My horse sees dead people

Victoria at Teachings of the Horse tagged me for a round of Ghosting it Forward. She thought I must have some good New Mexico ghost tales (and tails) to share.

Well, as it happens, Hank has quite a reputation for seeing ghosts, and I'm going to let him tell you all about it. Here is our ghost tale, straight from the horse's mouth.

I'm usually pretty laid back on the trail. Rancher-woman doesn't put me in any danger, and I give her the benefit of the doubt when she takes me into uncharted territory. But sometimes, forces beyond my control just take over. And it's not pretty.

When we lived in the old 'hood, every Sunday morning, Rancher-woman would load me into the trailer and we'd pick up her friend Kim and my sweetie Audanah. We'd all head off for a favorite trail and spend a few hours touring the countryside and counting our blessings in our version of church.

I remember one particular Sunday morning trail ride, when Rancher-woman asked me to stop and wait for Kim and my sweetie to catch up. Of course I obliged - Rancher-woman's wish is my command.



I stood there quietly, with my head lowered, my back leg cocked, my eyes half-closed, not a care in the world, when from behind a juniper tree I saw something...



It was getting closer and brighter...


Yikes! I didn't know what it was but it scared me to death!


I thought it was coming to get me, so I went the only direction I thought was safe...heavenward. Well, the next thing I knew, Rancher-woman was sitting on the ground, and her left boot was 20 feet up the trail. She was shaking her head in disbelief and muttering something about, "he bucked me out of my boot." And to add insult to injury, apparently she landed on her cell phone, which was in the back pocket of her jeans, and she was really ticked off about the rectangular bruise that was forming on her butt.

It was right then and there that Rancher-woman figured out my problem - I see dead people. They just show up when I least expect it and kaboom. I can't help it. She has taken me to countless clinics, read every horsemanship book she can find, and watched RFD-TV til her eyes bulge out, but still, every once in a while...I see dead people.

For awhile, she threatened to take me to an exorcist, but then she got better at riding out my ghostly encounters and now she says "it's part of my charm."

Here are the rules of the "Ghost it Forward" game:
1) Have a ghostly image to pass along.
2) Tag three people on your blog, with links to their blogs. Tell about what great folks they are, or offer to send them a ghostly treat.
3) Include a link to Ghosting It Forward in your blog.

I am privileged to have a pile of people who read this blog, who write fascinating blogs that I enjoy reading every day. I'm going to tag...
1. Carolyn at A Glowing Ember, because she is a kindred spirit and fabulous writer who always gets me thinking.
2. Karen at Karen Cooks, because she cooks up a mean green chile chicken stew which might make you see ghosts.
3. Java's Mom at Java's Barn, because now that the barn is built, she might have time to spin a ghostly yarn.