Got an email from and old friend after my last post, we laughed remembering how that mare was not supposed to buck. He said anytime someone brings him a horse to ride and says "it never bucks", he thinks about that day. It got me to thinking about some of the (funny now) wrecks that we had back then. I specifically remember a horse that we called Ol' Red (even though he was only a 2YRO).
When the horses were brought in for us to start, they were unassigned. Meaning you didn't know which one you would get. Our instructors would assign them based on our ability as riders. I would say horsemanship abilities, but thinking back...we didn't have much of that. Our best feature was probably that we were young, limber and bounced when we hit the ground. Anyway, before they were assigned we had to get them out of the stalls to exercise them. Well Ol' Red was a little on the wild side....he was brought in an open stock trailer and ran down the alley to a stall. Pretty much untouched. Guy drew the short straw to exercise him and when he opened the stall, Red reached out with his front foot and removed some buttons from Guys jacket! Guy shut the stall door, with saucer like eyes and said, "I do believe he is exercised!"
Well that right there meant he was a little broncy! Yee haw! Almost all of us guys started lobbying our instructors right then to get assigned to Red. You never saw better lobbyists, not even in Washington! I was the best lobbyist of all, I drew him. Looking back...Kenny, one of the instructors, was probably giggling like crazy!
We had to put him in the bucking chute to get a halter on him, then I led him around with a 30 lariat (couldn't get any closer). This should have been a clue....apperently I was clueless! After about a week of leading him around with the lariat, he finally started trusting me enough to lead like a somewhat normal horse. All this before we put the saddle on him! Being young, limber, bouncy and stupid; I just knew he was going to buck. Oh the joy, I couldn't wait! What a bummer, the actually saddling was anticlimatic...didn't even hump his back. What a disappointment...but, he was brought in to be started and I did know the owners. So I settled down to starting a two year old.
After about a month of riding it started to get cold (gets that way in southeastern Colorado). Being 10 feet tall and bullet proof, I tended not to spend anytime warming my horses up before I got on. And I suppose this would be the funny part.....
I was in the round pen and Kenny told me I needed to warm him up a little before getting on. What did he know, he was old and afraid....right? Well we made about two rounds and Red started bucking, I don't mean little crow hops! It seemed he was pretty serious about getting me off! He made about 10 jumps, they told me later it was only 2 or 3....they were all liars anyway, I choose to believe 10 jumps! Somewhere around the 10th jump (my story, I'll believe what I want), I came loose and went flying over the top rail of the roundpen. I lay there a little bit, Kenny came running over....sure was nice of the crusty old rascal! He asked if I was hurt and all I could say was "did anybody see me?" He laughed pretty hard over that and about that time all of my friends came over, trying to hide their laughter. I would like to believe they were trying....but some were outright laughing! The nerve, I could have been hurt.....they were my friends, did they not care? I was not hurt (best features bit), but I could have been!
Later that night, after doing what most all college kids do when they are away from home, Guy pointed out to me that it is always funny when it happens to someone else. I thought about that for a minute, well thats true....if it had been one of them....I'd have laughed so hard, that I would have fallen off my horse!
By they way, Red never bucked again and turned into a pretty solid colt....
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