Years ago Russ used to go horseback riding with our neighbor, Paul. Paul had several horses and Russ always went riding on Nellie. Several other men would bring their horses and the group would take a long Saturday morning ride around the Lucas countryside.
Nellie was an older horse, maybe in her late teens. Paul ended up giving Nellie to Russ. Paul had gotten some new horses and since he didn't want to breed Nellie any longer Russ became her new owner.
Now Nellie was a horse with a mind of her own. Russ could do most anything with her since she was used to his presence. But others wanted to ride Nellie too. My brother was a teenager at the time and he would get Nellie out, saddle her up and try- try is the operative word here- to get on her. He would make it onto her back and then she would just sit down. Just like a dog sits. Of course, my brother would slide off. He would try and try to get her to stand up. Sometimes she decided that she would "play" with him like this for quite a while. He'd get on, she'd sit. Finally, my brother would have to give up. He didn't get to ride very often!
If Nellie decided she'd let you ride she'd behave very nicely. She was a good horse to ride. She had a nice gait and gave you a smooth ride. And she was never skittish about anything. Nothing phased her. So you didn't have to worry about getting thrown off. The time to beware was when you got in sight of the barn. Hold on to your hat, Nellie's goin' home!!! My brother-in-law was riding her once and she took off like a race horse near the finish line. Our barn had this overhang by the gate. Can you see it coming?? She got near that overhang and my brother-in-law nearly got scalped. If he hadn't been very alert and ducked just in time, well, who knows..........That was a ride he didn't forget for awhile.
Nellie was really good with the kids though. They liked riding which led to getting other horses and a pony which is another story for another time.
Nellie lived to be in her late 20's. Russ later became the owner of her son Dakota that became his Saturday morning riding companion for many more years. But Nellie was a good horse. And a character.
