Horsin' Around

The cowboys (this particular night they named themselves Jake and Bob).

Well, it was bound to happen...and Saturday it did! The boys fell off a horse. It was actually quite uneventful in the grand scheme of things. The boys and I had gone to watch grandpa rope cattle at a friends ranch. The boys were duded up in their cowboy boots and hats, and definitely looked the part. After the grown up cowboys were done, Gabe and Will got their turn to get on. We put them both on Little Joe (the horse pictured above), Will in front with Gabe behind him. Grandpa led them around for a few minutes with Will telling Gabe to "Hold on Gabe! Hold on!" Grandpa and I stopped to talk, and the boys were more than happy to hang out atop Little Joe. That's when it happened...Little Joe shook (kind of like we do when we get the "chills"). It was enough to throw Gabe off balance and since the only thing Gabe had to hold onto was Will...Will went down too.

Grandpa and I were close enough to be there as they hit the ground, but not in time to catch them. Luckily the dirt was about as soft and cushy as dirt can be. We quickly got them to their feet and started dusting them off. The tears didn't last long, but it sure did take a while to dig all the dirt out of Gabe's mouth (apparently we need to teach him to close his mouth when he falls off horses!). Gabe is a kid who gags on anything that isn't on HIS list of approved edible items (there is only about 7 things on the list and dirt isn't one of them!), so I believe that was the most traumatic part of the ordeal. I dug as much as I could out of his mouth and the told him to start swallowing...heck, he was at least getting some minerals, right? Will was quite proud of eating dirt and spent the rest of the night telling people, "I fall off horse. And I eat dirt!"

After taking a few minutes to brush them off the best we could, I put them back up on Little Joe. Gabe got up first...he wasn't too excited about it, but he did it. Will was definitely less happy about it, but 10 minutes later he was asking to ride again.

Gabe led Little Joe back to where grandpa's other horse, Doc, was (that's when I noticed that in addition to a dirt covered face, Gabe also had a bloody nose...we thought he might end up with a black eye, but today he just has just a little bit of "road rash" along his eye and nose). Will held onto Little Joe while grandpa took Doc's halter off. And then Gabe led Little Joe back to the trailer for his dinner. I was very proud of my two cowboys. They took their first fall in stride and only took a few moments to recompose themselves. My only regret...NOT HAVING A CAMERA! They sure looked like a couple of rough and tumble cowboys afterward!

Later I asked the boys what their favorite part of the night was. Gabe quickly piped up with "Falling off Little Joe!" I replied with "Really? Even though you ate dirt?" (Will then chimed in with "I ate dirt!") Gabe sighed and said "Yes, but the big dirt was a little crunchy."

Gabe riding "Doc".

Will and Grandpa going for a ride.