![]() A burro’s ears look comical and cute and make me smile. However, those funny ears belie the burro’s smart, quick, and wily personality. As a child I rode a burro and learned how clever they are. Our family had one horse that my sister and I took turns riding. If we went on a trail ride together, one of us had to ride a friend’s burro. It was stubborn but would follow the horses. As I recall, it had an appropriate name like Taco. Our saddle didn't fit the burro, and neither of us liked riding him. With no saddle, no thick mane to clutch, and a flat ironing board back, riding Taco bareback faster than a walk was precarious. Of course, when we went trail riding, the kids who rode horses always wanted to gallop, and Taco would race after them. Most times, the unfortunate sister riding the burro managed to stay on the choppy gaited donkey’s back, that is, unless Taco bucked. He didn’t give much of a buck, just enough to throw us off balance. Then we’d hit the ground hard, while Taco merrily kept running after the horses. My most remembered unanticipated burro dismount happened after a heavy rain that left giant puddles along the side of the trail. Cool weather made the horses frisky, and they took off at break neck speed, with Taco in hot pursuit. The race excited him and up went his heels, just once, but with enough force to throw me forward onto his neck, behind his huge ears. Then a strange thing happened. He stopped, moseyed to a big, muddy puddle, and lowered his head. Over those big black-tipped ears I slid, and splash, landed in the puddle. Taco’s innocent brown eyes stared down at me all wet and muddy, and then satisfied, turned and raced after the horses. Despite frequent falls, off horses as well as Taco, I kept climbing back on and never lost the joy of riding. For me, learning to ride horseback was a trial and error, hands on experience. I eventually gained a glimmer into my horse’s mind and started anticipating her frequent misbehaviors. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed being taught by my many horse partners and feel blessed by every equine—for that matter all the pets—that have shared my life. My latest young adult novel, Remedy, the story of a boy and a wild burro, is now available at: Whimsical Publications Amazon.com Smashwords.com |
2 Comments
9/23/2012 04:04:06 am
LOL. I can picture you sliding into the mud and the burro laughing in his own way. Great post. Congratulations on your book. Looking forward to reading it.
Reply
9/23/2012 04:48:04 am
Thanks, Beverly. It wasn't funny then, but I can laugh now. Taco always got the best of me.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
January 2020
Categories
All
|