model70hunter
Member
Over in the Cowboy thread someone asked about the side kicks.
Roy and Gene had Gabby and Frog. My bro and I had Rodent.
His family came from the deep Ozark Mtns. Lived in a steep cleft between ridges. His Dad gave up logging and went to work learning carpentry. They lived in an unsavory part of town. Rodents neighbor was a pure D Wino. Rodents Dad traded a bottle of cheap whisky and their old logging truck for 80 acres that joined Dad's 200.
It was brush covered and set in the middle of a razorback ridge. It was down hill on either side of the road. Buried in the brush was a small old 2 story farm house. They cut brush away from it and moved in. Hard working folks.
Rodent came riding across our field one day while we were working in the truck patch garden. He was astride a Shetland pony and his feet were bumping grass clumps.
I remarked to my bro, he resembles a rodent. To this day that nick name has stuck with him.
Rodent had a few issues, one was the capacity to tell bare faced lies, another was to try to cheat you in any trade, a touch of evil and the ability to cheat death.
One day he came over to join us on a ride. I was sitting on my gelding, no bridle, no saddle, his head hung down in deep sleep, We were in the shade of a giant aged Oak next a pond. We were on the top of the dam, it was steep and angled.
For fun Rodent SCREAMED and hit my horse on the rump. Over the dam we went. headed straight for a house sized door into the dairy barn. I could see my legs being smashed. I leaned on his neck, put one arm over and slide off. I was going to hold the mane and run until I could safely get away.
Stormy's shod hoof planted my boot into the MO red Clay. We went end over end 3 times per my BRO. Rodent fled to his home.
Bro helped get me to the shade in the yard where he hosed me off with cold deep well water. Shirt was shreds, back and arms had lots of scratches form the barnyard rocks.
Rodent finally begged long enough for forgiveness and we moved on. I told him the next time he did something like that to me he would see a funeral from inside the box.
I told him about a guy who had bought a failed Thoroughbred from OK and wanted to trade it for a pony for his little kids. Rodent showed up a few days later on the track mare.
The mare had toothpick legs, a barrel body, a scrawny skinny neck and a clydesdale head with the biggest roman nose i'd ever seen. Ugly did not quite catch all about her.
She had 2 gaits walk and fast, she could almost plow rein, almost. When at speed her brakes did not work.
We suggested daily training, nope he wanted it done today. There was one more thing about the little mare, she had low horse IQ. Below average.
His plan was to run her full tilt across our wide flat field that was 1/2 mile long. He wanted to use my hackamore. They have long side shanks with a chain curb behind the jaw and pain increases the harder one pulls, unless the horses head is pointed straight ahead. He thought if the hackamore doesn't work she'll stop at the 5 strand barb lined with Oaks on the other side.
I rode closer to the finish line, my bro was going to start the race with him. His mare would pass my Bros QTR horse at about 1/4 of a mile. And that is what happened.
He started pulling on the hackamore, harder and harder. She kept that skinny neck pointed straight ahead holding that 30 gallon jug head out like a flying arrow.
He pulled real hard and one of the side shanks snapped off, He should have reined in the other rein until her head was in his lap. Nope, he lifted a leg over and bailed. He looked like a rock skipping water except for the dust puffs. His mare stopped at the fence.
That was his East West trip.
He traded for a junk cushman scooter, put lawnmower rings in it and drove it over to show it off. No muffler, 2 stroke ring a ding loudly all the way.
I was teaching my Sister how to drive. Rodent had a serious crush on her, you know he was male, not real smart and could breath on his own. My Sister was a natural blond, best looking girl in school, home coming queen, honor student and disliked Rodent more than he liked her. We are going through the field north and south, just before we reached the E-W horse event his cushman scooter hit a couple of cow patties stacked up, dried out and hard. A cushman has small tires, 2" of shock travel and are meant for smooth roads. He went end over end, it was like watching a movie with the Stooges. The screaming and faces were priceless.
Just to remind folks Rodent was prone to lie, sneak in and grab one of your haying jobs, or try to cheat you in a trade and then there was this evil thing he harbored.
He also cheated death with hardly any effort.
When bad things happened to him it always seemed like immediate pay back and he did not catch on..
Rodent and the Hay job.
Rodent, the cushman and his Dad.
Rodent and the day he hanged himself.
Rodent finds a bride.
Rodent looses a bride.
Rodent and the Trashcan pick up H&R 22 lr pistol.
There are more stories of Rodent the side kick if anyone is interested.
Roy and Gene had Gabby and Frog. My bro and I had Rodent.
His family came from the deep Ozark Mtns. Lived in a steep cleft between ridges. His Dad gave up logging and went to work learning carpentry. They lived in an unsavory part of town. Rodents neighbor was a pure D Wino. Rodents Dad traded a bottle of cheap whisky and their old logging truck for 80 acres that joined Dad's 200.
It was brush covered and set in the middle of a razorback ridge. It was down hill on either side of the road. Buried in the brush was a small old 2 story farm house. They cut brush away from it and moved in. Hard working folks.
Rodent came riding across our field one day while we were working in the truck patch garden. He was astride a Shetland pony and his feet were bumping grass clumps.
I remarked to my bro, he resembles a rodent. To this day that nick name has stuck with him.
Rodent had a few issues, one was the capacity to tell bare faced lies, another was to try to cheat you in any trade, a touch of evil and the ability to cheat death.
One day he came over to join us on a ride. I was sitting on my gelding, no bridle, no saddle, his head hung down in deep sleep, We were in the shade of a giant aged Oak next a pond. We were on the top of the dam, it was steep and angled.
For fun Rodent SCREAMED and hit my horse on the rump. Over the dam we went. headed straight for a house sized door into the dairy barn. I could see my legs being smashed. I leaned on his neck, put one arm over and slide off. I was going to hold the mane and run until I could safely get away.
Stormy's shod hoof planted my boot into the MO red Clay. We went end over end 3 times per my BRO. Rodent fled to his home.
Bro helped get me to the shade in the yard where he hosed me off with cold deep well water. Shirt was shreds, back and arms had lots of scratches form the barnyard rocks.
Rodent finally begged long enough for forgiveness and we moved on. I told him the next time he did something like that to me he would see a funeral from inside the box.
I told him about a guy who had bought a failed Thoroughbred from OK and wanted to trade it for a pony for his little kids. Rodent showed up a few days later on the track mare.
The mare had toothpick legs, a barrel body, a scrawny skinny neck and a clydesdale head with the biggest roman nose i'd ever seen. Ugly did not quite catch all about her.
She had 2 gaits walk and fast, she could almost plow rein, almost. When at speed her brakes did not work.
We suggested daily training, nope he wanted it done today. There was one more thing about the little mare, she had low horse IQ. Below average.
His plan was to run her full tilt across our wide flat field that was 1/2 mile long. He wanted to use my hackamore. They have long side shanks with a chain curb behind the jaw and pain increases the harder one pulls, unless the horses head is pointed straight ahead. He thought if the hackamore doesn't work she'll stop at the 5 strand barb lined with Oaks on the other side.
I rode closer to the finish line, my bro was going to start the race with him. His mare would pass my Bros QTR horse at about 1/4 of a mile. And that is what happened.
He started pulling on the hackamore, harder and harder. She kept that skinny neck pointed straight ahead holding that 30 gallon jug head out like a flying arrow.
He pulled real hard and one of the side shanks snapped off, He should have reined in the other rein until her head was in his lap. Nope, he lifted a leg over and bailed. He looked like a rock skipping water except for the dust puffs. His mare stopped at the fence.
That was his East West trip.
He traded for a junk cushman scooter, put lawnmower rings in it and drove it over to show it off. No muffler, 2 stroke ring a ding loudly all the way.
I was teaching my Sister how to drive. Rodent had a serious crush on her, you know he was male, not real smart and could breath on his own. My Sister was a natural blond, best looking girl in school, home coming queen, honor student and disliked Rodent more than he liked her. We are going through the field north and south, just before we reached the E-W horse event his cushman scooter hit a couple of cow patties stacked up, dried out and hard. A cushman has small tires, 2" of shock travel and are meant for smooth roads. He went end over end, it was like watching a movie with the Stooges. The screaming and faces were priceless.
Just to remind folks Rodent was prone to lie, sneak in and grab one of your haying jobs, or try to cheat you in a trade and then there was this evil thing he harbored.
He also cheated death with hardly any effort.
When bad things happened to him it always seemed like immediate pay back and he did not catch on..
Rodent and the Hay job.
Rodent, the cushman and his Dad.
Rodent and the day he hanged himself.
Rodent finds a bride.
Rodent looses a bride.
Rodent and the Trashcan pick up H&R 22 lr pistol.
There are more stories of Rodent the side kick if anyone is interested.
Last edited:
It sounds like Rodent and Harry both needed to be whupped.
