I knew. Fortunately April was ready and willing to hop back up on Bella and trot her for several minutes and make her behave so all would not be lost.
And, I must say, Leta and Bella went back up there today and had a talk. And Leta rode her quietly (which is all she can do with that back right now) and reminded her of lots of their old exercises, and Bella acted “perfect” to hear Leta talk. Hrummph!
Can’t tell if she’s just pulling the wool over Leta’s eyes right now or whether she’s remembering her better side. Guess only time and more riding — or bucking — will tell, so stay tuned.
Recent Comments