This will be first in a series of posts, as doing it all in one will be too much!
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| Sorry this is so blurry, but this is me at 1 year old, with my first trusty steed, the only one to never throw me off! |
As I've mentioned before, the horse lovin' bug hit me early and it hit me hard. I'm the only person in my family who I know to actually have this affliction, that has lasted beyond a brief childhood stint, except for my cousin Kate and she's still a kid so we'll have to see.
The first horses I remember in my life were a couple of matched ponies named Caesar and Daisy. I have no idea what type of pony they were, but for some reason we called them "Baby Belgians". They were bay and Daisy had a bald face with one blue eye. They were broke to harness and my maternal grandfather used to take us in a little covered wagon or behind a fancy "doctor's" buggy that he owned.
(For clarification purposes you should know that these are the grandparents that abused my sister.)
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| In this picture, Caesar is on the off side, Daisy on the near side. My sister and I are in the wagon. I am getting ready to turn 2 in this picture and I'm in the green hat. |
(For clarification purposes you should know that these are the grandparents that abused my sister.)
I loved those little ponies so much, but it was on Caesar that my bad luck with horses was to begin. My grandmother had put me up on Caesar's back to sit while my grandfather was running the backhoe. Not a good idea. My grandma knew NOTHING about horses and he got spooked, reared and I fell off. One of my earliest memories is of laying on the ground and watching those hooves coming down at me. I was three. It scared the bejeezus out of me, and that started a fear of horses that took over 20 years to conquer. It might have scared me but it didn't diminish my love of these beautiful creatures.
My grandparents were not the best animals stewards in the world. Actually they weren't very good people at all, but without them there would be no Mom and without Mom there'd be no me so......... Anyway, one winter we had an ice storm and the next morning Caesar was running the fence whinnying for all he was worth. My grandfather went out there and Caesar led him to Daisy. She had fallen down the hill and broken her neck. Caesar was around for quite awhile after that but I think he was eventually sold. He wasn't broke to drive single so he wasn't messed with anymore. I remember several older cousins trying to ride him and every one of them being tossed off. He would buck like a little mini saddle bronc!
The next horse to enter my life was a little black mare named Comanche. She was probably about 13 hands or so and really beautiful in my eyes.
I loved her as well, but once again, not a good horse for a timid little girl. My dad used to ride her but one day she threw him and came down on his knee. That was the end of him riding her! She was pastured with our cows and one very early spring she kicked a cow in the belly, causing her to miscarry. Needless to say, Comanche was sold............
Please stay tuned for the next installment of These Are The Horses Of My Life.......
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| This is my sister and I on Daisy. My sister is in the front in the red hat and I'm on behind in my green hat. |
My grandparents were not the best animals stewards in the world. Actually they weren't very good people at all, but without them there would be no Mom and without Mom there'd be no me so......... Anyway, one winter we had an ice storm and the next morning Caesar was running the fence whinnying for all he was worth. My grandfather went out there and Caesar led him to Daisy. She had fallen down the hill and broken her neck. Caesar was around for quite awhile after that but I think he was eventually sold. He wasn't broke to drive single so he wasn't messed with anymore. I remember several older cousins trying to ride him and every one of them being tossed off. He would buck like a little mini saddle bronc!
The next horse to enter my life was a little black mare named Comanche. She was probably about 13 hands or so and really beautiful in my eyes.
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| This is my sister with Comanche. I couldn't find a photo of me with her, although I know there are at least a couple around somewhere. |
Please stay tuned for the next installment of These Are The Horses Of My Life.......
God Bless.........
Thanks for sharing a bit more of your life with us all. I too have experience with horses from the age of about 3 yrs old. My first horse was, "Marvel the Mustang", maybe you'll remember that toy*wink* Then when I was approx. 5-6 yrs old my folks bought me my first pony( she was a welch pony) and her name was Angel. Then I had another mare named Popcorn( a quarterhorse) and a Throughbred gelding named Borkan. Then after a few years of no horse my folks again bought me a quarter horse gelding as a yearling so, I broke and trained him myself, his name was Little Jay. I showed him in open western classes, such as 2yr old under saddle and halter class, was involved in 4-H with him too. when MIke and I married we simply couldn't afford the board( my parents moved to a place with no land) so sadly I had to seel him. It broke my heart! Then came Mo, our fjord into our life and what a blessing for us all but sadly we lost him this summer to an enlarged spleen. I don't know when we'll get another horse, but there will be another, someday. :o)
ReplyDeleteComanche seems like an un-common name but my dad had a horse named that as well when he was younger.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is interesting :)
You must have been pretty special for that first horse to Not Throw you! It did throw me many time.. But that could be because my brother had the reins!LOL
ReplyDeleteMy Grt-grandpa had an old wagon and several pairs of horses. We knew when we went there that he would be hooking it up and taking us for a ride.. At least 10 kids on the wagon up and down the road! It was so cool... He was a cute little Irish man who handled big ole horses with ease even in his 80's..
I can't recall a moment in my childhood without a horse. I was only bucked off once. I remember hitting that hard dirt road. My dad was so mad at that horse. But he made to get back on and ride home.
ReplyDelete(((hugs to Goodwife, her sister and her family))) :(
ReplyDeleteThe old saying, it takes a 100 falls to make a horseman" and "if you havent fallen off while riding then you arent riding enough" is basically my childhood in a nutshell lol...but maybe thats why us huntseat ("english" to you western folks lol) riders are a little whack anyhow :p it takes whack to get over fences on a TB that thinks he can balance over a fence and your checkbook better then you can.
But isnt that the way of life? My girls both started on a shetland pony, aptly named "Rodeo". To this day, when they call with a prob, at the end of the call they'll usually use a familiar family phrase "but I got to get back up on the pony, right mom?" Its amazing how these magnificent creatures (sometimes disguised as squat, pug-faced ponies) can teach life skills that last forever to all of us ~its not the falling thats the hardest, its getting back up again that takes courage...