Aidol's Story.........A Little about Games........

Part 1

Aidol always has been quite a character. His energetic spirit drives him to seek out interesting things to do. Never content just to graze in the field, we never really knew what the horse would get into next.

Aidol earned the reputation of escape artist while he lived with us. If the horse had any kind of access to the latch keeping him stalled, you could bet the horse would find a way to get it undone.

However, Aidol was not content just to be free from his stall. To his way of thinking he needed to share that freedom with someone. If we went out in the morning to feed and found Aidol loose, we knew to begin looking for other loose horses as well. Aidol never escaped without taking at least two even three of his closest buddies right along with him.

Back when Dave built my trail obstacles for me, he decided he'd just build them right in the field I planned to use them in. That way, I guess, he wouldn't have to worry about moving the things after construction.

The only problem with this plan was that Aidol and Dandy had turnout in that field. Dave just figured the sound of sawing and hammering would drive the horses away but neither Aidol nor Dandy were concerned about such sounds. Instead they were consumed with curiosity.

Dave found himself with both horses right smack in the middle of the mix. They were picking up boards, tools and even the container of nails. Dave spent more time retrieving his stuff from the horses that he did putting the boards of the bridge in place.

As Dave hammered the planks of the bridge in place, he knelt on the newly forming deck to position the next board. Both horses were right there in the thick of it trying to push Dave aside so they could test the new deck too.

When Dave changed his approach and moved off the deck into the hole between the sides, Aidol moved right up onto the bridge inspecting each new plank as Dave hammered it in place. Each time Dave would add a board, Aidol would move up to keep up with Dave. Before Dave put that last board in place both horses were standing on top of the bridge waiting for Dave to finish so they could play with their new toy.

Aidol didn't just have to have people toys for entertainment. The horse was known for coming up with games with whatever might be available around him. The horse could be seen creating his own obstacle course jogging around bushes, jumping logs, ducking low branches and crossing the creek in a pattern that became obvious with his repetitions.

Then the horse could be seen encouraging one of his pasture mates to play along. The horse would go figure out his course and then bug Dandy or Mark to pursue him through it. Before long all three horses could be seen running this little pattern and I swear you could see them laughing at all the fun they were having.

One of Aidol's favorite games had to do with the creek. It didn't have to be warm for the horse to play it either. If any of his buddies were grazing anywhere near the water, Aidol would go up and slash them. Just plopping a hoof into the water was not throwing enough water for Aidol's liking. The horse was notorious for throwing himself down into the water to make the biggest splash that he could.

There is a particular hole that lends itself quite nicely to this endeavor. Aidol knew how to lure his buddies up close to this spot so he could make a surprise attack.

Dandy was never one to ignore a challenge. If he was the victim of Aidol's drenching, you could bet that Dandy would retaliate. Before long both horses were taking turns throwing themselves into the depths of that creek.

The water would spray in all directions sometimes as high as ten feet in the air as the Arabian horses did cannon balls at each other. No time was taken for shaking off or regrouping. The bombardments continued like a string of exploding firecrackers. The only pauses were to accommodate the water returning to it's place in that hole.

Even if we were off working in the barn, we'd hear this commotion. There was so much water being displaced by the force of the horses launching into the small pool it sounded like we were actually on some crowded beach with a bunch of rowdy boys playing rough with each other.

The only guarantee to stop this sport was if I tried to get a picture of it. To this day I have not one picture of these water fights but I can still see them clearly in my mind's eye. Every now and then Dandy still throws himself down into that hole and I can't help but wonder if the horse isn't missing his brother, Aidol, when he does.

To be continued..............

At the Elbe Hills




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