" MY BOY AND HIS HORSE "
[ as told by Ben Cartwright ]
By: Lynne G.

" As I sit here on the front porch and watch my youngest son, Little Joe groom his pinto, Cochise, I just can't seem to get enough pleasure out of watching him and his horse that I gave him for his twelfth birthday last month."

"Little Joe has loved pinto's since he was a little boy and he had always told me that one day he would have his very own black and white pinto. When that boy makes up his mind on something, you never hear the end of it. I told my two older sons, Adam and Hoss that I wanted to get their little brother a pinto for his twelfth birthday, and they were in total agreement."

"I had been up to the Paiute village a few times recently and the last time I was there, I noticed a beautiful pinto that I knew Little Joe would love. So I talked to Chief Winnemucca about the pinto and he said we could trade for the pinto. We agreed on six head of cattle for the pinto. I couldn't have been happier at that moment."

" The pinto hadn't been broken yet, but there was something about that pinto that gave me such a calm feeling, that I can't really explain. I told Chief Winnemucca that I would be back in a few days with the cattle, and get the pinto."

" When I got back to the ranch, I told Adam and Hoss about the pinto and they couldn't wait to see him. They would come with me to help with the cattle and then we would take the pinto home."

" I tell you, it was so hard to hide our excitement about the pinto around Little Joe, and it seemed to take forever until October 31, Little Joe's birthday to get here. We decided that we would let Little Joe train the pinto, but we would be there to help him if he wanted our help. That boy has a special way with horses and he is a natural horseman, just like his mother, Marie, God rest her sole."

" Very early on the morning of October 30, we gathered up the cattle and made our way up to the Paiute village. You should have seen the looks on Adam and Hoss's faces when they first saw the pinto. They knew instantly that he would be perfect for their little brother. That made me feel good about my decision to get the pinto."

" We got back to the ranch with the pinto just before dinner. We hoped that Little Joe wouldn't come out to meet us, so I got off Buck and headed over to the house, while Adam and Hoss took care of the horses."

" Little Joe was doing his homework at the diningroom table, but he was busy with his homework that he didn't hear us ride up, thank goodness. He proudly told me that he had already finished his barn chores as soon as he got home from school. That made me very happy because there are times when that boy gets side tracked on his way home from school, which makes him late getting home, and he usually ends up having to do his chores after dinner."

" I can't believe my baby boy is twelve years old today. Where does the time go ? Seems like only yesterday that little bundle of energy was born. Since his birthday fell on a Saturday this year, we let him sleep in. It is a tradition in our family that the birthday boy gets to sleep in and he doesn't have to do any chores on his special day."

" Finally my birthday boy came running down the stairs with a big smile on his sweet young face. We all wished him a very Happy Birthday. In fact, we all sang to him, including Hop Sing. I just love that smile my baby boy has. It's enough to melt your heart, which it does almost all the time."

" After Little Joe had eaten his breakfast we gave him his gifts. Adam gave him a beautiful new saddle blanket and new saddle bags. Hoss gave him a new beautifully made bridle and reins. I gave him a new saddle. He loved all his gifts and he gave us all a big hug and kiss."

" I told him that he needed to come outside for a couple of minutes. Once we were all out in the yard, I told him to close his eyes and not to open them until I said he could. He was so excited that he couldn't hold still, so I asked him if he needed to go to the outhouse, and he said he didn't have to go."

" Adam went into the barn to get the pinto and bring him outside. Once they were outside, Adam tied him to the to the corral fence, and Hop Sing placed a big blue ribbon and bow around the pinto's neck. We were all surprised the pinto stood still for that. Once Adam and Hop Sing were standing by us again, I told Little Joe to open his eyes."

" As soon as he saw the pinto, he gasped, and I put my arms around him and wished him a Happy Birthday again. He just stood there staring at the pinto with his big green eyes wide open, his mouth open, and he had tears running down his face. He was speechless. We told him that the pinto needed to be broken. He looked up at me with tears still running down his happy face and he hugged me and he whispered a big ' thank you' to me."

" He slowly walked over to the pinto who was watching my boy coming towards him and Little Joe was talking softly to the pinto. Once he stood in front of the horse, he slowly put his hand up to the horse's nose and he let the pinto sniff him. He was talking to the horse the entire time. He then very gently petted the pinto's silky neck and that horse just stood there and he seemed to be enjoying the gentle hand of my boy."

" Little Joe very gently hugged and kissed the pinto and then to our surprise, he reached into the pocket of his jeans and he took out a couple of sugar cubes, and he offered them to the pinto, which he gently took out of my son's hand. Little Joe has done that every morning with his pony, Ginger, and then his other horse, Tony. They looked forward to their morning treat of sugar cubes, and believe it or not, Little Joe still gives them sugar cubes in the mornings. Anyway, after the pinto had eaten those two sugar cubes, he started to nudge Little Joe as if he were begging for more sugar cubes. I wish you could have seen the look on my baby boy's face when he turned to look at me as the pinto laid it's head on his shoulder. We all had tears in our eyes at the sight of my boy and his new horse."

" By evening it was like Little Joe and that pinto had been life long friends. I'm sure if I would have said, ' yes ', Little Joe would have brought that horse in the house for the night. As it was, when I went to look in on him after he had gone to bed, his bed was empty, and his window was open."

" Adam, Hoss and myself had an idea where that boy was and sure enough, we found him in the barn sleeping in the stall with his pinto. I have to tell you, that it made me very nervous since the horse hasn't been totally broken yet. It looked like the pinto was standing guard over my sleeping boy."

" I slowly entered the stall and gathered up my baby boy in my arms and carried him back to the house and up to his room. He was still in his nightshirt, so all I had to do was to put him back in his bed and cover him up. Once that boy goes to sleep, he is dead to the world, and it is impossible to wake him up."

" The next morning I asked Little Joe if he had picked out a name for his pinto. He told us that he was going to name him Cochise, after the famous indian chief. For some reason that name seemed to fit the horse perfectly."

" For the next couple of days, Little Joe took his time in training Cochise. It seemed like Cochise understood every word that Little Joe said to him. On the third day Little Joe laid across Cochise's back to get him use to feeling the weight on his back. Cochise seemed a little nervous at first, but he quickly accepted the light weight of my boy. We all wondered what would happen when Little Joe put a saddle on Cochise."

" Little Joe let Cochise smell the saddle and then as soon as Little Joe put the saddle on Cochise, he stood there gently petting the horse's neck while softly talking to him. He kept telling Cochise what a good boy he was and at how beautiful he was. A few minutes later gently climbed up in the saddle, and he was still talking and petting Cochise."

" Cochise danced around a little and bucked a couple of times, but Little Joe was in complet control. He urged Cochise into a slow walk around the corral. We were all amazed at how gentle Cochise seemed. My boy kept praising his pinto and Cochise seemed to understand that, as he proudly held up his head high and his tail was out and up."

" Soon Little Joe had Cochise in a nice easy trot. Just watching the way my boy and his horse interacted with each other was just incredible. I have never seen such bonding like that between a person and a horse."

" Over the next several months, Little Joe had taught Cochise many tricks which he learned very quickly. A couple of thing my boy taught Cochise was that if my son dropped the reins, Cochise would stop and stand still. Another trick was, that he taught Cochise was to walk very slowly if Little Joe was laying against his neck and not moving. I was happy with that trick, because Little Joe has a tendency to fall asleep as he is riding when he is very tired."

" I love to watch Little Joe and Cochise run as they seem to blend together. Now mind you, I don't like seeing that boy racing around on Cochise, because it just brings back memories of that day when Marie came racing into the yard and her horse stumbled and they both fell. Marie was killed instantly when her neck broke. It really scares me to see Little Joe riding like that. He is so much like Marie, in his looks, his big green eyes, his soft brown curly hair, his small body size, her love of life and many other things too. I thank God everyday for giving Little Joe to me."

" I feel better when I know my son is with Cochise, as they seem to look out for each other. Little Joe has done an excellent job in training his horse. I am so thankful for Cochise, and I know that I made the right decision in getting that pinto for my young son."

" Little Joe spends a lot of time grooming Cochise and at least I know he isn't into mischief when he grooms the horse. He tells Cochise everything and I swear that horse knows what Little Joe is telling him. If Little Joe is in a bad mood or upset with something, Cochise makes soft whinny sounds to my boy and he will rub his head against Little Joe. Some days, Little Joe and Cochise will go for a walk around the yard or the pasture closest to the house and Cochise will follow the boy around like a dog. We all get a kick out of that sight."

" Little Joe also taught Cochise how to behave around cattle, which is very important especailly when we need to move the cattle herds from their winter pastures to their summer pastures. Some horses can get a little spooked around cattle. Being amongst the cattle doesn't bother Cochise at all. Sometimes Sport, Adam's horse, can get a little fractious around cattle, or even when Adam just rides him, but he is a little high strung most of the time. I have seen Little Joe ride Sport and he also knows how to handle that horse too."

" Little Joe wants to enter Cochise in the annual Founders Day Horse Race this year. I think he is too young myself, but try to tell him that. Even Adam and Hoss agree with their little brother about riding in that race. I'm still not sure though. I know my boy is an excellent rider, but he would be racing against adults, and if he should win the race, I don't know how they would like losing to a boy. Adam will be in the race too, and he and Sport have won that race for the past few years."

" Well, they did it. My boys finally convinced me to let Little Joe enter that race. I still say my boy is too young, but I decided I didn't want my boy upset about not being able to ride in the race. Hop Sing kept telling that Little Joe will be safe enough. So I was out numbered, but in my heart, I wonder at how my baby boy and his beloved Cochise would do in this annual race. I have to admit, Cochise is very very fast."

" What a race it was ! My young son won that race by two and half lengths over Adam and Sport. You should have seen how Little Joe rode that horse. He looked like a jockey. They rode like the wind. I can't tell you how proud I was for my young son. That proud look on his face will stay with me forever."

" After the race, Little Joe gave Cochise a big hug and kiss, then he took his ' pride and joy ' to the livery stable where he unsaddled Cochise, rubbed him down good and let him have a nice long drink of cool water. He wanted to stay with Cochise instead of coming with the rest of us to enjoy some of the Founders Day activities."

" Later that day when we went to the livery stable to get our horses and get Little Joe so we could go home, there was Cochise laying down and Little Joe was leaning against his horse and both of them were asleep. What a sight they were."

" When we walked over to them, Cochise softly whinnied at us and he gently stood up and he nudged Little Joe to wake him up. Little Joe woke and he looked up at us and smiled and yawned several times. Hoss pulled him up and he saddled Cochise and we headed home."

" I have to laugh at Adam because he keeps saying that he can't believe that his baby brother beat him and Sport in the horse race. Hoss is so proud of his little brother and Cochise. Adam really is too, but he can't help teasing his little brother about the race. By the time we got home, Little Joe was almost asleep on Cochise."

For some reason Little Joe has never liked to have a bath, but he sure loves to play in water and swim. For the life of me, I can't figure out why he hates to have baths. He loves to bathe Cochise though. He washes that horse almost everyday. I swear Cochise must be the cleanest horse in the Nevada Territory."

" One day while Little Joe was bathing Cochise, Cochise suddenly pushed the boy into the water trough, and then to make matters worse, that horse ' laughed ' at him by making funny whinny sounds. Little Joe was very surprised at what Cochise did to him and he started to giggle. I just love that giggle of his. Anyway, as Cochise was standing there looking at his boy sitting in the water trough, Little Joe splashed some water at Cochise, and believe it or not, Cochise put part of his face in the water and he started to splash Little Joe right back. Those two kept doing that for several minutes, and you could hear giggling and whinnies the whole time."

" We all just stood there watching and laughing at the water fight that was taking place in the yard. I sure wish Marie was here to see her son and his horse. I know she is watching from heaven and I know she is just as proud of her baby boy as we all are."

" So as I sit here thinking about my youngest boy, there is no better sight for me than watching my boy and his horse. What a team they make. I thank God everyday for Little Joe and for making it possible for letting Cochise to be part of his life. I love you Little Joe, my baby boy."

THE END


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