rough draft of paper #1

TThe hardest part of riding is the ground; this is something that I have been told all my life. I found this to be true in my quest to learn to ride growing up. I started ridding at 5 years old. Mostly I just wanted to be around the horses and the people that go with them. However learning to ride and care for horses has been the most important learning experience that I have ever had. Having horses has taught me many life skills I use every day. Having to trust an animal with your life is a difficult thing to do and learn. Ridding horse has kept me on the right path throughout my childhood and teenage years. They have given me a purpose. I will continue to learn from my horses for the rest of my life.

When started ridding when I was five years old, I fell off and hit the dirt many times, sometimes with the horse landing on top of me or stepping on me. My dad always told me if it isn't broke, you’re not bleeding badly or dying you dust yourself off and get back on. Learning to ride takes a lot of balance and leg muscles which, at five you don’t always have. So hitting the dirt was usually a daily thing, I learned to tuck and roll quickly. My horse Sar would always stop and look down at me like “Again! What are you doing do there”. Always getting back on has taught me to never quit. You have to keep going and preserver not matter what. It has showed me that even if life knocks you down you get back up and keep going and try again.

Taking care of horses is a lot of hard work. They are unable to care for themselves and rely on you completely. I always had to feed them before I ate. That was a rule in our house. When taking care of a horse that weighs 1000 pounds you tend to get frustrated at times. I had a pony once that knocked me down to get the food I had in my hand. He stepped all over me before my dad rescued me. That pony didn’t last long at our house. Trying to get a horse to cooperate and work with you and not just do what they want to do is hard at times. This taught me compassion and hard work.

Caring for another living thing is hard back breaking work at times however the relationship you build and the love you get in return is irreplaceable. My horse now Reba, I swear knows what I am thinking. I can go out to see her and if I am having a bad day she knows. She will come and stand next to me and let my cry on her shoulder never moving until I am ready to let go. This love and trust is something every person could learn from. This has made me a very caring and understanding person; I have taken these skills with me and will continue to in my quest to become a nurse.

When learning to ride you have to build an unspoken bond with your horse. They have to trust you completely and you have to trust them completely. It takes a lot to build this bond. You spend hours grooming them, feeding them, caring for them when they are hurt. While doing this you are showing the animal that you are the one that makes them feel good. The trust grows from there. It takes years to understand your horse completely. A horse cannot talk to you so you have to learn to communicate with your legs, the reins and verbal commands. This is something that is different for every horse that you ride. You have to adapt your skills to every horse specifically. Everyone is different and respond to different things. Once you learn how to communicate and have a mutual trust between you and the horse there is nothing you cannot accomplish.

Growing up I had friends at school and friends that rode horses. I choose to ride my horse and travel to compete. A lot of my school friends didn’t understand why I wanted to be outside working so hard to take care of a “stinky” animal as they put it. As I grew into my teenage years I had a lot to lose if I got into trouble or didn’t keep my grades up. I would lose being able to ride my horses and compete. If I got in trouble my sisters got to ride my horse and I had to watch them compete, as everyone knows its torture to watch your siblings do something you’re not allowed to do. This was my motivation to stay out of trouble and get good grades. While I was trying to stay out of trouble and keep my grades up my friends were not. They would simply get grounded. Then when that was over they would do it again. I realized that theses “friends” were not the people I needed in my life. I choose to stick with my horses. By the time graduation rolled around I was the only one of my 5 “best friends” throughout school that graduated from high school. I could have chosen a very different path in my life but because of my horses. I think I have done pretty well for myself so far.

            Learning to ride horse has shaped me into the person I am today. You never truly stop learning to ride. There are always new techniques to learn or skills to perfect. I know that I will never stop ridding. The people you meet along the way are like nothing you have ever experienced. They are some lifelong friends that I could never replace. Ridding has become my outlet. It allows me to think, to bond and to love without fear of judgment or harshness. I wouldn’t trade my horses for anything.