At Rocky Top, when I first began riding Rosie, we pretty much had the pasture to ourselves, which allowed us opportunities to gallop without riling other horses to join us. Several months later, I began to see new horses in the pasture, which was fine, as long as they left Rose and me alone. What I mean by this is horses tend to move as a herd, so when one decides to run, generally a few others will join in on the fun, which can turn into a dangerous situation, one I wasn’t ready to risk.
One late afternoon, while Juliann had riding therapy and my boys played, I had separated Rose from the herd and was warming her up at a brisk trot. She was moving to a nice, rhythmic beat, when unexpectedly she bolted into a sidestep.
What in tarnation was that all about? I wondered.
As soon as the question entered my mind, she did it again, this time pivoting around with her ears pointed, nostrils flared, eyes wide, snorting heavily as if trying to rid herself of an offensive smell.
There, standing to the side of us stood a little donkey, looking very forlorn and lonesome.
As my heart went out to the little guy, Rose continued to snort, staring at the donkey with utter distaste. I gave her a reassuring pat, turned her around and signaled for her to trot forward. She sidestepped the first few steps, keeping her eye on the donkey, before easing into a nice pace.
I was enjoying myself immensely, when suddenly, she bolted again, pivoting round to stare at the donkey who was following us.
Great, I thought. I positioned Rose, so she could get a better look. She merely snorted in distaste, backing up while the donkey watched, looking very rejected. I turned Rose asking her to go forward again. She did so, prancing like she was walking on hot coals. The donkey trotted after us. Rose stopped, pivoted to face it and pooped, body quivering.
After having enough of these shenanigans, I asked Rose to canter, which she willingly did, taking a commanding lead far away from the donkey, who watched us from the other end of the pasture. However, out-of-sight did not mean out-of-mind! Rose held her body taunt and was skittish, making our ride unpleasant. I, on the other hand, was determined to enjoy the afternoon. I forced myself to relax in the saddle, believing the donkey was no longer a threat. Besides, it seemed a shame to waste a beautiful afternoon.
Several minutes later, I was completely relaxed. Rose too was calm and had dropped her nose to graze. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the donkey. It had worked its way through the woods to where we were. In an instant, Rose bolted into a full gallop, leaving me momentarily suspended in the air for a few fleeting seconds before I crashed hard to the ground. This was the first and only time Rose ever threw me. I sat on the ground with the donkey watching me.
Needless to say, I learned to humor my horse. We stayed out of that pasture while the donkey was there. Likewise, I learned that any animal other that a horse, dog, cat, bird and occasional bunny, was perceived by Rose as a horse eating monster. Oh, she hated puddles of water too although we worked through that one!
If a trail took us to a field that had a donkey in it, I would have to dismount, cross the roadway and lead my jittery horse who practically pranced on the toes of her hooves past the poor donkey. When I moved her to a stable in Roan, the road that led to the riding trails passed a farm that actually raised and bred miniature donkeys. You would have thought the world had come to an end!
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