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The Appaloosa Saga Continues
Down Memory Lane! page 8

Picture #1 top/left
This is Sheba, with Connie and Eric standing in our pasture. the other horses are way in the background. Sheba was not just a pet but a true friend. She would always escort us on the trail rides and was very protective of all of the live stock on the farm. At that time we had a small zoo here, LOL for we had ducks, grease, turkeys, goats, rabbits, chickens, hogs, gunnies, peacocks, cows, and horses. Sheba was a great hunter and it was nothing for her to get a rabbit or squirrel but the funny thing was, when one time all the pet rabbits got loose and were running all over the place and Sheba never offered to eat any of them.

She somehow knew the difference between the wild ones and the pets. Heaven help any varmints that tried to get any of our pets. Sheba had only one true love and that was Ben, a neighbor's bird dog which had been ruined by their son. The boy had thrown firecrackers at the dog when he was young and when you shot a gun he would run home, which is not good as far as hunting dogs go. Anyway where you saw one you saw the other and it got so bad that our neighbor finally just gave Ben to us because they couldn't keep him home anyway. We in turn gave Ben to my sister who lives about 18 miles from here. After delivering Ben, it only took him about a week to find his way back here.

WE never tried to separate them again. It wasn't long after Ben died of old age that Sheba died. She was old and I guess that she just couldn't stand being without her true love, Ben..... We have never owned a dog, before or since, that could compare to Sheba......

Picture #2 top/right
Oops, there goes grand pa again, riding on Sabrina. Looks like he was riding in a caddy the way he was reared back.... LOL

Picture #3 middle/left
Take a snowy day, 3 rambunctious boys, a sled, and one pony and you have the makings for a whole bunch of fun. In the pix is Jimmy, Scott, Eric, and Maude the Pony...

Picture #4 middle/right
This is Van and me after rounding up the cows which had found a hole in the fence and were scattered all over the country side. Van's ears are still pinned back which says that he was still mad at those dumb cows. LOL. They really gave us a workout that day and it was sure cold to boot. I think that Van deep down inside hated those cows. LOL

Picture #5 bottom/left
This is a pix of King and me at the Christmas Parade in Hopkinsville. Ky. Yep, I was in the Christian Co. Sheriff's Posse. I had only had King for about 3 weeks at that time. King was a Colorado stallion which at the age of 5 had a state title but the people who owned him at that time couldn't pay for him and so they turned him loose in the mountains to run wild, and he did so for 6 yrs. He was then spotted by a plane and the people who originally owned him went and got him and took him home.

Now, 6 yrs. is a long time for a stallion to run wild, especially when he had defended his heard of broodmares against mountain lions, bears, and such. And so in less than 1 mo. King had come from the wilds of Colorado to the Bar-K-Ranch and in the parade. A great transition for that old stud. Because of King's cold back {meaning he would buck every time you got into the saddle}, I left for the parade quit early that morn to try and ride him down before the parade started at 12 noon. After several hours of bucking around the parade started and I didn't know what was going to happen but King went the whole 6 mile parade run with out a hitch or mishap. The second we got back to the parking area he flew into bucking again and that was when I decided to part company with that beautiful stallion. A few days later I bought Van....

Picture #6 bottom/right
This is Connie and myself at one of the awards banquet receiving the state champion trophy for Van. A real pair of happy campers here. LOL

THIS IS THE STORY ABOUT VAN LEARNING TO JUMP..


There were about 25 of us out trail riding one beautiful Saturday afternoon when we came across this deep ravine with a small creek running through it. The banks on either side were about 8 feet deep and it spanned 18/20 feet across.

Normally, Van was in front but for some reason he didn't want to cross this part of the trail and so I waited for everyone to cross in hopes that Van would want to cross after seeing all the other horses on the other side. This did not work however and I was not about to get off to lead him across and so I started to eat him alive with the spurs. All of a sudden and to my surprise, Van, decided to make the crossing but not by the conventional method of walking down the path, crossing the stream, and walking up the other side, for with one great leap we forged that ravine. Now on the other side was a fallen tree laying at the top edge of the bank and Van's front legs were over the tree and the back two legs were half way up the bank slipping and sliding in the mud. I, of coarse was sitting in the saddle with my feet in the stirrups.

The catch was that I was standing on this tree and as Van would scamper up the saddle would hit my butt and Van would slide back down. After several attempts I finally stepped onto the tree and let Van climb to the top. It wasn't all that funny to me but the other 24 riders got a great kick out of it and ribbed me the rest of the day about my high jumping mount.
 

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Last update on July 20, 2007