Horse Crazy

Breakfast in the Barn

2009-04-29T23:24:00.000-07:00

As I walk out to the barn in my bare feet the dewy grass crumples under me. It is cool and refreshing a welcome change for my sleepy, cranky morning feet. They are stiff with sleepy numbness. As I open the barn door the wonderful smell of barn hits me, a mixture of sweet hay and rich earthy grain. It is quiet and I can hear the swish of a tail getting a pesky bug or a horse shifting its weight from one foot to another, eyes half closed, peaceful and relaxed.

The horses pop their heads over the barn door, their furry ears perked up, soft brown eyes curious. They are ready to greet me, happy to see me as always, especially when they know that food is involved. I reach my hand out to the nearest nose and feel the cool soft velvet with the tips of my fingers as their steamy breath warms my hand. They whicker happily and I take it as a complement towards me even though I am sure they are only whickering for their number one love in life, food. I open the grain barrels scooping up that wonderful cool oaty grain and letting it slip through my fingers. I let myself lose focus slightly. My vision blurs and I feel like the world slows it’s spinning for a second. Then finally I serve it into feed buckets, dumping supplements on my older pony’s handful of grain.

All of my horses are very “easy keepers” meaning you can feed them hardly anything and they will become fat. My pony is the best. She could survive off of a handful of grain and an armful of hay. Just to give you an example of what other horses eat, Thoroughbreds usually eat about eight quarts of grain a day. Don’t get me wrong. I am very happy to have a horse that you do not have to take out a loan just to pay for their food.

As I serve out the grain they jam their faces into their buckets and begin to contentedly munch away. Eyes half closed in the holy food meditation. I love listening to horses eat. They are so rhythmical and calm eating bite by bite, crunch, crunch, munch. Their happiness seeps from them like the sun and they warm everything in sight.

I grab a bunch of hay, filling my arms with a towering pile. It scratches my face slightly and a few little pieces of dry clover fall down into the depths of my layers of clothing. A piece sticks to my neck. It’s all I can do not to drop the giant pile of hay and get rid of the obnoxious little piece. I hobble out to the paddock very aware of my shortage in the needed amount of limbs, to get the hay off my neck, fend off the horses that see me as a walking pile of food, shut the door behind me, and hold the hay without dropping it.

I spread the hay one pile after another checking to see if there is enough for the three of them. I make sure that there is enough space in-between the piles for Sadie, my friend’s big beautiful chestnut colored mare to escape from my evil little pony named Lolly. You should see how Lolly goes after that poor horse. Her ears go flat back like someone is pulling them so hard that her eyes have gotten bigger and her nostrils are stretched, flared out in what I can only call a snarl. Even her teeth are showing slightly.
Then of course she charges, her mouth stretched wide open trying to bite Sadie. Not always for any particular reason, just whenever she feels like it. I guess you can’t really blame Sadie for high tailing it in the other direction whenever Lolly so much as makes a face at her. I can’t help but wonder if Sadie has even realized that she is twice as big as my little pony and could practically pick her up and toss her over the fence if she wanted to. I think that little pony has scared her enough that she doesn’t even consider the idea of challenging her.

I pick up my fire engine red manure fork and sift out the clean bedding from the dirty. My thoughts move from subject to subject going over what I will be doing that day. I settle into the rhythm, scoop, shake, shake, shake, toss into the wheel barrel. Repeat. Something about doing the same thing over and over again puts my mind at ease. Scoop, shake, shake, and toss. My brain continues to slowly but surely come to life. Finally I catapult the last forkful into the manure pile, and it lands with a satisfying thud.

I fill up the water buckets one by one. Pushing the cool hydrant handle back in place once the bucket fills. I lug the full water bucket to its place wincing as ice cold water sloshes down my leg and onto my foot. I look out at the happy horses munching away at their hay. My heart is somehow more full, satisfied to have fed them. I am needed. As I turn away I can feel the cold water making my jeans stick to my leg. I head back to the house slamming the barn door behind me ready to begin a new day.

2007-12-06T08:07:00.000-08:00

It is not enough for a man to know how to ride; he must know how to
fall.
~Mexican Proverb~

2007-12-06T08:06:00.000-08:00

Horse, thou art truly a creature without equal, for thou fliest without
wings and conquerest without sword.
The Koran

Breathe

2007-11-12T18:47:00.000-08:00

I hold my breath . It feels like I might never let it go. “Breathe” I have to tell my self over and over again. Why is such a simple task sometimes so very hard. Alright now do the million other things she is telling you to do. “Do it now!!”. Pull your self together breathe ok. Breathe again. Good. Try again. You can do it.. I know you can. Concentrate. There you go. Tell your horse what a wonderful horse she is tell her how much you appreciate her, but do it quickly and don’t break your concentration. Good. She already knows how much you love her but it never hurts to say thank you again does it. Alright lets try the jump again. Think all the way. That's right collect, collect, energy don’t forget to give. “Ooops!!” don’t worry thank your horse tell her you are trying. “Breathe”. Alright here we go again this time think of a strong lower leg. 3,2,1, jump 1,2,3. “Ahhh that was nice”. I hear the these words coming from my riding instructor's lips and a warm happiness bubbles all the way up to my face making even my nose tingle a little. “Yes that was nice” I allow myself a little pat on the back and continue. Alright lets make the next one even better. 3,2,1, jump 1,2,3. My horse gives a little buck “yippee” I hear her say. “This is fun” There are sparks in our eyes as we soar (not quite as gracefully over the next jump). “Don’t get cocky” a little voice whispers into my ear. “Shush” I tell it. This is fun.

~Contentment~

2007-11-12T04:30:00.000-08:00

(I know I am breaking the rules posting something that doesn't involve horses, but I did actually write this so I guess I'm not breaking all of the rules.)

I wiggle my toes in the cool soft grass as the clouds float wordlessly by me. Feathered onto the sky as if the sky was a giant bowl of whip cream on which someone gently blew.

The trees autumn colors complement each other. A true work of art. With splashes of color so vibrant and so soft at the same time.

I hear the squirrels rustling through the under growth as they hurry to gather there food for the winter.

As I sit in the grass with my soft warm blanket wrapped around me I feel the heat of the sun beating warmly on my back, as if a friend giving me a warm hug. I feel contentment bubbling up inside me and I lay back onto the grass thanking the universe for these moments.

Horse Crazy Video

2007-10-23T08:30:00.000-07:00

Very Silly :]

2007-10-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

2007-10-18T20:27:00.001-07:00

To me, horses and freedom are synonymous. ~Veryl Goodnight

2007-10-18T20:13:00.000-07:00

Again the early-morning sun was generous with its warmth. All the sounds dear to a horseman were around me - the snort of the horses as they cleared their throats, the gentle swish of their tails, the tinkle of irons as we flung the saddles over their backs - little sounds of no importance, but they stay in the unconscious library of memory. ~Wynford Vaughan-Thomas

2007-10-17T12:59:00.000-07:00

No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle. ~Winston Churchill

New Horse

2007-10-16T07:02:00.000-07:00

When I woke up this morning the birds were singing the sun was up and the flowers smiled at me as I walked out to get the mail. Well Okay, so the flowers are dying because I'm an awful gardener, the sun wasn't fully out but covered by clouds and okay,okay, there wasn't exactly any birds either, but it was a happy morning for me because today my friend is going to to pick me up and we are going to go and bring the horse that I might be buying to my house to try her out for a few days.

My dog barks and I realize that my friend is here. I grab my coat and quickly scan the area to make sure everything is all set. I run across the dewy lawn to my friends truck and jump in. "Hey" she greets me "you ready?" "I hope so" I say nervously.

As we drive towards our destination my mind keeps running over all the things that could happen. Jeez, taking a horse on trial is very stressful. There are so many things that can go wrong. If she gets hurt than I lose $10,000 just like that, but then again if she is everything I think she is she could be my best friend and another piece of my soul for a long time. I don't think you can put a price tag on happiness.

The gravel crunches as my friend pulls her truck into the drive way. My heart beats wildly in my chest. It feels a little like I'm standing at the edge of a cliff and I don't know if I will fly or fall.

I open my door and am greeted by happy dog noses. Their excitement at having a new visitor seems endless.

I start to walk towards the barn followed by waging tails. I take in my surroundings. Every thing is so beautiful. There are horses grazing on a distant hill, and a big oak tree with an old swing swinging lazily back and forth in the breeze. A man stands in the doorway of the barn and waves us a greeting.

"Hello nice to see you" he says when we get close enough. "Well you just have to sign a couple of papers so that I know you wont run away and never come back and also so that you know that I won't take your money and run". "After that you can head out to the pasture and she's all yours, that is if you still want her after the end of the trial". He says with a smile.

I sign the papers and head out to the pasture. As I get nearer to her she turns to look at me almost as if she is saying "Hello are you my new owner"?
I walk up to her and slip her halter over her head. She nuzzles my pockets in a search for treats. "Sorry girl" I tell her. "I don't have anything for you now."

I lead her to the trailer and she loads very easily (to my relief) A look on her face as though she's thinking "oooh a new adventure. This could be fun". I thank the man again and promise to call him when we get home. I jump into the truck and feel a smile start to spread across my face. My friend smiles at me as we pull out of the driveway "How does it feel?" she asks. "It feels like I'm flying up in the clouds somewhere" I say with a grin.

As we drive down the road I think of how my life could be changed forever. I know that there will be ups and downs happy, sad, awful, and amazing moments to come. But I really hope this is one of the moments I will never ever forget.

What Makes You Horse Crazy ???

2007-10-09T08:20:00.000-07:00

When you are born you enter the world and everything is new. I think you probably know if you re horse crazy the first time you see a horse. You can't get enough of them and you know that you will do anything just to be near them. Even if it means mucking out stalls for three hours every day just so you can have a half hour lesson once a week. But you don't mind because it was so amazing to ride even for just a half hour, and every waking moment you are thinking of when you can ride next.

Once you have mucked about 526,266,666,895,256.25 stalls you have probably ridden enough times to be a pretty good rider and people start to want you to ride their horses.

By this time maybe just maybe your parents notice that you aren't going to give up this horse thing and they decide to make your wildest dream come true and buy you a horse...

So pretty much when you've been bitten by the the horse crazy bug your love for horses never ever ends and the people in your life learn to deal just with it. They will usually figure out that this craziness is a part of you and they love you so they are in fact (even if they don't like to admit it) a little horse crazy to.

Horse or dog ??

2007-10-09T07:58:00.000-07:00

When I was little I always said that when I grew up I wanted to have a mini pony that lived in my house...

So cute !!

Fall Trail Ride

2007-10-02T08:08:00.000-07:00

Crunch, crunch, crunch, leaves rustle under me as I ride quietly through the woods. I love this time of year. Fall is the perfect season for me. Not to hot, not to cold, and no bugs well hardly any I have to add as a fly lands on my nose.

My pony stops to lift her head as a deer flits gracefully over a stone wall and out of sight. It is so wonderful to be able to ride. it is one of the most amazing feelings.

I think to myself of the many things horses have taught me in the nine years I have ridden them. They have taught me patience and trust,they have given me confidence, but they always keep me humble. i smile when I think of the times when I was feeling full of myself and got bucked off. They are very humorous and they make me laugh. They have been some of my best teachers. I guess I really am horse crazy.

My pony nickers and it brings me back to the present and out of my memories. i realize that we are almost home. I reach down and give my pony a hug. There is nothing like a good trail ride. "I love you sweet pony" I whisper. These are the moments I will remember forever.

Heart

2007-09-25T15:27:00.000-07:00

I talked to a friend just the other day who’s got lots of opinions and plenty to say.

We discussed what we both like to see in a horse His requirements and mine were

different of course… He likes a clean throatlatch and a long skinny neck, and prefers

that their hocks are set close to the deck. Short backs and hard feet and clean

slopin’ shoulder, and a gaskin that looks like it swallered a boulder. He likes a

short face and a big ol’soft eye, and says these are the horses he’s likely to buy.

And when he’d completed his lengthy discourse,on all of the attributes of the quality

horse. He asked my opinion, and where do I start? And I said that I….just want

horses with heart. I said I want heart above all the other. I don’t care if he’s

Smart Little Lena’s full brother. Or just how much money that his grandmother won,

or whether he’s roan, palomino or dun. But give me a horse with some grit and some

try and some heart and some guts and that’s one that I’ll buy. And I’ve found it’s

the same with a woman or man…. The good ones won’t quit you when the shit hits the

fan

by Monte Baker

Roman Riding, What Is It ???

2007-09-25T07:45:00.002-07:00

When I tell people that I "Roman Ride" people's usual response is "You what??". When I say "well it's just when you stand on two horses at once and gallop around". People are usually impressed.

Roman Riding started in Rome (hence the name) and was put to use so that the Romans could exercise their horses more efficiently. Besides it is pretty thrilling so it made it a lot of fun. This is only my theory though and probably shouldn't be quoted.

What I do know for sure is that Roman Riding is completely unique and if you get the chance you should try it too !!!

Here is a link to a site of the guy who taught me how to Roman Ride (he is also the man Roman Riding in the bottom picture). Check it out !!

Click here