Close Call

When I went to ride, yesterday, I saw the new boarder in the other barn. She has a 5-year-old Arabian. I introduced myself and then got Cole and started riding. Our stables has 3 separate barns that are attached to the indoor arena. We are in the small side barn. There are only 7 stalls over there, and we love how quiet it is compared to the larger front and back barns.

As I was riding Cole, the new boarder was talking to a friend. I heard the words “Morab,” “awesome,” “75% Morgan,” and “has been riding him only a short time.” I couldn’t hear the rest, but I could tell by the tone of her voice that she must have been talking about Cole--and saying very positive things about him. I felt like I was riding the most beautiful horse in the world. Sure, I have gotten many compliments on him in the months that I have had him, and one woman wanted to marry him, but it is much more special to overhear someone talking about him when they didn’t know I was listening.

Eventually, they walked towards the arena and watched me riding. It didn’t take long for the new boarder to realize that he was the horse that she had told her friend about. She said they were just talking about him, and told me how much she likes him.

Later, my boyfriend arrived to help me do the evening feeding. I told him the story, and then I heard the “rest of the story.”

The day before, he was talking to the other women in our little side barn. They told him the new boarder was young and pretty.

My boyfriend has recently begun clicker training with his horse, Starry. He is still on the target training stage. He found it hard to coordinate the clicker, treats and the target towel. He got himself one of those round, plastic butter containers and punched a couple holes in it. He then took baling twine and threaded it through the holes. This way, he can fill it with carrot slices and hang it around his neck. He looks like a total dork; albeit a cute dork, but a dork, nonetheless.

He was in Starry’s stall, doing the clicker, and in walks the pretty new boarder. She wanted to show Cole to yet another friend. My boyfriend panicked! He turned his back on her, whipped his treat container off his neck and hid it in his jacket at the speed of light. He couldn’t let the pretty new boarder see him looking like a dork! Due to his cat-like reflexes, his image has been saved.


Whew, that was a close call!