low_delta

My dad was talking about a horse he used to ride. I'm not sure exactly when this was.

It was a 3-year stallion, 16-1/2 hands, that nobody else could ride. He was able to ride it though, but it was tough. He said he learned more than the horse. He had to cross the reins, and he had a leather rod that he'd whack it on the neck when he pulled the reins. It eventually learned to turn when he pulled the reins. It was very spooky, though. It would spook at the slightest things, like birds. Once, a bird flew and spooked it, and it turned abruptly. He had a stirrup in the dirt, but the horse recovered and ran on. It really loved to run at high speed.

It allowed itself to be ridden, but would take any opportunity to remove the rider. It would intentionally go under low tree limbs. Or move along a barbed wire fence. My dad said he'd raise his leg above the fence, and the horse would scratch itself.

He said he almost got killed a couple of times. Once he was going down a slippery hill. It was mud over frozen ground and he felt the hooves slipping. He got off to lead it, but the horse ended up sliding anyway. It slid and pushed him up against a tree trunk. He was able to wriggle free, or he might have been suffocated. Another time he saw a steep hill that other horses had gone up, so he tried it. near the top, he realized the horse was standing only on its hind legs. He threw himself forward against the horse, which pushed it forward so it's front hooves could get hold, and it made it to the top. He said if the horse had fallen, he would have been under it.