Memory Monday: Another Good Horse

I tend to write as if I am accident prone.  Or just lucky.

And now that I think about it, that is probably the case.  

It was summer.  The herd was in a far off pasture filled with several steep hills.  I don't remember why I chose the horse I did.  I think it was because he was new to the herd and easy to catch.  The older ones tend to get a little smarter and go hide in the trees instead of waltzing up to you like "Hey, you got a carrot?"

But I do remember scrambling up and down some of those hills.  The horses were being obnoxious and were more like herding cats that day instead of herding cattle.  I could see his bright copper ears perked forward.  He enjoyed this job.  I was happy to see him settling into the herd.  

A few gnats settled down on his ears and he shook his head.  Oh crap.  This gelding just had one of those heads that crownpiece would slide right off.  And off it slid. I froze for a second to see what would happen.  He ambled along, just doing his job.  I waited to see how long he would hold the bit in his mouth.  He seemed oblivious to the fact that he was pretty much free to do the whole Man From Snow River Impersonation without any say from me.

But he didn't.  He was a good boy and quietly stopped.  I managed to reach forward and wrangled the bridle back onto his head and finished the job.

Note to self: different bridle for that horse.

Secondary note to self: How on Earth do I manage to have these experiences?