The Last Time I Rode a Horse

I was eight
astride a docile mare,
halter held by Grandma
leading me around the yard
like a slow boat.

When she dropped the leather strip
under the horse’s huge chest,
the animal stepped up,
caught her hoof,
toppled over.
I was trapped.

Despite repeated kicks
from a slippered toe,
Grandma couldn’t get her up.
I lay there helpless,
vowed to never
get on a horse again.