"So why do you ride horses?"

There are so many answers to this question that I don't know where to begin.

Firstly we could go for the historical one: I always have.  My parents got me a rocking horse for Christmas when I was three, and it all went from there.  We found a riding stables, I liked the wrong one (that said, where would I be in my life if not for that place, etc) and I stayed there for about seven years.  I just enjoyed it and still do.
I used to use these bad boys Chestnut Ridge Horse and Rider Playset (Google Affiliate Ad) and similar in all my spare time.. and Playmobile. Always playmobile.

Secondly there's the power.  The feeling of harnessing a horse's power and manipulating it in order for the horse to do exactly what it is that YOU want.  It's spectacular.  That animal could kill you, and instead it's doing exactly what you want in the way that you want.

Thirdly there's flying.  Jumping.  One of the best experiences of my life was when Ray, my last instructor, tried to get me used to riding with stirrups at jockey's length.  I jumped a four feet high fence (about 1m20) while like this.  I felt as though I had put myself in the right place then waited for the horse to catch me up and carry me over the fence safely.  It was fenomenal.

So then maybe, "why do you shovel shit? How can that be fun?"
It's not.  No one likes shovelling shit on a day-to-day basis.  It's exhausting, too: I've been getting up early since the beginning of October and I'm shattered.  When I have days off, they're spent in bed.  But the thing is, that my horse, my Nomad, is completely worth it.  Every morning he recognises me and says hello to me, and every day I'm grumpy he can cheer me up, and every time I'm already in a good mood he can make or break it.  And because it's him, the times that he breaks it are so few and far between that I barely remember when he does; or he manages to make up for it afterwards.

Therefore.  I ride horses because I have control, because I get taken away for miles (both by their speed and by how high and far they can jump), because it's a loving connection that you build between you and your horse, and because they can change your mood just by being there.
Like a boyfriend?
But more predictable, easier to read, and can be loaded off on someone else if you can't be bothered.
#winning!

N.B.:

"Anonymous said...

I absolutely love your blog and find a lot of your post's to be precisely what I'm looking for. Would you offer guest writers to write content for yourself? I wouldn't mind composing a post or elaborating on a lot of the subjects you write regarding here. Again, awesome blog!"

I would actually consider letting guests write, it must be said. Watch this space, I suppose, I'll let you know.

:)

Also, to the other anonymous: Apologies that my posts aren't getting longer; I'll work on it when I can!