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                                 Horse Stories
                                 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^


             The following horse stories were  told  to  me  by  Kathy
         Adler  during  a  phone  conversation.  The main character is
         Little John, direct descendant of Man Of  War,  the  greatest
         race   horse   that   ever   lived.  John is a remarkable and
         intelligent horse - he even knows the difference between  yes
         no  and  please!   If  you  ask  him  questions,  or  request
         something of him, he will indicate the answers or requests by
         positioning his head and feet differently.


             One  morning  when  I came in to feed Little John, he did
         a  series  of things he never did before.  He first turned me
         around by pushing on my shoulder.  Then he stretched his neck
         way out and "kissed" me on the  mouth!   I  thought  it  very
         strange  and  wondered  where he had learned such a behavior.
         Later, my daughter asked her friend Debbie if her  and  Kevin
         were  in  the barn last night. She answered, "Yeah, we were."
         She asked, "What were you and Kevin doing in  the  barn  last
         night,  in  the  barn,  Debbie?"  She answered, "We were just
         talking."  Well,  she  finally  volunteered  under  a  little
         pressure,  that  her  and  Kevin  were kissing.  Debbie then,
         stomped up to Little John and said, "You're the  most  ROTTEN
         horse!!"


             On  the  way  to  a  friend's  wedding,  we spontaneously
         decided to take some pictures with Little John.  Well, he had
         differernt  ideas.   My  son tried to halter him, and he just
         would'nt    have    it.    He  bolted and sped off. Suddenly,
         he halted in mid-run, turned on his heels and  came  charging
         towards   him.  He gallopped through the mud puddle near him,
         covering my son with thick, gloppy mud!  So much for a  clean
         white  shirt.  Then my niece lured Little John with a handful
         of Omelene (a granola-like, mollasses  covered  oat  mix  for
         horses).

             As he ate calmly from her hand,  she  smugly  said,  "Now
         we're  getting  somewhere."  Just  then, Little John got some
         water and spit half-chewed Omolene and  water  all  over  her
         head!  We all ended up getting mud splashed, grain covered or
         something  similar during this eventful "photo (or non-photo)
         session!" We all had a great laugh -  especially  the  stable
         owner, Mary.  She was literally doubled over laughing!


                           My First (Real) Pony Ride


             For  two weeks in July, Between  the  ages  of  8and  10,
         my  parents  took  me  to  my  Uncle  Hugh's  and Aunt Jean's
         beautiful ranch in Kentucky.  What a wonder world for a young
         city girl!  One summer, when I was almost ten, I decieded  it
         was time to ride there black Morgan horse, Billy.  Uncle Hugh
         had  a  hard  time  waking  Bily  up from his nap. I Remember
         kneeling down beside Billy and stroking his  satiny,  velvety
         black coat.  It was very exciting to think that in just a few
         short  minutes,  I  would  be  on his back, riding across the
         meadow!

             Well, Billy woke up, alright.  As soon as I  grabbed  the
         reigns, he took off like a flash, leaving four worried adults
         in a cloud of dust!  My heart was racing.  What fun! I'm sure
         my  parents thought otherwise.  I saw that we were headed for
         a low, oak tree branch, I did my best to  steer  him  to  the
         right  and  around it, but he was on his on course, and there
         was nothing I could do to change it!  So  I  leaned  forward,
         long  and  low and hugged Billy's big, thick neck real tight.
         He slowed down, and I was able to convince  him  to  take  me
         back to the corral where four, very anxious adults greeted me
         with choruses of "Are you alright?" I was a little shaky from
         all  the  excitement, but was one big smile inside for having
         had the greatest adventure yet!!

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                                                           Chapter End