It's a far cry from the days during my pre-teens when I'd ride my bike or walk down to Delamarter's place aka the Pennington place, grab the bridle, slip it on to Blackie, the black mare, and head out into the woods along Sand Creek.
I'd ride for a while and occasionally, pull up and back on the reins. That was Blackie's cue to rear.
I never fell off. Apparently, I developed a pretty good riding seat while taking those trips around the woods with just a bridle and no saddle.
I may never have fallen off, but my wallet did one time. To this day, I wonder where. I didn't realize my wallet was gone until I arrived home after that ride.
I carried it in my pocket cuz I was rich and mighty impressed that I actually had that much money: about $17, earned from the Sandpoint News Bulletin subscription-selling contest for that year.
That was the most money I'd ever owned at one time, so the wallet, fat with dollar bills, went with me everywhere. Not a good idea to have it in my pocket while riding, especially while rearing and riding.
The lost money became a major issue when my mother asked me for a loan. It was "starvation week," which we experienced every month just before my dad got his city pay check.
Mother needed some cash to go to the M and J store and pick up a few items to get through the week.
Well, after her request for a loan, I first pretended to look for my wallet in my dresser drawers and then finally had to fess up that I'd lost it.
Not a pretty scene.
Soon after, I was walking down to Delamarter's place, this time passing right by Blackie and the bridle and searching the woods for the lost wallet.
Turns out a bulldozer had been working in the woods at the time. More than likely, the billfold had been scooped up and plowed under during that time cuz I never found my wallet with the $17 and photo of classmate Craig Thompson, my one-sided romance at the time.
Besides riding horses that would rear on command, I also rode one horse that would run. Good ol' Largo, our bay Saddlebred mare, loved to run, and she had that competitive instinct.
Largo never liked to lose a race.
I didn't race her too many times legally because the often-voiced rules at our house emphatically dictated that we were never to run our horses on the road.
Well, I may have broken the rules a few times, especially when I took off with my friend Susie, whose parents knew nothing about horses----therefore never setting down any strict guidelines when Susie rode off from her house on big ol' Major.
Susie liked racing. So, when we were well out of sight of my folks' vision, we took off full speed ahead.
Largo never lost.
I also loved to gallop Largo in the fields around our place (we called it "gallop" cuz we watched Westerns, and it seemed that the horses galloped a lot more than they "loped" or "cantered.")
That seemed to be okay cuz the ground wasn't nearly as hard on horses' feet as it was on those country roads.
Like many kids, I had virtually no fear while riding horses at any speed. Like many horse lovers, I've also been dumped a couple of times and have fallen off a few times too. I know firsthand the painful feeling of hitting the ground with no preconceived landing.
When you go off from a horse, you can land any ol' way. I've landed on my head, and I've landed on my rear, and most recently (about six years ago) I landed on my left shoulder on top of stump.
Times have dramatically changed for me, as has my perspective on riding horses.
No races.
No "galloping" across fields.
No pulling up on the reins so Lily or Lefty will rear.
Very little riding on the hard roads because these days too many dump trucks or trucks pulling rattly trailers roll by.
That can be disconcerting to a horse and very scary for this old coot who doesn't relish the idea of being found in a pile broken bones right in the middle of the road.
Nope, for the most part, my horses these days know one speed----WALK.
Oh, sure, they do know how to trot or jog, lope or canter, but with me aboard, they'll likely never do either of those advanced gaits. And, they don't mind cuz they're both a little on the lazy side.
Fortunately, when Monty and (Roxane for a brief time with Lefty) trained them, my horses really comprehended "whoa."
In fact, they do "whoa" so fast, I might even get whiplash, but when you're just out there walking, "whoa" isn't gonna be all that dramatic or injurious.
In fact, I seldom use the term except for when I want to take picture. Lily knows the drill so well that when she senses my taking the cell phone out of my pocket, she slows down to snail's pace in anticipation that she's gonna get to "whoa."
She also knows that occasionally "whoa" means cookies or apples, and Lily's always ready for either.
Both of my horses are pretty much bomb-proof these days---for me anyway.
It took a while for that to happen, but they've both figured out that if they just walk along nicely, having to carry the heavy load around isn't gonna be all that stressful.
Same is true for me. If they'll do their thing, I'll do mine with great satisfaction.
This fall I've been limiting my afternoon rides to trails around the place and maybe a little up and down the road at times when the traffic past the place is slow.
It's been Heaven, especially because I've finally given myself permission to no longer think I'm rough and tough and immune to potential injury.
So, I saddle up, and off we go at a nice walk for about 45 minutes to half an hour.
I love riding around the yard and seeing its beauty from a little higher perspective.
Riding in the woods is becoming more and more fun because most of those overhanging branches have been plucked off, allowing me several different routes without seeing the same thing.
Yesterday was no exception to my new horseback regimen, and, as slow as we go, I've got plenty of time to snap photos and to feed horses apples and to just relish the idea that this new chapter of riding my horses isn't so bad.
The best part: when I'm out there enjoying nature on top of my horse, all the hatred, the conflict and woes of the world seem a whole lot further away. And, that is good these days.
Happy Tuesday.
No comments:
Post a Comment