For years I’ve loved the idea of horses. It must be the My Little Ponies that every little girl plays with and then the movies with bareback riders that make it all look so romantic and effortless.
But my experience of horses was lessons in a dusty sand paddock, flies everywhere, my eyes constantly streaming and my nose running profusely from hayfever allergies. And so, I said goodbye to my romantic dreams of riding. I think my mom said Hallelujah because it cost a bomb, but my folks always let me try everything to see what would stick.
My daughter also had big ideas when she was 9. We lived up the hill from a riding centre for 12 years and for her 9th birthday decided she wanted to go for a pony ride. I agreed and we headed down the road to the centre. There was 1 horse available which was quickly saddled up, and they recommended that I walk her on the sand path along the river. It’s a gorgeous area of riverbanks, reeds and forest and only used by the horseback riders.
Taylor mounted the horse with the help of the hand that was there and she looked a bit weary. It’s her first time! She’ll be fine! Off we walk slowly around the paddock toward the river. The horse got a little excited as it realised we were heading toward the sand path, but I had a good grip of the reigns from up front and we kept walking.
About 5 minutes in, Taylor says, “I think we can go back now...” and that was that. The end of horsey dreams in our family. I was also shouting a quiet hallelujah under my breath as I walked her back to the stables.
No more horses for us, but the beauty of these majestic beings has always enamoured me. We now live in a neighbourhood alongside more paddocks and regularly see these two lonesome beasts grazing in the local field. But this time they were right up at the fence closest to the street. It was like they were keen for some human contact. So we chatted some and I took a few pics.
I don’t think I need any more than this. To sit and watch and communicate and enjoy these magnificent beings.
All photos my own