How “Ruuuuuude”

6/5

I had a good laugh today. I’m sorry to say it was at Nikki’s expense, but since she wasn’t hurt I didn’t go through the ritual “guilt” I feel when something strange happens to one of the horses….well, OK, I felt a little bit guilty, but nothing that the silliness of the moment didn’t cure.

Every two or three mornings when I’m going through the feeding/mucking schedule I have to fill the water troughs. When I have to fill Nikki’s water it means stretching a hose about 25 yards through BW’s pen, over the pipe corral, and through her pen to the water bucket. I fill her trough while I muck BW’s pen, and by the time I’m done mucking both pens I can turn the water off.

Anyway today I had the hose all stretched out and then turned on the water. Nikki was in total bliss eating her breakfast, totally unconcerned about the hose. Unfortunately, the hose had a kink in it and the water pressure began to build. I started to walk towards her pen to make sure things were OK and got there just in time to see the hose “take flight.” You know how hoses sometimes turn into living, wildly moving rodeo snakes? Well this hose launched itself right under Nikki’s tail; I mean this horse got one COLD and RUDE hind-end hosing, sort of a horsie “bidet” if you will.

It was funny to watch how both of Nikki’s ends had a different way to respond to this assault. Her front end wanted to run, but the paddock wall stopped that choice so her front end had to sort of run “in place”. Her hind end wanted to tuck and keep that cold water off those delicate horse regions, so the hind end went down and under. It made an interesting picture to see so much energy being spent going NOwhere.

Now the hose unkinked itself during it’s flight so the assault lasted only 3 or 4 seconds, but Nikki was VERY insulted by the situation. Once she realized she was OK she just stood there kicking out with her hind legs, first the right, then the left, as if to say “Hey, Heeeey, HEY!!, Hey….how RUUUUUUUUDE!!” She must have kicked each leg 5 or 6 times; I mean she was INSULTED, no question about it.

I wonder if she could hear the laughter in my voice as I called out to reassure her……..I sure tried to let her know it was a momentary crisis that had passed, but the whole situation had been such a fluke and so comical that I couldn’t stop laughing. I hope she understands.