Hi All! First, Thank you for all your cool comments this week while I was gone.
My family and I went away and one of the activities we got to do was Horseback riding. The last time we all went horse back riding was about four years ago and I had to stay behind with my son, because he had a itty bitty problem with his horse.....
He was scared to death of it.
This time I convinced him that it would be fun and since he is alot older it would be a completely different experience.
So down to the corral we go.
We picked out our helmets.
The Girls that ran the horse backing riding picked out horses for us.
"Mom, I don't wanna do this!" My son complained
"It'll be ok D we are on the beginners trail there's nothing to be afraid of." I answered
My nephew was not thrilled either But my sister-in-law and I were determined to expose our sons to this experience whether they wanted to or not!
We screamed in our heads "Now put your stinkin' helmet on and have fun!", but...on the outside we were calm and patient.
A smaller horse was chosen for my son and as soon as he got on I could see he was terrified.
He lasted all of 20 seconds. He got off and hung out with his uncle. Here comes the mommy guilt. OK I made my son nearly cry for no other reason than I wanted him to like horse back riding. My daughter went off to join the intermediate group and I stayed with the beginners. OK my son is not a Horse guy, but I had not ridden in 14 years and I was determined to enjoy this relaxing treat.
R E L A X I N G
I got a horse...um lets call him .......EL DIABLO ( not his real name but this one suit him better).
Right off the bat he bit the behind of another horse....great.
"Just be careful with him" horse lady says "He doesn't like other horses"
"Wha? But we are on a trail with other horses! " I was begining to get a bit nervous.
We started the trail and right off the bat my sweet E.D. decided to trot near to the horse in front of us and yep....bit him right in the gluteous horsemous
The line of horses stopped every few seconds for pee breaks, poo breaks, or perhaps to make my life a living hell breaks.
because every time we stopped; EL DIABLO looked around to see what else he could do to make me cringe with fear. He would try to trot away from the group.
He tried to attack another horse that rode past him
Then the kicker was that he was trying to kick! And also he tried to rear up which sent me into a panic.
I looked up the trail at my sister-in-law with a horse we'll call Angel and she was fine.
Why the heck did they give me the Juvenile delinquent horse?
We rode through mud and rocks and of course my horse would not follow the path. He took me through a small opening in the woods where my leg scraped the trees. Up the hill and down the hill (he never ever adhered to the trail) we went all the while every muscle in my body was clenched (including areas that I thought couldn't be clenched) from fear that E.D. would want to make a run for it or toss me off his back altogether.
The poor girl riding in front of me was panicked that my horse would cause her horse to run. More hills and more stops. and more naughty behavior from DIABLO. Not soon enough I saw that we were heading back to the corral, but not before more rearing and deviating from the path.
The poor girl riding in front of me was panicked that my horse would cause her horse to run. More hills and more stops. and more naughty behavior from DIABLO. Not soon enough I saw that we were heading back to the corral, but not before more rearing and deviating from the path.
We made it to the corral and we all had to wait in a line to get off. True to form Diablo decided to do his own thing and bully other horses. Now I am the kind of person who will ALWAYS wait her turn but I turned around and said
"Please can I get off now?" I wimpered. The horse lady kindly let me cut the line. I was suprised at how scared I was. could it be that I am just too old for all this? Or the fact that I am older makes me more aware of what could happen...like getting a foot stuck in the stirrups and being dragged around the grounds by a demonic horse.
I thanked God that my Son was not on this trail. He would have been witness to my total wussiness and I might never hear the end of it. The I told you so's would never stop. When my son asked how was my ride I simply said
"It was fun." he looked at my ashen face and limped walk and I could swear I saw him smile smugly.
Next year.....we will be trying a zip line!!!!!
That's safe right? ugh!
I've never been on a horse. El Diablo:)
ReplyDeleteIt seems there is always one person on a trail ride that gets the problem horse! El Diablo sounds like a handful! I haven't been on a horse for a while...maybe I should stay off?
ReplyDeletexo
Claudia
I loved this post. Brought back memories of when my son was small. He never wanted to try anything new.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you all had fun though??? :-)
You just smelled too pretty he didn't want any other horse getting close to you!! hehe
ReplyDeleteHave you ever noticed they ALWAYS have a horse that is a pain .... why the heck would you allow this horse out?
Don't you love when we tell the kids you must do this and then we end up being the one saying well maybe I'll sit this out. Why because I'm the parent ... yup the phrase we said as kids we would never say and NOW we understand it!!! :)
@ Ma~ I used to love horse back riding...it was so strange to be that scared.I might try again next year....oh, what am I saying!!!! :O)
ReplyDelete@ Claudia~ His real name was a sweet name too...I didn't want to post it....wouldn't want to hurt his feelings!!!LOL
@ Beth~ We all had a great time. It was a really fun week filled with laughs!
@ Alexis AKA MOM~ Aww you're too sweet! Yep this horse should go to reform school!
You are so right about the parent thing! I was so sure that he was going to get over his fear and I wound up scared to death!!!!!
I loved reading this. I went horseriding once, when I was 15, and was too ignorant to be afraid.
ReplyDeleteI am scared to death of riding a horse. I've tried it twice and each time I was terrified. I really wish I wasn't so afraid of horses because I would love to gallop across a beautiful valley on one.
ReplyDeleteFunny, but altogether a common tale among horses that just go out for trail rides. I've had that kind of experience twice - once a horse that broke away from the trail group to jump a broken fence to get back to it's stall faster - it didn't care what signals I was giving it, it just wanted food. The other experience included some rearing up maneuvers, and then running, coming to a standstill, and raising the hindquarters in half-buck. Both times I stayed on, and both times I was scared. Thankfully, I had other, sweeter experiences with horses.
ReplyDeleteThe best horses for "trail riding" groups are the ones that get ridden regularly outside of that activity. - just my two cents. I'm sorry it wasn't as much fun as it could have been. And Zip-lining from all that I've heard is awesome, but I haven't tried it yet either. Earlier this year, I snorkeled three times - once with Manta Rays, once with sharks (I was inside a cage), and once with green sea turtles. I loved it all three times, and highly recommend it if you ever get a chance.
My Grand-daughter has a horse that she boards at a farm with stables. She and her Dad go there about three times a week and also cares for the other horses which helps pay for their costs of boarding. I think this is a great experience for both Brooke and her Dad.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your comment on my blog, I wish your daughter well in her try outs for volleyball.