A father and his young son were working in the barn on their horse farm in Colorado. They were cleaning stalls and spreading hay. The two enjoyed their time together, and both enjoyed their work.

            They had been at their chores for several hours when the boy approached his dad. “Dad,” he said, “Let’s stop work for awhile and ride the horses.”

            The dad looked around the barn and said, “Well, we’ve still got lots of work to do. But I tell you what. You get the saddles, blankets and bridles, get the horses ready, and we’ll go.”

            With great enthusiasm the young fellow ran to the storage shed where the saddles were hanging on a wall rack about four feet off the ground. In order to get to them he had to climb up a series of crossbeams just to be able to reach them.

            Once he got up to where they were, he had no way to brace his feet to pull the saddle off the rack. Grabbing the horn of the saddle, he pulled with all his strength. Both saddle and boy slipped to the ground with a thump. Since the saddle was almost as big as the boy, it was impossible for him to lift it. The only way he could move it was to drag the saddle across the barn toward the stalls where the horses were kept.

            While the young fellow was struggling with the saddle across the floor, one of the hired hands entered the barn and stood with the father who was watching.

            “What in the world is he doing?” the hired man asked.