#23 Movies and Reality...

We expanded.

Our stable thrived and we began to board (care for) other people's horses. We built covered stalls and added an arena and I began learning lessons in diplomacy.

Caring for horses was never a problem but caring for their owners was a different story. As we added more and more stalls and more and more boarders, we also added more and more problems.

The people involved were all friendly and charming in their own ways but each had unique needs. Some were demanding of attention and some were novices who needed attentive watching to protect them. Some had egos to be placated and some were charming idiots.

One such boarder was a young man of 30 something. A postal employee who wanted time away from the rat trap of life (and the pressures of the postal service) and used his horse for that purpose. He'd ridden a few times without falling off and therefore was an expert.

He rode his sorrel colored horse out into the mountains a few miles away from our little ranch. In a narrow canyon he dismounted. Leaving his horse, untethered in the middle of the wash, as he climbed the steep canyons' sides. He took with him a hunting rifle and at the top he stopped. Then he began firing.

The sound echoed off the canyon walls, terrifying the horse and as horses do when frightened, it ran away.

His reasons for firing the gun were his own as there was no hunting in a national park. His reasons for expecting the horse to remain were also known only to him. This man learned that in the real world, horses behave as horses always do and not the way of their movie counterparts.

Another of our boarders was a retired military man. He purchased a sweet buckskin colored Appaloosa mare from us. A gentle and patient horse and a good beginner horse for this man. They rode together often, sometimes on trails in the mountains or the desert flat lands and sometimes in the encroaching city areas as well. He was a splendid figure in his black cowboy outfit and matching saddle decked with silver.

One afternoon he was riding in one such city area when he developed a leg cramp. Dismounting he tried walking but could not.

He decided to sent the horse for help.

He untacked the mare and turned her loose, slapping her rump.

"Get help," he admonished as she sped away, remembering those same words as Roy sent Trigger to save the day.

But help... did not return. He waited for hours but his rescuers never appeared. By then his cramp had gone away and he began the long walk home.

Unable to carry his heavy saddle he left it by the roadway, planning to return with his car. The walk home took time and it grew dark before he finally returned. Here he found his little mare in her stall happily eating, none the worse for wear. It appears no one knew he'd gone out, and since the mare was wearing no saddle or bridle everyone thought she'd somehow gotten loose on her own.

In the movies everyone knew what the horse was trying to tell them and rescue always came quickly. The disappointed rider fetched his car and went for his equipment.

But it was not to be found.

Someone had discovered this treasure and made this wonderful bounty their own. Our colonel learned the hard way that movies and reality are not one and the same.