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!
