#1 - My First Horse - Blue Boy
My first experience with a horse is not a memory at all; my mom always told me the story. She and my dad took me on a dude ranch trail ride when I was just a toddler. I rode in front of one of them all day. Whenever they dismounted for a break, I would make my way to the horse’s head, which was as large as I was tall, and wrap my arms around it. From that day on, my mom said that I was “horse crazy.” It was impossible to walk past a horse or a dime-operated pony without stopping to give it a pat or taking a ride. I cannot remember a time in my life that I didn’t either have a horse or yearn for one. I cannot remember a day when my thoughts didn’t find their way to a horse.
I wrote these stories so that I could honor the horses who made me who I am today. I wanted a keepsake that combined my old photos with my memories. As I was writing, I realized how many life lessons I learned from my experiences with the horses. Many lessons had to be learned over and over again. Some lessons were immediately recognizable, but others were realized by reflecting many years later. I feel that God has used horses throughout my life as a vessel for the lessons I have needed to learn about living. I can’t think of a better teacher than an equine partner. It is with the deepest gratitude for my four-legged friends that I have written about my life with horses, without whom I would not be the woman I am today.
All I ever asked for from the time I could talk was a horse. My parents finally gave in when my grandpa found one for me. We went out to a pasture with an old cowboy and met Blue Boy for the first time. He was a three-year-old, green-broke Morgan/Arabian cross. I absolutely loved him! I didn’t take him for a test ride or learn anything about handling him. I was eight years old and we had no experience with horses. To this day, I wonder what my parents were thinking!
Luckily, Blue Boy was a gentle soul and we bonded in no time at all. He did throw me off a time or two, but I just climbed back on, gave him a talking-to, and tried again. I can remember pretending I was a circus rider and standing on his back. I also recall laying across him when he was napping in the pasture. I was always authentic with Blue Boy. Whether I was happy, sad, or mad, I would share my emotions with him because I knew he understood me. I was a quiet, introverted girl and found Blue to be my best friend.
We spent our summers together from sun-up to sundown riding through the hayfields and playing games of pretend with my friend and her pony. We were cowgirls, warriors, circus riders, jockeys, and storm-chasers. During the winters, we often made tracks through the snow with me riding bareback to take advantage of Blue’s body heat. My relationship with him was effortless. Sometimes I chose what we would do and sometimes he did. We would just “be'' together and that was all that mattered. I joined 4-H and Blue and I went on trail rides, showed at the fair, walked in parades, and went trick-or-treating together.
Apparently we didn’t have the best showing at the 4-H fair because shortly afterward my parents arranged for riding lessons. The amount we didn’t know about horses must have been quite clear. I started out on my teacher’s horse. I fell in love with the English saddle and started jumping. One day I brought Blue for a lesson and after a short discussion, the verdict was that he had to be replaced with a fancier horse if I wanted to start showing. So I said goodbye to Blue Boy. It was a sacrifice that I had to make; one that I would make again and again over the years.
Looking back, these are the lessons that I learned from my time withBlue Boy:
Your relationship with your horse is the foundation for everything. We never took Blue Boy to a trainer, yet he would do anything for me. He crossed everything on trail rides, carried me in my Halloween costumes, packed me in parades, and tolerated the 4-H fair. Blue was always willing.
“Being” is important. I was filled with joy when I had Blue Boy and I think much of that can be attributed to me just “being” with him. So much of our time together was non-demanding, as I wasn’t trying to train him. I was just there, being his friend.
Give your horse some choices. After Blue Boy, I started showing. It was many years before I ever gave a horse choices again. When I think back to how Blue Boy took care of me, I’m convinced that me giving him choices from time to time played a big part in that. I really believe he felt like we were partners.
