pasture leisure

Chapter 9 Horses

The old cowboy didn't say anything, and Kimberly didn't ask. He took out a square glass from under the counter, put a few ice cubes into the glass with an ice tong, and skillfully poured out the wine from the bottle. , stopped when the golden liquor was about to cover the ice cubes.

Amberley grabbed the glass and pushed it lightly, and the wine glass slid on the table towards the old cowboy.

The old cowboy didn't even look at it. He clenched his left hand on the table slightly, with his middle finger and index finger half-opened. With a seemingly powerless block, he snatched the sliding wine glass, and with a backhand, he held the glass in his arms. hands.

Picking up the cup and taking a sip, he put the glass on the bar again, and then continued to look at the bar counter with both eyes.

That's when Kimberly opened her mouth.

"Mason, this new friend named...George wants to buy a horse".

Kimberly thought for a few seconds but couldn't figure out what Zhang Chi's pronunciation was, so she came to George according to her mood.

Zhang Chi was not happy either, and he didn’t think that George should just be George, and going to troubleshoot Chinese pronunciation with an old beauty would make you happy to death, but their tongues trembled like we Chinese speak Russian.

The old cowboy Mason looked up at Zhang Chi.

Kimberly said again: "The new one is in the pasture at the foot of the mountain over there. The pasture has just started, so it needs a horse, right, George."

Zhang Chi nodded: "I need a Quarter horse. I don't have any other requirements. I just need to be well-trained. My own riding skills are average, so the price should not be too expensive."

Old Mason opened his mouth and said, "Six hundred dollars a horse."

"Um?!"

Zhang Chi felt a little expensive when he heard it.

Kimberly didn't interrupt at this time, she was wiping the glass in her hand, looking at the two men sitting on the bar, the corners of her mouth were slightly curved, like a smile that wasn't a smile.

"It's a bit expensive. Generally speaking, such horses are more than four hundred dollars, and the good ones are only nearly five hundred dollars," Zhang Chi said.

Old Mason replied directly: "The other horse is another horse, and the horse I trained is worth six hundred dollars."

Zhang Chi then kept silent. Regarding Old Mason's attitude, Zhang Chi didn't want to spoil him at all. In business, there is buying and selling, and no one is begging for others.

Besides, this is the west, it is not easy for you to buy a person, it is against the law, but it is not everywhere to buy a horse, the horses here are extremely cheap, if you have time and ability, you can go with a bridle There are millions of horses abandoned on national pastures throughout the United States.

That's what I said, but Zhang Chi doesn't have such skills. If he had the skills, he wouldn't sit here drinking and buying horses.

At this moment Kimberly opened her mouth.

"George, you may not know that Mason used to be a well-known horse trainer in the league. The horses he trained won many national awards, and there were two Kentucky Derbys, not to mention other awards..." Kimberly told Mason before A brief description of his deeds.

Zhang Chi didn't really believe it, because if this old cowboy named Mason was really what Kimberly said, he must be rich. A horse trainer who has won so many awards is not a middle-class man who can compare Yes, these people can get a large part of every bonus.

Horse racing is a very popular sport in the United States. The annual Triple Crown race, or any other big race, is crowded with people, rich and famous, and it is like a carnival.

Zhang Chi felt a little strange that the trainer could live like this.

"Go and see Mason's horse before making a conclusion. If you don't like it, I'll introduce someone else to you." Seeing that Zhang Chi had been silent, Kimberly opened her mouth and said
Zhang Chi still didn't believe it, but he was a little bit interested in Old Mason, because even if Kimberly lied to put gold on Old Mason's face, the old man was at least a professional horse trainer. Have you met a professional horse trainer?

Of course, those in the ranch don't count, any cowboy can't train a horse with two hands, if he can't, he can be considered a cowboy.

"Can I go and have a look?" Zhang Chi asked.

Mason didn't respond, but the hand holding the wine glass accelerated to his mouth, swallowing the wine in the glass into his stomach within a few sips.

After drinking the last sip, he gently put down the wine glass, and there was a soft bang between the glass and the bar.

After putting down the cup, he took out a ticket from his pocket and put it on the bar counter.

"follow me".

Mason stood up from the bar, reached out and picked up the cowboy hat and put it on his head. Without looking at Zhang Chi, he turned and walked towards the door.

Zhang Chi immediately wired the beer money and followed Mason out of the bar.

As soon as he got out of the bar, Zhang Chi found that the old cowboy was not driving, but was riding a mixed-breed horse with sorrel hair and a large white meteor on the bridge of his nose.

Seeing Mason, the horse snorted a few times, and then barked twice. It seemed that it was very happy to see its master.

Mason still didn't say anything, he came to the place where the horse was tied and untied the rein, turned over and got on the horse's back.

"Follow!"

After Mason dropped a sentence, he rode his horse and walked forward.

Zhang Chi got into the car immediately, started the car and followed Mason.

On the road, Mason kept walking close to the side of the road, while Zhang Chi drove behind him.

After leaving the town, I walked for more than a mile. At a small intersection, Mason turned in, and Zhang Chi naturally had to follow.

The path is not wide, so if two cars meet, everyone has to be careful and try to walk as close to the side as possible.

After walking along the path for about ten minutes, Zhang Chi finally saw Mason stop.

A small horse farm, the area is not large, because Zhang Chi saw the surrounding fences, it is about ten acres by visual estimation.

Usually the area of ​​the horse farm is not very large, because professional horse farms generally do not raise too many horses. For example, Zhang Chi has been there, and the horse farm of a friend of the uncle only raises about [-] horses. Most of the horses are pedigreed, of which registered thoroughbreds account for a large part.

At the gate of the racecourse, Mason dismounted, opened the gate, motioned for Zhang Chi to drive in, waited for Zhang Chi to drive in, and then closed the gate.

After Zhang Chi entered the gate, he parked the car on the side of the road and got out of the car.

Mason didn't get on the horse again, but stretched out his hand to pat lightly, and the horse he had been riding back automatically went to the grassy place, lowered his head and gnawed on the grass.

There are several small fences in the horse farm, and several horses are grazing in each fence.

Zhang Chi's attention soon turned to the horses, because there were several quarter horses that looked very good in the enclosure closest to him.

These quarter horses are all old-fashioned breeds, that is, horses for ordinary pastoral use.

Quarter horse is a breed of horse bred in the United States. Generally speaking, there are two body types, one is racehorse type. This kind of quarter horse is actually closer to a thoroughbred horse. Quarter was originally a unit of length, meaning four. A quarter, or a quarter of a mile, refers to the distance the horse excels at.

There is also the pastoral type, also called the old-fashioned Quarter. This kind of horse is characterized by flexible turns, calm personality, and strong body. It is very useful for cowboys and can cooperate with them to drive cattle. Call it an American favorite, or a cowboy's favorite horse.

The Quarters in the enclosure were in good shape, neither tall nor short, and had great muscles, the kind that would make it obvious that these horses were strong.

It is very important for a horse to be strong, because the work on the ranch is not about performing dressage. When a horse wants to adapt to the heavy work on the ranch, the first thing is to be strong. No rancher wants to have a delicate horse in his ranch. horse.

"All of these are ok"

Mason said no more.

Seeing similar horses for a while, Zhang Chi didn't know how to choose. He looked around the fence, but he didn't decide which horse to choose.

When Zhang Chi was picking up the horse, he suddenly felt something behind him, and when he turned his head, he saw a huge head, which shocked Zhang Chi.

When I came back to my senses, I found that it was a horse in the fence behind me with its head stretched out.

Just looking at it unintentionally, Zhang Chi was attracted by the horse's demeanor.

The horse's head is red, a very rare red, with a little gold in the red, like a flame.

But the body is not red, but white, and the flame-red horsehair runs from the head to the neck, and when the redness reaches the neck, it is a little smoky.

It is pure white from the shoulders to the back, and it is not pure white. The shoulders and belly are white, and there are scattered red hairs scattered like fire.

it's beautiful!
Zhang Chi was shocked by the horse's coat color at first sight.

Like a flame burning on the snow.

As a Chinese, who can refuse this touch of red?

Originally, he thought about coming over to buy a Quarter, but after seeing this horse, Zhang Chi forgot about the Quarter.

The horse's head was very close to Zhang Chi, so Zhang Chi stretched out his hand and gently stroked the horse's forehead.

The horse didn't back down, nor opened its mouth to bite Zhang Chi, just let Zhang Chi's palm lightly brush its forehead so honestly.

The horse is a crossbreed, more like a quarter horse in size, but the color of this body belongs to the performance of an American pinto horse, and there is a little shadow of a Morgan horse on the head.

Mason came over at this time and stopped three meters away from Zhang Chi.

"You liked it a lot?"

Zhang Chi looked back at Mason, and opened his mouth and said, "I won't spend a lot of money to buy it."

"Some people and horses have a chance, and it seems to like you very much," Mason said.

In Zhang Chi's ears, it was equivalent to seeing that the old cowboy had already pulled out a [-]-meter machete, and any predestination or closeness were all excuses.

No matter how much Zhang Chi likes this horse, he will not pay more than six hundred dollars for it. It is not because of anything else, but because his pockets do not allow the low-level social denominators like Zhang Chi to be presumptuous.

"Six hundred dollars, I won't change the agreed price," Mason said.

Zhang Chi originally thought that the old cowboy was going to slash him, but he didn't think he had such an idea, so he stroked the horse's forehead with his retracted hand.

"Four years old, a gelding, the father's line is Quarter, and the mother's line is a pinto horse..." Mason saw that Zhang Chi really liked this horse, so he opened his mouth to introduce it.

If the price remains the same, it is easy to say that although it is a hundred dollars more expensive than the usual horse, Zhang Chi can also accept it.

"Can I have a try?" Zhang Chi asked.

"Of course!"

Mason opened his mouth to answer, and then walked towards the stables.

"I have the harness I just bought in the back compartment," Zhang Chi said.

After hearing this, Mason stopped and came to the back of Zhang Chi's pickup. He stretched out his hand to take a look, then put the saddle on his shoulder and the bridle in his hand.

When he came to the fence, he put the saddle on the wooden fence, and walked in with the bridle in hand.

Putting on the bridle, Mason led the red and white horse out.

Zhang Chi put on the saddle by himself, tightened the girdle to a suitable degree of tightness, and then took the rein from Mason's hand.

(End of this chapter)