Never underestimate your opponet even if it's got 4 legs a head and a tail

Never underestimate your opponent, even if it’s got 4 legs a head and a tail

Never assume you are more clever than the animal you are dealing with as they have got a habit of making you look a complete jackass, I have always loved animals as children we were surrounded by cat’s dogs and a very large white rabbit called Burt. Who would love to play tag with Millie the cat and our Labrador Cindy around the garden?

One thing I always wanted was a horse, and when I started to work, I saved and achieved this. I was then lucky to get my dream job, which was working on a farm, long hard hours, but rewarding working with the livestock.

My horse’s name was rocky and possible a few other names, he knew that I sure the heck was not the boss, I was being granted the honour of being allowed to steer which got to be interesting when we use to complete cross country, one such event was laid out over the farm fields I helped create the course so I thought I had a slight edge over my fellow competitors. Well the day of the event arrived with a lot of people and horses turning up to compete it was our turn but something felt different today with rocky, he seemed to be enjoying himself and forgot the person on top was supposed to be in charge.

We got to the time selection and when the hand brake was being applied to slow down a bit fat chance, I had no option but to point him at a very high dividing hedge with two bemused looking jump judges who got a very rude awakening of “Don’t just sit there move”.  

I have never seen two people move that quickly. We hit the water selection at what I would say was a flat out gallop with me trying to apply the faulty hand brake and then we headed out of the water and up through an open gateway going the wrong way.

We got to the gate leading up the track to his stable and then and only then did he put the brakes on after that demonstration, we stuck to show jumping at least it was in a confined area, this was three-quarters of a ton of horseflesh that had his own agenda.

The next embarrassing situation was a week away for rocky at an establishment, the lady who ran it, her family was involved with the training, showing, riding, judging of horses, so she was extremely knowledgeable. On this particular week, she had some French students over and would be taking out a variety of different horses, well for some reason they decided that it would not hurt Rocky to have someone different than the usual riding staff on board.

We’ll all the horses were stood in a line all track up and tied to the rail, well rocky decided that the grass around the lady house looked very inviting, so he untied the rope and promptly jumped the post and rails and went to explore the grass around this lady house.

It was her pride and joy the last thing she wanted was any four-legged individual having a wander over it.

Well bad timing she walked around the corner of the house and I won’t say what she said but it was something along the lines of “what’s that bloody horse doing on my lawn” in a posh voice, at this point, someone got it into his head that it was play hour as she went to get hold of his reins the more she tried the more he trotted around her lawn.

I think on that afternoon rocky learnt a whole new vocabulary in swear words, she got within grabbing range of the reins when he took off and headed back to where his other friends were tried and patiently waiting to go out, rocky jump back into the yard and stood next to one of his new friends the whole of the yard could not do anything except for laughing.

Which didn’t help although by the time I went to pick rocky up the lady had seen the funny side of the event. Anyone tells me animals cannot think I would disagree they have a habit of making you look a jackass.

And on one other occasion, he was going to have the final word I had asked my boss if he wouldn’t mind if he would run him down the lane, as I thought he was not quite sound, now my late boss was well over 6 foot and had been used to dealing with horses as he had some of his own broodmares, as my boss and rocky started to jog down the lane rocky decided that he could quite easily manage this without anyone hanging onto him.

There was a wooded fence running down the lane and rocky kept pushing my boss in against the fence neither one was going to give in until three-quarters of a ton of horseflesh on Rocky’s side, had my boss against the wooden fence by the time they hit the bottom corner my late boss had no choice but to let rocky go, he trotted down the lane to the housing estate situated two fields over.

When I got there he had his head down and it was come on mum let’s play, my concern was that if he bolted up the road he would cause an accident.

So reverse logic had to be put in to play with him so I walked out around him and walked to the bottom of the grass area, I always carried the one most important item in my pocket the polo mints.  I stood there unwrapping the packet and I got his attention and turned my back cue what have you got, I still ignored him and then I got the shove in the back.