Departing.........a Little Gremlin Farewell

The conversation with most of these kids wasn't even affected by the swing of Legs' head. Part of the kids may have scattered but the others still felt safe and secure petting away and asking more questions. Legs.........well, he seemed to be amused by watching the ones that had fled as they came back trying to act all non challant.

I was amused as well. It was much like watching one of the horses when he/she has spooked at something silly. You know the one when they realize they've been foolish. That's how these boys looked as they made their way back to pet my horse.

The boys that were talking chatted on as if they hadn't noticed the flight of their companions. There was no teasing about being a scaredy cat like I expected. Instead one of the boys told he had a horse at home and that horse had had a baby once. I heard all about it's name and where it went. It was very cute and the other boys suddenly had new respect for their comrade because he actually got to live with a real live horse.

I don't know how long we stood there. It was not Legs' attention that waned but mine. Not being one to stand still for too long it was time to get back to work. I made eye contact with the one counselor who seemed to be calling the shots and he immediately knew it was time.

He called all his little charges over to where he stood instructing them to move slowly and respectfully around the horse. Most of them immediately did as they were told but a couple of them moaned. The moaners were the ones still petting away at Legs' neck until the very last second. Then they begrudgingly moved away as they were told. Their cute little shoulders slumped down just a little as they left.

The chatter continued right on through their move. Questions or observations, it didn't matter. These boys were still focused on my horse and what was coming next. "Are you gonna RUN with Legs?" followed by all kinds of affirmations amongst themselves that running sounded like a really COOL thing.

I told them we would probably do some running but it would only be after we were clear of them. When horses run their hooves can throw rocks and clods of dirt. Again there was an excitement to their chatter as the boys pictured how cool that must be.........dirt projected through the air by flying hooves!

When I asked Legs to move off onto the right trail, the horse carefully looked around himself checking for little boys. Once he was sure everyone was out of reach Legs moved off and we were finally headed down the trail again.

Behind us I could still hear the boys talking about my Arabian horse as we made our way up to the steep hill. Running up that hill is the horse's favorite way to take it. With the boys far enough behind us, I gave Legs his head and he barreled up the grade. Behind us little boys were squealing in the pitch that resembled that of Sister A as they witnessed the running they'd been hoping to see. Who knows maybe at least one of those boys got bit by the horse bug that day.

Normally I would circle around to then go back down that grade. A usual workout for Legs means taking that thing at least six times in both directions. With these little gremlins taking over the woods, I was thinking it probably wouldn't be a very effective day if I tried to get that done so instead I headed off to one of the bigger lanes to see if we could lope there.

Right in the middle of that lane there was more evidence of the gremlins in the woods. The boys had placed a picnic table blcoking the whole path. To get around the thing I had to take Legs into the underbrush which is not his favorite thing because it seems to stir up lots of creepy crawly thing, not my favorite either.

A little off from there in one of the usual picnic spots I saw their little setup. There was a purple flag planted in the ground and an assortment of backpacks, bags and stuff. All the trappings of what you'd expect for a day camp for boys.

Off on the other side of the road I could hear the squeals of little girls which probably meant that wasn't going to be much of a place to ride either. I could picture what their little camp must look like. It was time to head off in another direction.

I took Legs around the outer perimeter of the area we normally ride. It was pretty obvious this wasn't going to be the kind of workout we normally do. I decided to give Legs a break so we headed on back towards the horse trailer.

In route we went close to where the boys were still squealing and playing in the woods. They were off in the distance but if they were paying attention, I knew they could see my horse. As we rode out of sight I heard one of the boys calling "Bye, Legs.................." Then the dejected cries of the boys who'd missed their last sighting of my horse.

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

The Gremlins are Gone