One of my big brothers is into videography in Chicago. Each time I see him or talk to him lately, he's all about using my animals in his videos. He did it once before, for the movie he makes for his annual 3-day party in Mom & Dad's back yard. Wonder how he can be so enthusiastic after that experience.

My brother and his best friend were making a movie, most of their friends and family were in it, but no one was to know what it was about until they showed the movie at the party. But this isn't about what the movie was about, it's about my brother and the horse. We went out through the hayfields to a pond, where my brother was to ride up on the horse to see his friend who was fishing. He decided bareback, barefoot, with just a halter and rope on the horse's head would work well.

But oh my, Spanky had a narrow back. I warned him that it might be too uncomfortable, but he wanted to do this. I gave him a leg up, Spanky's back popped and sagged. Sheesh. Don't be breaking the horse.

I told my brother how to steer and how to stop, and walked next to him for a while in case Spanky was uncomfortable. My brother started getting nervous. I was used to teaching beginners, so I decided to keep walking with him until he got over it. He was repeating over and over again that he didn't want to fall off. I couldn't figure out why, as the horse wasn't very big and was behaving normally. Then I figured it out.

"If anything happens, and you start to lose your balance or if Spanky goes faster than a walk, bail out right away. Don't even think about it, because by that time you could be going really fast and get hurt." I told him. I just remembered that when we got our first horse, my brother tried to ride but accidentally kicked the horse in the side while mounting. Something went wrong and my brother wound up on the hospital, out of his head for 8 days. The doctors weren't sure that he would ever recover, but our mother keeps hoping...

If things can go wrong, they will, so the second I let go of Spanky, he ducked into a path through the woods. I grabbed the rope, it pulled him off the path and into the woods, and he decided to go home a little faster. Bro hooked an arm around a sapling and had a softer landing than I have ever had.

"Did you get that, did you get that???" He excitedly asked his friend, who was recording. Nope, he missed it. It's for the best, as the story is much more dramatic than reality.

The sepia-toned movie segment has my bother walking casually up to his friend, leading a handsome chestnut horse.