horses

On Friday, Annalise and I had a horseback riding lesson. It was too muddy for a trail ride, so we rode in the "ring'. She rode a lithe former racer named Tigger. He was small and fast. I picked out "Texas", a quarter horse who is so tall I had to stand on a 4 foot stool to get in the saddle. He was smart and feisty and I started thinking of how I might be able to have him be my horse for real, which is kind of unrealistic right now.

I was one of those horse crazy girls and I still am. I spent many a Saturday and Sunday afternoon with Diamond, my Tennessee Walker/pasture horse. I begged my parents for a horse everyday for about three years and I saved my babysitting money to buy feed and horse stuff. I had a budget and a plan and I spent hours revising it, trying to convince them that this was a good idea. (Not really that different from the career I've ended up in when you think about it.) Finally they broke down and bought Diamond for $150 (including saddle, bridal and blanket) from a friend who bought her for their kids before they completely lost interest in her.
Not me. I braided her tail and combed her mane and polished her hoofs. I rode her through bean patches playing hide and seek with the other pasture folks and rode her out to buy Orange Nehi sodas at the little shop near the pasture. I shared my apples and carrots and stories with her. I told her everything. I learned how to stand on her back when she walked and I often rode her bareback laying down across her back. We practiced barrel racing and pole racing, though she wasn't really the racing type, she would get excited and run as fast as she could, which wasn't fast at all. (In the bean patches, however, she was very very fast.) Those days were the best days.

Horses, even small ones, are powerful, yet they want to work with you. They have emotional memories. A horse that has been treated well will remember people favorably. A horse that has been treated roughly is a different story. You'll have to earn and keep their trust. Most horses are stubborn and they will test you and try to scare you. They can knock you down in an instant and win any fight, yet at heart, they want to work with you.

Yes, I've heard all the stories about girls and horses. Whatever.

For me, it was that time away from the day to day in town. It was getting out to the pasture and the smelly barn and slipping the bridle on and riding out to get an Orange NeHi soda. It was cantering through the pasture on my white horse, and those stupid runs through the bean patches. Mostly it was just lazing around the pasture knowing that everything was going to be okay.