Mad Cook
Master Chef
This reminds me of when Horse had been ridden exclusively side saddle for over a year. One day, I went up to ride and forgot to take the side saddle so went out on my astride saddle. Horse has always been perfectly fine in traffic and as we were riding along the road outside the farm I couldn't understand why he was trying to get off the road, across the grass verge on the left (we ride on the left as well as drive on it) and into the hedge! I couldn't understand what was the matter. There was very little traffic and he'd been along that road dozens of times. I suddenly realised what the matter was. He'd been used to us riding him side saddle and having no rider's leg on his right side. Suddenly he could feel a leg there and although I wasn't actually using it to direct him, he thought I was telling him to move over to the left so he did! Bless him. I had to concentrate on keeping my leg off his side for the rest of the ride or we'd have been going round in circles.When I was a kid, we spent parts of summers in the mountains. We would go to the local horse place and rent a couple of horses for an hour. The first few times my dad came along and we had a guide. After that, my sister and I went by ourselves (nowadays most places won't let adults out by themselves ). They knew that us two little kids knew to let the horses have their heads if we ever got lost and the horses would head home to the stables.
When I was about fourteen, I took to wearing my hair in "Indian braids". Twice in a row they gave me a horse called Squaw. She was old and a flower eater and I wasn't really a very good rider. So, I asked for a horse with a bit more life in it than Squaw. They said sure, looked at each other funny, and gave me Comanche. Well, he lived up to his name. I couldn't adjust myself in the saddle or move the reins, even a teensy bit, without a reaction. He thought I was telling him to do something. I asked them to hold him, so I could get down. Lots of snickers. Then they gave me an appropriate horse.
Comanche was big and gentle, but extremely well trained - for the owner. No one but the owner of the stables ever rode him. He was a "private horse".
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