Got horses-need kids.

Now, with seven horses purchased, I became a working stables.  My first dudes were Adult and were patient with me as I worked out a trail that would take an hour to ride.  I was most grateful to have a friend that could do signs for me at a reasonable rate.  Money was still short, but in no time the people were arriving.  They wanted to ride and enjoyed it as much as I did.  With my experience at Twin Bridges in Calgary, I decided that because these were MY horses the rides wold be supervised and I rode along as a guide.  In this way I could not only observe the behaviour of my new string but also the riders. At Twin Bridges the horses were tacked in the morning and wore their saddles and gear all day.  This resulted in tack damage as well, and I thought, in unnecessary discomfort for the horses. My string was un-tacked after every ride and the horses were allowed a good roll and could graze in between rides.  I felt better about those decisions although it made for more work for myself and later my helpers.
   It was also necessary for me to take a leave of absence from my job at the meat market.  For the next few years I would work the winters there and spend the spring and summer months running the Dude String.
 This worked very well for me and I was young and healthy enough to handle it all.
   In no time at all there were a lot of kids hanging around wanting to help and to learn about horses.  My stress level was at maximum and I later would wonder why these kids even wanted to be around me, for at times I really blew my stack and they were easily accessible for my anger to vent on.  They would all later return to me and tell me how those were "The best times ever!"  In retrospect I can only imagine they were looking for something that the horses and I filled.  We were a team, almost like a club, and we had  mutual goals every day.  When the kids arrived(mostly young girls)  I would tell them there were two things I would not tolerate.  Number one was "don't lie to me" and number to was "Don't steal from me".  For the most part this did not happen but later I would find there had been the odd lie and one theft of some cigarettes. The girls in the group tended to be much gutsier and tough than the boys.  We basically only had two boys- David B. and Ricky S.  David was dedicated in his attendance but a real chicken when it came to riding. I don't know if we ever got him past that.  But he would turn up most mornings.  I would drive to the bridge with my truck and pick up the kids at the bridge and take them out to the Aldinger Farm where I was running my new business. They were of course required to bring their own lunch.  I only provided several jugs of Kool-aid for when it got hot and we were thirsty.
  The parents were soon making comments on how happy their kids were and Davids mother was most astounded.  He lived past town and was the farthest drop off at the end of a day and often he would fall asleep after a hard day "at work".  I would shake him awake and he would go into the house and eat and go to bed and the next day start his schedule all over again. One day a year or so later when I had moved the horses to the Turnip Farm on the back road, David walked all the way from his house(a couple of miles) only to meet a large black bear! He then turned around and made his way home again. Poor guy, but again they were young and enthusiastic and that's how things were in our area.
  Coming home at night I could easily have ten or more kids in the back of my truck.  Going out in the morning they were full of beans but coming home at night tired they were pretty darn quiet.  One mother was concerned about how dirty her daughter was after a day at the stables.  It wasn't as if we had running water and a bathroom to clean up in or anything.  There was however a bit of a reservoir nearby and soon Heather was coming in with a container with soap and a washcloth.  Just before quitting time she would wet the cloth and scrub off the orange kool-aid marks on her face and her Mom was happier.