This site is slow today and my head is starting to spin...I've been answering 'name my horse' questions!!
Soooo, tell me something you did that you can look back on, and wonder how you ever survived your own stupidity.
ONE of mine... I was about 11, and wanted to ride on one of our friend's horses. He was an old cowboy and rancher. His rule was, if you can catch it and saddle it...you could ride it. Well, the horses were "out on the range", so I took a motorbike and went to find them. Well, I found them and picked the one I knew was the gentlest. Put the halter and lead rope on...and guess what??
Couldn't figure out how to ride the bike back AND lead the horse! So what BRILLIANT idea do I come up with?? I wrap the lead rope around the handle bars and have this GRAND VISION of the horse following calmly while I ride the bike.
WRONG!! DO NOT DO THIS!! IT IS STUPID!!
continued...
2008-03-28T15:13:34Z
Everything is fine until I actually put the bike in gear. Naturally...because of that whole clutch thing...I jerk the horse's head.
He plants his feet, jerks the handlebars...which are connected to the front wheel...and causes the bike to do a 180! I continue in forward motion...laws of physics there...and promptly cover my arms and hands in abrasions.
Thankfully horse didn't bolt. He was a cowpony...so he was steadily backing up and dragging my bike. I caught him and LED him to the house on foot...and walked back and got the bike. Still went riding...but I didn't tell ANYONE what I had done. It's a wonder I survived some of my GREAT IDEAS.
What's one of yours?
2008-03-28T15:20:37Z
Come on Jeff...We already know you are intelligent...how did you get that way?
2008-03-28T16:18:05Z
All right GROWN UPS...you didn't START that way..."rat" on yourselves!
2008-03-28T20:04:13Z
Now see there Jeff? That wasn't so painful to do!! Was it?? Thanks for playing!
I am curious how ajmommy tried to get a Dane on a horse.
Ayla...BRILLIANT! With the cinder blocks...thanks for the heads up...I was actually thinking about doing it!
2008-03-28T20:08:30Z
Horseybill...you're probably right!
Ayla B2008-03-28T16:26:16Z
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Here's a couple of my finer moments... Trying to halter Calamity Jane, a beautiful ranch bred yearling that hadn't seen people up until two weeks before I bought her. I tried everything I could think of by myself, but couldn't catch her. So I called up a cowboy buddy of mine. We ran her in a chute in the barn where we used to AI cattle. I put a board in the slots behind her so she couldn't back up when he went to put the halter on. She backed up, hit the board, it came loose so I grabbed it and held it in place. WHAM! She kicked the board hitting my fingers. Cowboy sees my fingers bleeding and asks if I'm ok- I say yeh, just get the ******* halter on her. Long story short, I had 3 black fingernails and ended up loosing them eventually. Real attractive when I was bartending at the time!
Another one of my genious moments-I put my old gelding out on a picket line to graze. About 10 years ago he had all the grass eaten down around the handy trees, fences, etc. He was used to the picket line so I got the idea of tying him up to 2 cement blocks and putting them in the areas he couldn't reach. Worked great, when the line got tight, he knew not to go any further. Until one day a friend pulled in with a horse trailer (I didn't know she was stopping by or I wouldn't have had him out there) and my old boy got all wound up, and came galloping, cement blocks bouncing behind him. The first one was in pieces when he got up to the yard, and as he came around the barn the other block swung wide, bounced, and hit the "Red Lemon" (work car) and broke out a tail light. Horse stopped when he got up to the horse trailer. My friend just stood there, eyes wide and jaw dropped open. Then she made a comment about things never being boring out here! Needless to say I started pounding in steel posts here and there instead of cement blocks.
Last one, this same friend and I would ride to town and the bar had what we called a "ride up window" where we would tap and order, the bartender would bring it out back for us. Worked great until one day I was in a growley mood, and there was this airhead fluff working. We tapped, and she ignored us. Wrong thing to do. We go around front, lean down, open the door, and ride our horses in, laid cash on the bar, and ordered. She didn't say anything, but gave us our order and we rode out, scratching up the old hardwood floor. We called up the owner, volunteering to re-varnish the floor but the owner laughed and said don't worry about it, people need something to talk about!
Come on, Jeff! We won't think any less of you, lets hear your story!
Kicking Bear-it takes a real man to admit to that story! That's a good one! lol
Well, I'll tell you the stupidest thing my MOM ever did... I got my first horse at 11, after 5 years of riding and experience with green and/or crazy horses. I got an 8 year old mare that had only been ridden/handled for 2 months. We also got a companion horse who was well trained and my mom started taking lessons on her. One day I was riding my horse during her lesson on the other horse, then I wanted to jump the other horse out in the field, so left my mom holding my horse. The instructor asked if my mom wanted to try riding my horse and my mom said no, so the instructor left the ring. Then, alone in the ring, my mom changes her mind and tries to get on. She had only been riding for a very short time and must have done something while getting on because my horse took off, my mom hit the hard dirt and broke her pelvis.
Later, I used to get on this same horse anywhere in the field with no bridle or halter and gallop flat out to the barn. It always turned out okay because she always ran straight for the barn, didn't buck and then stopped when she got there. I also took her swimming, rode through culverts under a 6 lane divided highway, rigged up old belts and longe lines to make her tow me on skis, and did many other not so smart and probably dangerous things, but it all turned out fine.
My first horse was a Quarter Horse mare. She had been a cutting horse and could turn on a dime. I decided I would try jumping her. I was running her up to a jump and just as we got up to it she immediately turned to the left. I was left in the air. Where did I ever get the idea she would be a jumper?
P.S. I think your's was great. Because he was a cowpony, he probably thought he'd roped a strange kind of steer and the handle bars were the horns. That's why he backed up. To keep the rope tight.
I am quite honestly too embarrassed to tell you the stupidest thing I have ever done. But if someone can top mine I'll fess up. If not then no way no how am I gonna rat myself out (LOL)! And no you do not have me beat. The only difference was I was never in danger.
OK Bunny this is the single dumbest thing I have ever did. It nearly cost my stud colt's life. Granted it was done on pure instinct and reflex but it was REALLY STUUUUUPIIID!
I was cleaning brush and brambles off an electric fence which runs the interior of my studs fence. Actually I was extending the fence a little which is why I had a LOT of limbs to cut. I was using a hand forged hand axe that was literally sharp enough to slice meat like a knife blade. So here I was calmly cutting off branches. Paying attention to where my stud was. Then he left for the other end of the field so I dropped my guard. I hadn't moved ten feet when he snuck up behind me and grabbed my shirt to play. I was startled! So I whirled around to deal with whatever it was. As I whirled I slapped out with the axe. In midair I realized what had grabbed my shirt and tried to turn the axe and stop it at the same time.
I managed to slow the strike so it barely touched him, but in my haste to turn the blade I turned it the wrong direction. Thank God it barely touched him. It still cut him dead center of his throat, right in front. It was just through the skin but I actually had to sew him up to prevent a scar. The whole time he just stood there as if he was asking "What did you do that for?"
From that day on I decided I would put him up before I trim the fence or use anything sharp for that matter.
I was a novice ok I will NEVER do this again...Its so embarrassing but here I go
Me and my friend were trail riding (are instructor walking and leading the way) we got to an spot with a shed or something and a road across the road were houses.For some reason my friends horse took off! (so sad her horse was the leader of all the other horses at that stable) so my horse started trotting after her and my friend was screaming to me (I think she dropped the reins) I kissed and went after her but my horse was lazy and in the background I could hear my instructor telling my friend to jump and me to stop I finally realized what she was saying and slowed down my friend i think finally got a hold of the reins and stopped her horse (THANK GOD!) We got a lecture about horses being herd animals and learned NEVER to do that again...So for all of y'all NEVER try to out run a Alpha horse! XD