From: rab@shuksan.boeing.com (Rich Barker)
Newsgroups: rec.equestrian
Subject: Re: Drivers encounter loose horses - CO2 pistol?
Date: 21 Aug 92 20:11:25 GMT
Organization: The Boeing Co., MMST, Seattle, Wa.
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5

Hello, everyone! I've been a lurker for a while, and have finally decide to
come out of the closet on this thread. I bought my QH gelding as a
green broke 3 year old about 8 years ago now. We have had a lot of fun (;-))
together, especially when he was young. He old and staid now, but then
so am I.

I think the funniest thing that ever happened to us was a small yippie dog.
We are in the habit of turning and charging dogs that bother us. This
did a lot to build his confidence around dogs when he was young and it
is a fun game now. On this particular day we were riding 3-4 blocks along
a road to the trail head when a very very small little yippie dog can running
up behind us, yipping his tiny head off. The dog was just about the size
of one of Rusty's (that's the horse, not me) hooves. Talk about delusions
of granduer! He was trying to eat the whole horse, right on the spot!
After a couple of minutes of trying to ignore him, we finally turned to
charge him. YOu should have seen the look of terror come over his face!
That little thing was going about 63 MPH when he left.

Fine, I think, and start off down the road again, when I hear, "yip, yip,
yip, ..." He was back again! This time we turned (The expression was even
more funny this time!) and chased him all of the way accross the road. That
little thing was going a LOT faster than my horse could when he went out
of sight.

OK, back to riding. Then, what do I hear but, "yip, yip, yip, yip ..."
Some people just don't know when to give up! This time I decided enough
was enough, turned, charged, and followed him accros the street. On the other
side of the street, the little dog stopped and turned around to watch me.
We didn't stop! He ran down the street to his driveway and turned around.
We still didn't stop! The look on that poor little dog's face was the
funniest look of stark terror I've every scene. I was laughing so hard
I almost fell off. Meanwhile, Rusty still doesn't stop. We follow that 
dog down the driveway, up the steps, accross the front porch, all the way
to the front door. There the dog discovered to his horror the door wasn't
open and his owner wasn't about to come to the door to rescue him. (Actually,
I wanted to talk to the owner, but he didn't come out.) That poor little dog
plastered himself into the corner between the door and door frame and tried
to "ooze" his way through the crack. Rusty (who must have a perverse sense
of humor) move his head down until he was nose to nose with the dog. Rusty
could have swollowed that dog whole, and never even get any fur stuck in
his teeth, and the dog knew it. The dog's eyes were almost popping out
of his head, he was shaking like a leaf, he was just about to melt down
from the adrenaline. Words fail me here. Rusty, after a minute that must 
have seemed like hours, just snorted and carefully backed off the porch 
and down the stairs. 

I rode past that place for another year or so before I moved, and I
never saw that dog again. I have gotten more than one good laugh at
that poor little dog's expense, though!


Rich Barker & Rusty the knothead
Boeing in Seattle

Witty .sig to follow, whenever I become witty. Shouldn't be long, people
say I'm half way there now.
Newsgroups: rec.equestrian