"Ole' Studious" a story by SuZi

Ole’ Studious  Yep, ah 'members a lot of horses, but ah think most on that colt Studious.   Sure he could run and run good too, if he was of a mind to. Why, he almost didn’t get a chance at all cuz of throwing all his riders some how or other.   First time they tried to clock him as a two-year-old, he jumped out the gate, stopped dead and turned his head way around to look at his rider who was up on him steady kickin and stickin. That colt just sighed and lowered himself to his knees and proceeded to roll just like he was out in pasture, payin no mind to the bit and saddle. When his rider jumped clear, ole Studious grunted and wiggled his back and waved his feet in the air for awhile like a big dog with an itch. Ah guess he decided to notice all the humans hollerin cuz he eased himself up and shook the track dirt clear, walkin a few steps with his head hangin and the reins floppin like the most dufus colt you'd ever want to see.

Until they tried to catch him that is, then he started off at a jog...just enough to keep away from the people. Ah guess he musta liked the feel of the track under his feet cuz he picked up a canter and then a dead run, and he kept on runnin too. Around and around, until it occurred to someone to hit the stopwatch and discover he had a right blistering speed. Studious didn't stop for a good two miles, runnin all out with the leathers bouncin and then as if to add further consternation to it all he jumped the track fence. Cleared it clean and fine as any fancy steeplechaser...jogged a ways across the grass directly towards the barn and stopped dead again. 

Ya know how some horses will lift their lip and raise up their nose well, he did that then, Studious did, raised up his grey snout and let out a big whinny, dern him, closest thing to a horse laugh ever. He had a sense of humour, that horse did. Every time he'd go to the gate, you would never think you were lookin at the kind of runnin Studious had in him. He didn't need a post pony. He'd just amble on out there, head hangin like some tired ole plug. All the other horses would be frettin and sweatin, ya know ole Studious wouldn't jog for nuthin no way. He'd walk, that's it.

The funny thing was he'd load up quicker than some of them that balked and danced around. Then the gate would open and that dern colt would break out of the gate just any way he pleased. In one race he walked out, just walked out of the gate and watched the dust from the heels of the other horses. Boy that jockey musta drawn blood, he was hittin that colt so hard. But Studious just seemed to sigh, as if humanity were some sort of species of humourless dullards to him. The he put his head down and bucked off the jockey in three clean jumps, and once free of that annoyance, proceeded to run. Most riderless horses will look for the quickest way back to their feedtub, but not ole Studious, he headed straight for the dustcloud with big clean strides...just a steady stretching his big grey body and eatin up that track until he passed the tiring horses and their jockeys and kept on straight on and on. He finished in the money that time, without a rider, and allowed himself to be caught only when he seemed to feel satisfied.

Oh he was a consternation. They looked high and low for a jock that horse would tolerate and finally found one in the form of a stuttering Canadian groom who looked a bit like a plowhorse herself. She'd jest sit on Studious like a noodle, as if she were barefoot and barebacked and didn't care if he ate grass half way along the goin'. Lord, they won some money tho! Year after year that girl and Studious musta travelled every track in the circuit. Ah do think the only reason the lawyer that owned Studious retired him to stud was cuz the jockey got pregnant.  

Turned out to be that Studious fathered himself a fine bunch of fillies, all with that funny smile on their faces like he had. Some good winners in that bunch, and all with funny little ways about them too. But the colts weren't much on the track, didn't have their daddy's competitive spirit me thinks. Musta gotten bred out somehow. Every colt sired by Studious preferred to jump than run, would prankishly jump the track fence and go tearing up the infield, or stop dead on a grass track and try to eat no matter what their jocks did. Some of them made it as jumpers actually ah do believe, but the fillies were more serious and won enough money to do their daddy proud.

Studious himself took his job as stud in exactly his own fashion. He was still potent nearing thirty years of age, and there wasn't a mare in heat within drift of his nose that was safe from him. He thought nothin of clearing a few four boards to get at her. Ah reckon musta been a mess for the record keepin, cuz ole Studious would spend the whole time with his chosen one till some groom would come on the two of them grazing side by side.

They told me the last night of his life, ole Studious got his bad ole self out somehow, maybe during nightwatch when the crippled old man that threw him his hay slid open the door, and proceeded to gallivant across the pastures. By the time a search went out, they found a fresh turd on the hood of the owner's Mercedes and a few hoofmarks in the aluminium door to the feedbay. Ah think if they coulda used a helicopter with a spotlight they woulda, cuz they were up the whole night. They didn't find Studious till light, dead in a pasture with some pleasure ponies the farm kept.

By the way the grass was thrashed up, it looked like ole Studious took all four Arab mares, the paint mare and the Shetland pony before his heart gave out. It made them all take their hats off, it did, finding Studious with his nose in fresh clover, his eyes half closed and that there smile he had. Yep, now there was some horse there you better believe it!