Strange you should mention it. I was just thinking about it today. It happened years ago...
I was in a walking cast because I broke my stupid ankle. I don't know why I tried to walk to the back pasture, but I did. Once I got back there, I realized there was no way I was going to be able to walk back - I was in agony. :-( My mare, Sugar, walked over to me and was "wuffling" my hair and generally being a pest. I figured - what the he_ _, it might be worth a try. I had never really ridden bareback, and Sugar didn't even have a halter on. I led her (actually, she followed me) to a tree stump and I climbed on. I had to get on from the wrong side - she wasn't completely cooperative, but somehow I made it on board without killing myself. I can't believe she tolerated it, with that dang cast banging up against her. :shock: Once I was up there, I realized I didn't have a clue how I was going to get back down, or even get her to go where I wanted. I gave her a tiny nudge (I sure didn't want her to take off with me!) and she started walking. A little lean, and she slowly turned the direction I wanted her to go. I grabbed her mane and hung on for dear life when she crossed the spillway and climbed up onto the dam, but she was still going at an easy walk. Sugar headed straight for the gate, and even let me unfasten the chain holding it closed without fuss. I didn't close it behind me - she wasn't having any part of that (this isn't a miracle story, anyway!), but she carried me all the way to my front porch.
Hubby met me on the porch and helped me climb down. That's when Sugar's good behavior ended, and she was her cantakerous self again. She didn't have a halter on and she was loose in the yard! She started to take off down the road - but decided that the bucket my husband grabbed might have something interesting in it and followed him instead. By the time hubby reached the feed room, the other horses were out of the gate I left hanging open. He was NOT happy with me, but they all raced back to their feeding stations when they saw him come back out with a big bucket of oats. Even Sugar ran back into the pasture.
Not much of a story, but I love telling it. It was the only time Sugar was ever really sweet. Most of the time she was a real pill, but I loved her!:wink: