What is it about girls and horses? For me it was the possibility of escape! Maybe not your typical connection, but it made my teen years bearable!
When I was young I was blessed to have a horse…saved up my babysitting money and bought a big old boy…for those of you that know horses, he was 17 hands high and Thoroughbred and American Saddle Bred — dark with a star on this forehead. Sky wasn’t registered and frankly had big ears and knobby knees, but I loved him…he was the best friend and salvation to a tall young teenage girl…
My cousin handed me down saddlebags. I really had no occasion to use them, but they fueled my escape dreams. The dreams of running away with my horse and my dog…packing the saddle bags and heading up to the mountains! Away from dances with too short boys, my typical back biting friends (who somehow became remarkable women who are like sisters to me), and my seemingly dreadful parents…
I wasn’t going to be your typical cowgirl…wouldn’t be caught dead in one of those hats. My Mom proudly thought I was fashion forward when I insisted on square toe boots…really it was just as a tall girl, I had long feet to match and didn’t want any extra length with that dreaded cowboy boot point sticking out from under my 36inch inseam Levi 501s. It was a good thinkg Sky was 17 hands with those gangly long legs!
Dad regaled me, as he does to this day, with stories of growing up on the ranch and the adventures of minding the herds and the bonds with the horses and dogs…flaming my horsey runaway fantasy…Mom too, grew up with her Tennessee Walkers…amazing horses with 2 more gaits than your average pony! I
I never made it out of the foothills or even past the lake on my horse, but long, long rides kept me sane during my tumultuous teen years…There are still days when I long to be a cowgirl…I visit my friend’s horses, happily brushing their coats and picking their hooves. She marvels at the free labor and I relish in the presence of magnificent beasts that bond with us and let us into their world. Her big gelding Max is my favorite…sometimes in the summer evenings after work, I brush him, take him for a short ride and then hang out with him by the mare pasture while he enjoys some fresh tasty grass. The mares come by and glance sideways as horses do at the handsome guy, and I relax and lean onto him as he grazes and think – back away ladies…he’s with me! I settle into the familiar zen feeling of being in the moment when I engage in even the most mundane of equestrian activities.
Circumstances forced me to sell my steed after college…the big City that beckoned me for career and adventure was not conducive to keeping pet horses for someone without a trust fund…My escape fantasy now involves me running away to Europe to live in a small village, but that cowgirl thing…still is a grand ideal! Mostly I just bitch and drink wine to get away from hellish reality…
My great niece is the budding equestrian now! Can’t wait to go boot shopping with her! She likes pink, and I don’t even think she minds the point!
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