I am age 13 and I used to work with horses. when I was 12 some people Art and Judy Berry moved out with horses. I was so happy about that. I made a deal with Judy that I would groom her horses and anything she wanted if she would give me free riding lessons. Well i got free lessons and a lot more. Learned how to ride on Nylus a 22 year old black Quarter Horse mare. She was the sweetest thing that ever lived. She had a son there to. His name was Smokey and he12 and also the blackest horse I had ever seen. Well the day I went to ride Nylus for the first time I didn't know what to think. I had wanted a saddle but instead I was to ride bareback. I was scared out of my wits. I had not even been on a horse in 3 years at least and I had never riden bareback in my life. I asked Judy why I had to ride bareback and she told me I had two for two reasons. 1. That it taught me to balance on the horse. Next she told me I had to ride bareback because she hadn't had enough room to bring her saddles and they wound't be there for awhile. That first ride was horrible. Nylus was slow and I was glad of it. I almost fell off about 200 times. After a few more weeks I was able to take Smokey out and ride him. Once we were riding and there was a huge trantula right under us. I am scared to death of spiders and backed Smokey up to hard. Its a wonder he didn't rear up.  Once I took Smokey for a ride and one of the dogs had gotten out and was following us. I had no clue until Art came down in the truck yelling for Deets. Deets a little black dog jumed out of a bush right beside us. Smokey gave a little half buck jumped to the side and tried to take off after Deets. I was able to hold him but it wasn't easy. Later Art told me he was surprised I stayed on. One day I was riding Nylus and Judy was riding Smokey. Nylus was triping a lot and refusing to go. So I got a whip. It was my first time to use a whip and my last. That was the last time I ever rode Nylus. Finaly after trying to get her to go with the whip she started. She resisted all the way though. When we got back to the barn Judy noticed Nylus limp slightly. We thought it was the shoe and replaced it but it only got worse. One day it got so bad that she couldn't even get up. The next day on new years day she was taken to a vet and put down. Smokey had to go to a trainer for atitude problems and has not come back yet. Art took in one of the neighbors horses so his horse Lucky a buckskin could have company. The horse was J-Mar and flea-bitten gray Arab. He and I became best friends. He would follow you around everywhere and when he wanted to play he would take your hat and run off with it. He was the coolest horse ever. Then he had to go back to his old owner who tried to walk him home. That did not work. Every time J-Mar broke away and went back to Arts. Finaly the owner had to take him the less than half mile in a trailer. I haven't seen J-Mar again and that was in January.