The Night the Horse Wouldn’t Stop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Grandfather, Willie Lawrence, with the old mare Stella

 

Living on the farm out in the country back in the early fifties did not provide a lot of amusement for young boys. We had to make up or try to find our own entertainment. It was this lack of entertainment opportunities that prompted my brother and I and the Scott boys, who lived down the road, to decide to ride the old mare that belonged to my father and an old razor back mule that belonged to the Scott family.

 

It was my thinking that the old mare would not be able to run much so we were not concerned that we would have any difficulty with the adventure. Since there was four of us and we only had two animals to ride we had to take turns.

 

We went up in the field west of granddaddy’s barn and decided we would ride the horse and the mule as fast as they would go. It is hard to remember who went first or the details of the ride. I can say for sure that the mule had a mind of its own and was not about to run very fast. I do believe that I took a turn on the mule and for the most part it was like falling straddle of a fence over and over. The mule was a rough ride and without a saddle was very painful. But we were having fun and it didn’t matter so much that there was not a lot of comfort. It was after dark and we only had flashlights to light our way.

 

After some time with the riding and trading back and forth with the horse and mule it came my turn to ride the horse again. This time I was determined to have a fast ride and was looking forward to this great adventure with some enthusiasm. Keep in mind it was dark but not pitch dark. We could see a little and with the light we could see how to get on and also could see each other for a short distance as we were riding.

 

I want to tell you that night was the greatest horseback ride that I ever had and also the scariest. After I got on the horse and started out with a slow trot I decided that it would appropriate to kick the horse in the sides and let out a yell to get her going. Well, it worked I want you to know and somewhere between the time the horse really started running and the time I had finally got her to stop I went from sitting on the back of the horse to hanging by my hands around the neck and we were still going. I was hollering for the horse to stop and she apparently had decided to teach me a lesson about kicking her in the sides and yelling.

 

She ran for a long ways with me holding on and hanging down around her neck. Finally she had enough and probably thought that I had enough so she stopped and I fell to the ground and about that time I though it would be nice of me to just lead her back to where the others were standing. They had a great laugh about this and at that point we decided the fun was over.

 

The Scott boys went home leading their mule and my brother and I took the mare and put turned her loose for the night.

 

The old mare was about 25 years old at the time of this adventure and we though she would not be able to run much but she showed us she still had a lot of power left. She stayed around on my grandfather’s farm for several more years and died at the age of thirty eight years. This old horse was given to my father by my grandfather when he was eight years old. When my dad moved away he left the house and my grandfather cared for her until her death.

 

I don’t know why I remember this after all these years but I believe it was the fact that the old horse could run so fast and also that I was able to hold on while she was running. It’s hard to tell what would have happened to me if I had let go of her neck.