Post by Lori on Aug 8, 2007 17:31:34 GMT -5
Toehold4 and I discussed starting a 'horse-lovers' thread on another board. I'm gonna do it here. Feel free to post your horse stories/photos...
--------------------------------
I'll start by telling the story of my first horse, Buck (the horse in my avatar)... I was 12 years old. I lived on a rural golf course, and my best friends lived on a dairy. I had wanted a horse my whole life, and Mr. Moore (my friend's dad) rolled up a whole trailer full of horses one day. As I saw them being unloaded a beautiful buckskin gelding caught my eye. It was the horse Mr. Moore had bought for himself, but problems surfaced almost immediately...that horse HATED men! He was out of control, particularly when a man was around. The next day, the guys decided to teach 'Buck' a lesson. They put him in a paddock, attached a rope to a pylon, and roped him while he was running from them. He flipped over when he got to the end of the rope, and they descended on him like a pack of wolves, saddling and bridling him. But no one could get on him. He pranced and sidestepped, and these big burly guys weren't lithe enough to manage it. I was so d*** proud of that horse, though. Over the next week, I spent every spare moment with Buck, sitting on the fence, sitting in the paddock with a sack of grain, and I befriended him. Mr. Moore noticed, and asked me if I wanted to try to ride him. DUH! He sidestepped me, too, but I finally just grabbed the saddlehorn and threw myself up on him 'Indian-style'. By the time I settled in, he was at a full gallop. Over time, he became my best 'guy', and I became his best 'girl'. He'd nicker and come to me in the paddock whenever he'd see me, and eventually he'd sit still when I would get on his back...
...However, he was of no use to Mr. Moore. One day he decided to sell Buck, and since I was the only one who could get near him, he asked me if I'd ride him in the auction ring. I had tears running down my cheeks as I maneuvered him in that arena, and I was so surprised when at the end Mr. Moore said 'no sale'... The next day my dad handed me an envelope with money. He said "Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas...Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas - go buy your horse". My mom added "Buck has to take the place of a 'boyfriend' until you're at least 16 - deal?" Deal. I found out later that Mr. Moore had called my dad the night of the auction and told him he couldn't bear to sell Buck out from under me, and that he'd accept any offer my dad made. AND that my dad had given up money that he had saved for YEARS for a trip back to his hometown. *sniff* (He did eventually get to take that trip.)
The next few years of my life were barefoot and carefree. Swiping oranges from Mr. Parrish's grove; sloshing up the creek to our favorite sunbathing beach while the horses lounged in the water; barrel racing at the local gymkhanna. Buck was my transportation everywhere, and he mellowed out to where even the smallest child could ride him. I even taught a few riding lessons on him! But about the time I turned 16, cheerleading, a driver's license and a boyfriend relegated Buck to the backseat of my life. Eventually, a man showed up at our house and asked if he could buy Buck. I'll never forget that night. I rode him for a mile in the dark, bareback with nothing but a halter and a lead rope, crying and saying goodbye all the way...
When my mother passed away I saw an entry in her journal about that night. It read "Tonight Lori sold Buck. As that trailer rolled away I held back tears, realizing that it was the end of an era in my little girl's life. I can only hope that the one who takes Buck's place is as beautiful, and loving, and gentle, and loyal as Buck was..."
I ran into Buck's replacement in Gainesville, Florida a few years later...his name is Larry, and he is everything my mother dreamed he would be...
--------------------------------
I'll start by telling the story of my first horse, Buck (the horse in my avatar)... I was 12 years old. I lived on a rural golf course, and my best friends lived on a dairy. I had wanted a horse my whole life, and Mr. Moore (my friend's dad) rolled up a whole trailer full of horses one day. As I saw them being unloaded a beautiful buckskin gelding caught my eye. It was the horse Mr. Moore had bought for himself, but problems surfaced almost immediately...that horse HATED men! He was out of control, particularly when a man was around. The next day, the guys decided to teach 'Buck' a lesson. They put him in a paddock, attached a rope to a pylon, and roped him while he was running from them. He flipped over when he got to the end of the rope, and they descended on him like a pack of wolves, saddling and bridling him. But no one could get on him. He pranced and sidestepped, and these big burly guys weren't lithe enough to manage it. I was so d*** proud of that horse, though. Over the next week, I spent every spare moment with Buck, sitting on the fence, sitting in the paddock with a sack of grain, and I befriended him. Mr. Moore noticed, and asked me if I wanted to try to ride him. DUH! He sidestepped me, too, but I finally just grabbed the saddlehorn and threw myself up on him 'Indian-style'. By the time I settled in, he was at a full gallop. Over time, he became my best 'guy', and I became his best 'girl'. He'd nicker and come to me in the paddock whenever he'd see me, and eventually he'd sit still when I would get on his back...
...However, he was of no use to Mr. Moore. One day he decided to sell Buck, and since I was the only one who could get near him, he asked me if I'd ride him in the auction ring. I had tears running down my cheeks as I maneuvered him in that arena, and I was so surprised when at the end Mr. Moore said 'no sale'... The next day my dad handed me an envelope with money. He said "Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas...Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas - go buy your horse". My mom added "Buck has to take the place of a 'boyfriend' until you're at least 16 - deal?" Deal. I found out later that Mr. Moore had called my dad the night of the auction and told him he couldn't bear to sell Buck out from under me, and that he'd accept any offer my dad made. AND that my dad had given up money that he had saved for YEARS for a trip back to his hometown. *sniff* (He did eventually get to take that trip.)
The next few years of my life were barefoot and carefree. Swiping oranges from Mr. Parrish's grove; sloshing up the creek to our favorite sunbathing beach while the horses lounged in the water; barrel racing at the local gymkhanna. Buck was my transportation everywhere, and he mellowed out to where even the smallest child could ride him. I even taught a few riding lessons on him! But about the time I turned 16, cheerleading, a driver's license and a boyfriend relegated Buck to the backseat of my life. Eventually, a man showed up at our house and asked if he could buy Buck. I'll never forget that night. I rode him for a mile in the dark, bareback with nothing but a halter and a lead rope, crying and saying goodbye all the way...
When my mother passed away I saw an entry in her journal about that night. It read "Tonight Lori sold Buck. As that trailer rolled away I held back tears, realizing that it was the end of an era in my little girl's life. I can only hope that the one who takes Buck's place is as beautiful, and loving, and gentle, and loyal as Buck was..."
I ran into Buck's replacement in Gainesville, Florida a few years later...his name is Larry, and he is everything my mother dreamed he would be...
~Lori
If you are lurking, hi from me! 
