Thunder was a horse I encountered on my uncle's dude ranch. In all reality, he never belonged there. Not because he wasn't taken care of, but because he did not have a trail horse personality. Thunder was a retired race horse. My uncle couldn't stand to see an animal destroyed and was always taking them in. Thunder got his name because that was exactly what he sounded like when he would take off running. And running was his favorite thing to do. He really didn't care who was on his back or where you wanted to go. He ran and he ran and he ran until he got it out of his system. He was strong and powerful and we were all kids then. Most of the time my uncle rode him but sometimes it fell on one of us to exercise him. Oh, and he only ran like that when he was being ridden. With Thunder, you just climbed aboard and said, "Where to today, boy." :eek:

Anybody else out there got some interesting stories about your horse's personality?

When you kids were small, were you afraid of Thunder? If not, you must have been a very good rider as it sounds like you would be moving very fast, like it or not. Could your uncle control him better than the kids could? I bet he was beautiful when he ran like that, though.

I was actually 13 the first time I rode Thunder. I started spending a couples weeks out of the summer on my uncle's ranch when I was 10. By the time I was 13 I would work there for the entire summer. My uncle had six boys and they were riding before they were walking I think. We were all taught to ride western, english and bareback. My uncle could handle Thunder with only occasional problems. And until he was assured of our ability to handle Thunder we were never allowed on him. He never tried to throw anyone and he never pulled any tricks like swerving or fence rubbing to try to make you fall. He just liked to run and as long as you were willing to run with him there was no problem. My uncle had at least a 100 acres so it wasn't like space was a problem. Actually, there was nothing freer than the feeling of running with Thunder (until you were ready to come home). My favorite way to ride him was actually bareback.

The time I was able to spend on my uncle's ranch was a unique experience that few kids ever experience and I will always cherish those times.