Trail safety

["jsalas" <jsalas@tampabay.rr.com>]

I'll just bet you are getting a computer full of stories. I once met some people to go riding and one of them, very inexperienced, rode my Dough Boy. One of the other riders was a real anal pore. He thought it was so funny that his horse kicked at every horse that came near but it was scarring the crap out of the lady on my horse. "Oh, that's just the way my mare is." he said. I finally told him that if his horse hurt my daughter, my other horse or the person riding my other horse, I was going to hang him by his own bridle. I also advised him that if he couldn't control his horse, he needed to ride alone. He stayed away. The most dangerous thing about riding horses, is riding with stupid people.

Another incident that comes to mind was an accident, but it could have been prevented. A friend was ponying her horse and had wrapped the rope around the horn of her saddle. Well the ponied horse took off as we totted ahead, pulled the saddle and rider off the mounted horse and the saddled horse took off. She ran a good 2 miles full speed. By the time I caught up to her, the saddle was under her and had caused 2nd or 3rd degree burns under her elbows and cut up her belly and back legs. She was shaking, and couldn't move. We got her home, the rider was ok and everything turned out ok. Now most cattleman and experienced horse people will tell you it is ok to wrap a rope around the horn. It is if you know what you are doing. It could have been much worse and it was just an accident. I have done some dumb things myself, not totally stupid, just dumb. But  hopefully, I have learned from my experiences. Again, the ones who think they know it all and yet know nothing and never learn anything, are the ones to be terrified of. Lisa Salas, the Odd fARM we be odd.