Dudley's Story, continued...
|
Next I wanted Dudley to learn to stand patiently whenever
I put my arm over his neck. The first time I tried this, Dudley
moved away. I grasped my arms around his neck and hung on. After
dragging me awhile, Dudley gave up. We pulled off this dragging
stunt only a few more times before he quit trying. (I don't recommend
this -- there are better ways. Back then, I was younger and more
foolish.) |
 Virginia riding
Dudley bareback with just a halter.
|
Near the end of the first week of November, we got a good snow,
about eight inches. Valerie and Virginia took advantage of it
to learn how to gallop bareback, using Dudley and Coquetta. After
a few falls into the pillowy snow, they caught the hang of it.
Next they decided to prove they could handle Dudley using just
a halter and lead rope. The concept was to neck rein one way,
direct rein the other. He took to it beautifully.
Fifteen days after Dudley joined our menagerie, Dorothy held
a gathering of the East Mountain Spinner's Guild. Valerie rode
Dudley there. While Dorothy and the others pumped their spinning
wheels, Marcie showed me how to do a better job of carding wool.
The idea is to get all the fibers lying in parallel, and eventually
build up a nice long fluffy roll of it. Do the carding right,
and the spinning part works much better. I noticed that she kept
on looking out the window, where Diana and another spinner's
daughter were visible taking turns riding Dudley.
I said to Marcie, "Why don't you try him out?"
"No."
I didn't press the issue, turning back to carding wool.
About an hour, later Dorothy nudged me. "Look out the
window."
Marcie had slipped outside. For the first time in four years,
she was riding Dudley.
# # #
Next chapter: Lady Gold
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Back to the Table of Contents for
Killer Buyer: True Adventures of a New Mexico Horse Dealer
Valerie riding Coquetta.
