I am blessed to be called aunt by three of the most precious, adorable, sweet kids ever. The two oldest (niece, T, age 7 and nephew, M, age 3) happen to like horses. Well, T likes horses alright, but M loves them. We talk on the phone a few times a week and our conversations are always about horses and all things cowboy. I must confess, that I have encouraged his horse infatuation a little, but I also think the horse obsession is genetic. My dad was horseback a lot is his younger years and even at work during his 30's after I was around. My mom also had horses when she was growing up. Try as they might, they couldn't keep the "horse gene" from surfacing later in my life even though I was never allowed to have a horse as a child. I was, admittedly, too busy with other activities to have a horse. So, now they are being paid back 10 fold by their oldest grandson and his horse-aholic ways.
M is convinced that all my horses are actually his horses. He was so excited to see me arrive in Texas with the horses in tow. He loves my truck and trailer too...I mean, his trailer.Wherever the horses and I go, he thinks he should go as well. He loves to ride, though we don't let him do it a lot or for more than a minute or two because, in my opinion, he is still too young. We always make him wear his helmet, with the exception of the occasional photo op and he is never, ever allowed around the horses by himself. Safety first, always.
How do I know he was born with the "horse gene"? From the time M was about 18 months old, you could NOT get him to sit in front of the TV and watch cartoons for even 5 minutes, but put an old western on and he would be mesmerized. No one made a big deal about westerns, horses, or cowboys; he just loved that stuff of his own accord. He loves "cowboy shows" to this very day. Only now, he has to watch them while dressed in full cowboy garb. You won't catch him watching a western television show or movie without his cowboy boots, cowboy hat, and belt with holstered toy six shooter. He also has to have rope in hand and be sitting (straddled on the arm of the sofa) in his very own western saddle complete with leather reins. He gets so into it, when the cowboys in the movie start yeehaw-ing or a bugler plays the sound to charge...M yeehaws at the top of his lungs. It is hilarious. We finally managed to find time to go for a real ride a couple of weeks ago. He donned his cowboy hat for a few minutes to snap a couple of photos at the end of our ride. Maybe you can see why I adore this dimpled cowboy cutie so much...
Meeting our mount.
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