Horseback Riding

We were watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition tonight (did you know they are getting sued??) and it was about this family in Colorado. They raised horses. Made me remember how much fun it is to be on a horse. I told hubby tonight that I want to go horseback riding when I have lost 100 pounds. It would be so much fun to be on a horse again. So he has about 50 pounds to figure out where to take me for horse back riding :-)

Funny horse stories from my childhood:

I was 11 and on this horse that was my Uncle's. She could be skittish but was a blast to ride at full gallop. I might have weighed about 80-85 pounds back then. I had been out walking around on her while the family watched at the fence and I decided it was time to go at a full gallop across the pasture. I took the reins in my hands hand slapped her on the back flank like I had seen my family do a number of times, before I knew it we weren't running she was rearing up, straight up. Scariest moment in my young life that I can remember. Of course, when in the air and scared to death you often forget all the rules for getting out of that position with a horse safely, the first one being DON'T pull back on the reins. And what did I do, pulled as hard as I could for dear life.....Luckily Cherokee calmed down. I wanted off the horse and never to get back on, but my wise family put me back on a few more times that day to calm my fears.

The shetland....Anyone ever own one of these hell beasts? I had two and both were horses from hell. The one I remember the most was Sugar (SOOOO not what she was really like). She hated being ridden. I would get on that hateful horse and she would do one of two things, run me through bushes to get me off or brush up on a barbed wire fence to get me off. I got great at pulling my leg over to the other side so I wouldn't get scratched up. The worst thing I think I ever suffered with that horse was when I was 10 and wore sandals (stupid, I know) to the farm to go riding. Sugar stepped on my foot (I swear the hell beast knew what she was doing). It took my dad and uncle to push her off of me. I still think I can hear that horse laughing today.

With all the craziness with horses (getting kicked in the stomach at 9 helped me learn to always keep a hand on the horse while passing behind them), I remember one horse my family had when I was a kid. GiGi was awesome. I rode her bare back every chance I got. When she would come in the barn I would climb on and lay back on her back while she ate. I miss being around such majestic animals as horses. I think I had a special bond with GiGi. It is neat when you connect with an animal like that.

Somehow I always knew animals were going to rule my world.....When it isn't the four legged kind, it is the two legged kind that I teach :-)