Ah yes, cowboys, horses, ponies, six guns and the West.
Yound mrs bambu was a cowgirl, raised on a cattle, sheep, wheat and other crops farm.
She was 16 when she moved to the big city to find work/career as her father, brother and his family friend could run the farm/ranch by themselves.
At 17 and 20 she and I would go *riding* on the farm when on vacation.
She rode her 'paint' pony and I rode the "feminist' white mare.
One day said mare bolted (didn't like the pony ever getting in front of it), bambu...whose riding skills were basically non-existent, the jockey.
Past the farm house bolting horse went, taking absolutely no notice of my instructions, to the amusement of the gathered family.
Down the slight hill she ran, 100metres away a fence and closed gate.
I thought to myself:
"Horse baulks at gate, over the gate I get thrown, broken neck, dead.
Horse crashes into gate, goes down, my leg gets crushed.
What to do."
I decided I was not getting thrown off under any circumstances, so I dug my legs and heels in, put my head at the side of its neck, my arms around it neck.
The gated loomed, I waited then yanked hard on left rein, horse ran left along the fence, then stopped.
Horse was then happy to walk very slowly back to the farm house.
Cured bambu of horse riding forever.
Quad bikes have replaced horses on the farm.
Learnt to shoot on said farm.
Spotlighting at night, shooting foxes, rabbits, roos, wild pigs
Don't kill them, the foxes eat the tongues out of lambs, torturing them to death.
Crows peck out the eyes of lambs.
Roos, rabbits and pigs eat the crops and wreck the soil in paddocks.
Farmer goes broke...no income, no hope.
