Saturday, March 26, 2005

At the horse show

I’m at a horse show in the Shenandoah Valley and I’m dying to start riding again, but I don’t always trust the horses.



Dude is only getting-started under saddle, and a few months ago my daughter challenged me to ride him. He was wearing a western saddle (far easier to stay-in than those English saddles), so I said that I’d give it a try.



I put my foot in the stirrup, and as I swung by leg over, my heel scratched his rump, and he took-off at a full gallop. I’m standing up, both hands on the saddle horn and one foot in the stirrup as Dude accelerates. When he made a turn I fell, and let me tell you it was no pleasant. I was passing blood for 2 weeks afterward, and the old adage “The bigger they are, the harder they fall” is true. I’m still leery of riding him . . .

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow, Tha Dude is sure a pretty horse. Makes me think that not only Quarter horses are pretty. Lol, just kidding. Just wanted to say that must have hurt, that happened to me before, accept i was bareback, and i fell off at a turn and landed on a fence. :~) Since then i have been rolled on by a horse, kicked, bitten, bucked off, reared with, bolted with, fallen off, and been bucked off by a donkey. Just one thing to say...NEVER QUIT RIDING! It's worth it!

Unknown said...

Arabian stallions are not hard to ride unless abused or spoiled. As a 16 year-old girl I trail rode an Arabian stallion. The Arabian Horse Assoc. is one of the FEW breed clubs that allows women and youth to show stallions. Arabians - geldings, mares and stallions - are easy to train, respond to good treatment, and love their humans. You were told an old wives tale and I'm here to tell you it is wrong.