My Mom had a half-Arab mare named Danny that can't have been very big, but we loved her anyway. We used to go outside of an afternoon and go 'riding'. I must have been four or five and my sister Karen a year and a half younger. We'd salvage a piece of baling twine from the barn and head out to the pasture to capture Danny. She'd have her head down grazing and we'd walk up to her, stand in front of her and with one end of the twine in each hand, try to flip the loop over her head. After several catches of one ear, we'd finally accomplish our mission, fashion a 'halter' out of the twine and lead her over to the fence where the show began.
We'd get her side-ways to the fence and I'd crawl up it and try to get on. Danny was such a lady that she'd move over. Karen would lead her around in a circle and we'd try again. This went on for a while until Karen would walk back and push her bum over to the fence and hold her there. Phewf. Mounted. Now to get Karen up there. She'd climb the fence and lean over to get on, and of course Danny would move over. I'd ride her around in a circle back to the fence. Try again. Same performance over and over until we finally had her mounted.
By now we'd been out there for about an hour and we're finally ready to get this show on the road, and away we go. Danny would start out walking across the pasture and seeing that she was headed back to her buddies would break into a trot. Ok for me, I had her mane to gold on to. Karen? Not so much. She'd be holding on to my waist and start sliding to the side. Bounce, bounce, bounce an off we'd go. Danny would immediately stop, crane her head around and look at us like "What are you doing down there?" And we'd start the whole procedure over again. What better enertainment for Mom who watched us through the kitchen window?
Which is why, when I saw it, that I absolutely had to buy this.
So sweet. We had mules on my grandfather's farm. Horses were for the upper crust in Appalacia back then. With a little cajoling we could mount and ride them, but you always knew who was BOSS. Smarter than any horse I've ever met too...all respect.
ReplyDeleteVery nice... and it's a wondrous thang you were able to find a piece of art that captured your memories so perfectly. Sometimes life is just amazin', innit?
ReplyDeleteThat said... I wonder if I can find a sculpture of a guy face-down on the bar?
Thanks for sharing the memory.
ReplyDeleteYou were a lucky kid to have been raised around horses.
The statue is perfect and I know you will enjoy it. My uncle had an Arabian among other horses. Once saddled, the Arabian would head for the apple orchard to try to scrape you off. If you made it through, she was agreat ride.