Riding Lessons

If you live in a city, and you wish to be around horses, get ready to do some driving. Horses usually live in the country. I've heard about some people keeping (trying to keep?) miniatures in their sunporches but I hope that's an urban myth.

I found a riding stable about 45 minutes from where I lived and signed myself up. You will have questions asked of you, like English or Western? I said Western, being enamored of cowboys and westerns, etc.. Also, I knew enough to know that there is a variation in style of riding, different tack (equipment), and concepts. I also assumed that there are biases from people on both sides regarding their preference.

I planned on (hoped to be) eventually doing a lot of trail riding. By and large, you are more comfortable in a Western style saddle when going on long rides. After all, those big Western saddles were designed with the comfort of a cowboy in mind -- one who might be spending an entire day in the saddle. Being in the "mature" age range makes one think more of comfort, believe me.

You will also, at a minimum, and regardless of English or Western, be required to wear a helmet and long pants. You will also need some sort of boot that covers your ankle and has a heel. These are all safety requirements. Horseback riding is a dangerous sport. You will be reminded of this quite constantly.

You will be reminded when you, yourself, fall off. You will be reminded when you see others fall off. If you ride horses long enough, you will most likely fall off. If you do not, I believe it is because you haven't fallen off yet. You will also be stepped on, kicked, bitten and/or shoved. With a little luck and a lot of agility, you will be able to leap out of the way or quickly pick yourself up after landing in the dirt.

There's a phrase, a saying, that I've seen on t-shirts and posters: The hardest part about riding is the ground. Oh yeah.

But! As I drove off to my first lesson I was not thinking about this stuff. That came later. When I pulled in the driveway and got out of the car, there was only one thing that came to mind. I was hooked.

I knew it. I hadn't even set foot in the barn yet. It was the smell, you see. The smell of horses is absolutely intoxicatingly beautiful. That is, if you have that gene. And nose. It is the smell of hay and the hay outcome, manure. (Horse manure, by the way, is pretty good compared to much stinkier manure, such as comes from sheep, pigs and cows.) It is also the smell of the horses themselves. They smell of earth and sweat and leather and and the good Lord that made them!

Soon, after signing things and taking a tour and being given the preliminaries, I was about to get on...a horse.