"I just love a good horse"

I was wasting time this past weekend by watching a little TV. Craig Cameron, the horse training clinician, made the statement, "I just love a good horse", during his presentation. Kind of made me feel all warm and fuzzy. I was glad to hear him say it. Made me feel like I was not the only old cowboy that was capable of those feelings. Since then I've reflected a bit on some of the horses that I have thought were special over the years.

The first horse that came to mind was Strawberry. Strawberry was a Mustang that was caught off the Bruneau Desert in Southwestern Idaho in the late 1950's. The adults on my grandfather's ranch called him Bruno but my grand mother and us kids named him Strawberry because of his red roan color. Strawberry did not care much for adults but he loved children. My father tried to ride him once while elk hunting. Dad rode him around for a short while then Strawberry sat down on his haunches like a dog. Just sat there. No amount of cussin' could get him to move. Dad got off. Strawberry stood up. Dad got back on, Strawberry sat back down. We switched horses and Strawberry gladly packed kids around for the rest of the week.

When I was about 10 years old my sister and I were riding double on ol' Strawberry. The saddle came loose and slipped under his belly. He waited for us to scramble out from underneath him. When we were out of the way he blew up. Buckin', kickin, fartin', and snortin'. After he got rid of the saddle he came over to us and waited patiently while we gathered up our gear and saddled him back up. We continued with the rest of our ride without any trouble.

My grandmother said she could always tell when my cousin or I was coming out to the ranch. She claimed Strawberry would come out of the back pasture and wait at the front gate for us. I don't know how Strawberry knew I was coming out to Grandma's but I am pretty sure my cousin Linda whispered in his ear and told him when she would be back!

Strawberry was a lucky horse. He had a good home, was well taken care of, and had the undying love of some kids. In his own way, I am sure he loved us back. Maybe he wasn't the only one who was lucky.

Now, nearly 50 years later, I realize Strawberry was just an old jug headed mustang with minimal training. But to a couple of kids, there was not a better horse in the world. And no horse would have  been better for those kids. Even though I've moved on to "better" horses, I still have a soft spot for Mustangs and strawberry roans.

There are a few other horses I think about as being special. But those are subjects for another post. Any horse come to mind when you hear, "I just love a good horse?"