I left the office at lunch today. The sun was shining and the water was glistening on the roads from the melted snow. My Durango will be a dirty mess for a few days, (not to imply it is ever clean) but the good news is, the big thaw is happening. It actually read 46*. Tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same.
I am planning on riding in the afternoon, lending a horse to a friend of a friend who is unable to haul one of her own. We've met briefly before and I look forward to getting to know her better. The jury is out on which horses I will bring; kind of leaning toward loading up the two that are the cleanest. They are probably all rolling in the mud as I type. I am hoping no matter which horse I bring, the guest rider will get along just fine. It won't be like riding her own, but after weeks of cold weather, just being able to get out and ride sounds pretty darn good.
When I first started riding, I would invite anyone and everyone to come over and ride my horses. It usually didn't turn out like I hoped it would. I would blame it on my herd of "untrained horses." Looking back, anyone who knew how to ride could probably have ridden those horses but at the time, I really didn't know how to ride well myself. I would turn into a nervous Nellie; not sure if I was more fearful for my own life, that of my friend or for the horse. Riding around and around in the round pen seemed to be the safest option.
Eventually, I just stopped inviting non-riders to join me and ignored those hinting for an invitation. Occasionally, one of the kids' friends or cousins will ride with us, but that is about all my heart can take. No doubt, my horses thank me for that.
It is a pleasure having horse friends who can ride & just handing them the lead rope to one of my horses and knowing it will be okay.
I will never forget you lending horses to strangers, my daughter and I, for the Mother's Day Trail ride a few years ago. It warms my heart that you believed we could ride well enough to take care of your wonderful horses. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves but it was good that we could ride because Ginger was certainly full of her "name" that day. lol. I sure wish we lived closer and could ride together again some time.
ReplyDeleteHave a great ride with your new friend!
It's always nice to ride with a horsey person. Have a good time and send some of your nice weather this way.
ReplyDeleteVal, it was a pleasure having you and Sheila here to ride with me & yes, Ginger was quite excited that day! But you handled her beautifully - something a non-rider probably would have had difficulty doing. I sure wish you lived closer, too. You are welcome back any time!
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking of you this afternoon with all of this unseasonable gorgeousness. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI will always be grateful to the girl I used to know who DID let me get up and flop around on her patient QH. People have to transition from non horse people to horse people somehow. I even let my non-horse friends ride sweet bombproof Champ in the arena occasionally!
ReplyDelete... But it's kinda nice having just one horse who is in no way beginner safe. Nope, sorry. You can give her a carrot though!
Have a great ride!
I'm glad the weather has thawed so you get to ride. Riding with someone along is a bonus. Hope you have a great time.
ReplyDeleteMost of my friends, except for the ones I know through the horse rescue, or my neighbor, Val, have no interest in riding anyway....probably due to them knowing all about the many horse-related injuries I've had. lol!
ReplyDeleteI read your latest post first, and then this one and had to giggle, especially after reading Val's comment.
It's a good thing Ginger was on her good behavior for your friend during the ride, and even better that she wasn't riding Butter! :-0
~Lisa
When I had two horses, I had a lot of people asking to come over and ride. If they weren't regular riders, I wouldn't let them. I knew I'd be a nervous wreck.
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