My Journey with Horses

I’ve loved horses my whole life.  I don’t know if this is memory or family legend, but before I could walk, I pointed to a horse, wanting only to be with it. I had my first ride at four years old.  The horse I rode was utterly safe, but I wanted more. While other horses trotted away, no matter what I did, my horse plugged along, knowing those other horses weren’t really going anywhere special and we’d get there eventually.  I kicked and kicked that horse with my feeble four-year-old legs to no avail and was almost in tears when a man rode by me saying, loud enough for me to hear, ‘that little girl sure can ride.” All my frustration left me and I sat back, feeling pretty good about myself.  I sure can ride.  Thanks to that kind stranger, that was the message I took away from that first experience.

From the time I could read, I consumed every horse book I could find.  Black Beauty, My Friend, Flicka, everything Walter Farley or Marguerite Henry ever wrote.  Books with names like Hobby Horse Hill and Born to Ride filled my shelves.  In fifth grade, I read The Black Stallion 55 times in one year. When we would go on long drives in the car, I would look out the window and see myself riding the Black, galloping and jumping over everything in our way.

Horses filled my imagination, my nightly dreams, and my day dreams for much of my life.  They still do.  Since age thirteen, I’ve owned five horses, including the three I have now, but I’ve exercised, shown and ridden dozens of horses. I bought my three year old, Dakota, as a yearling and I’m training her myself, for better or for worse. And I just rescued a six month old baby we named Starlight. Dakota, Star, and I are definitely on a journey, one of exploration, trial and error, and hopefully, many years of genuine, loving partnership.  They are both spectacular girls, wonderful spirits.  Beautiful, smart, strong.  Can I teach them the things they needs to know to flourish in a world of humans? Can I guide them in such a way that their intelligence and spirit shine through, regardless of what I’m asking them to do?

These are the questions I ask myself. Just riding a horse no longer interests me. I’m embarking on a journey for something more with Dakota and Star, seeking a relationship that is deeply connected heart to heart, being to being.