The phone call started with, “Mom! I need you to get down here right now!” Our oldest daughter had popped home on a Thursday afternoon to go for a quick ride on our palomino. The problem is, when you haven’t ridden in a couple of weeks, the horse has gotten out of the habit of working and needs a slow start to getting ready.
We have had some problems with this mare being “cinchy” when it is time to saddle up. This summer we worked with her in a slow process to lunge her and slowly cinch the saddle up. On this particular day, our young adult daughter had gotten in too big of a hurry. The horse was mad and threw one of her fits. This resulted in her rearing up and biting her tongue. The injury sent the horse into shock and she went down quickly, scaring our daughter immensely.
When I got down to the tack shed to assess what had happened, the horse was down but she was breathing and eyes fluttering. We took the saddle off her and loosened the halter and lead rope. She was bleeding from her mouth. We rubbed her down for a little while and then I got a bucket of grain from the shed and shook it around. This perked the horse up immediately and we let her get her bearings again. Our daughter took her on a walk to get some water and to give us an opportunity to check her for injuries.
Fortunately, the horse was fine. A valuable lesson was learned that day – take your time with this horse. She needs a slow wind-up when she has not been ridden in a while. She is a creature of habit and will work hard when she is ridden consistently.
Children are like that too. Even though our daughter knows the routine very well, she took for granted how much it mattered until the situation became a near emergency where she or the horse could have been hurt. My own mother used to say, “I buy you books and I buy you books. But what do you do? Eat the covers.” I have no idea where this saying came from but the gist of it is – most of the time mother (and father) know best even when you are twenty years old.
Our college girl is home for winter break. We are going to enjoy her for a few weeks before she returns to the university for her sophomore spring semester. I think there are several things she has come to appreciate about her parents since leaving for college last year. She has really enjoyed living in her sorority house. Chef David spoils the girls with great meals every day, but nothing really beats mom’s home cooking. Especially during holiday time.
I hope your family has had a Merry Christmas and wish you a Happy New Year too! No matter how old you are, when you are in trouble or scared, call your mom, neighbor.
Jody Harris is a freelance communications specialist, gardener, ranch wife and mother of four. She and her family raise Angus beef cattle and other critters on their northwest Arkansas ranch. She is a graduate of Missouri State University. To contact Jody, go to ozarksfn.com and click on ‘Contact Us.’
