Should Probably Also Explain “Sick” And “Bad” While You’re At It

My young cousin was visiting us. We keep horses on our property, but they’re mostly pets. At the time of this story, one of our horses, Ladybug, was an older mare with worsening arthritis.

Cousin: “Can we get the horses out so we can ride them?”

Mom: “No, Sandy bucks too much for kids, and Ladybug’s lame.”

Cousin: *Offended and outraged* “Ladybug is not lame!”

We explained what lameness in horses meant after that and he was much more understanding. It still makes me smile remembering how angry he was over us “insulting” her, though!