07/22/05 Another Dot story

Recently I told you about Dot, the horse my brother and I learned to ride on. I'm Jeff Keane and I have another Dot story I'll share with you in one minute. Dot was a kid trainer supreme because she had certain standards that she expected you to adhere to. Long before she was our kid's horse, she was Mom's saddle horse that she brought with her when she married Dad. Even then Dot had guidelines to ride by and one of her cardinal rules was no riding double. Now, to Dad, a horse on the ranch that wouldn't ride double was like dangling a steak in front of a dog, sooner or later you know that dog has just got to try for that steak. Dad's chance came late one evening after a full day of moving cows. All the horses were pretty tried so Dad slipped up beside Dot and Mom vaulted from his horse to that out of bounds place behind Mom's saddle, grabbed for saddle strings, and was ready for the big ride. Problem was, the saddle string he grabbed turned out to be a fringe on Mom's chaps that kept pulling her foot out of the stirrup as Dot did her dance. Pulling Mom's foot out of the stirrup didn't help Dad or Mom's balance, consequently, Dot quickly deposited them both in the dirt then turned and gave them a look that said I hope I don't have to explain this riding double thing again. Mom got back on Dot, Dad caught his horse and rode him home with no more thoughts of riding Dot double. Luckily for Dad, Mom had a good sense of humor about the whole event so he did get supper that night and he didn't have to sleep in the barn with Dot. I'm Jeff Keane.