Horses are intelligent, gentle (11/26/07)

I'm thinking about horses.

Carriage rides were being offered in town a couple of weeks ago. The horses were magnificent. They were so incredibly huge and brushed to perfection. I have a girlfriend who accepted a marriage proposal in a similar carriage in a different town. They are still happily together.

I remember when I was a very little girl. My Uncle Norman brought his palomino, Starlight, to our farm. Uncle Red was there that day and was offered a ride. Unbeknownst to him Starlight was trained to stop when the reins were tugged on and to rear when the reins were pulled.

Uncle Norman laughed as the horse reared higher and higher as Uncle Red pulled on the reins harder and harder. Uncle Norman managed to grab the reins just before they both toppled over.

Starlight was a good horse and soon took it upon herself to bring the cows up to the barn every evening without us having to call them. She was eventually joined by several other horses that belonged to my aunt and uncle. They weren't nearly as friendly and as intelligent as she was.

I grew up with those horses and spent many an hour brushing them and cleaning out stalls. To this day I find that smell of horses brings back fond memories.

Then there is that faded picture of my grandmother as a girl. She is standing between two huge draft horses. I still can't get over how pretty she was back then. It brings to mind the stories she told of walking behind the horses and breaking up clods with her feet. It was a different world back then. I'm not sure if all the progress that has been made since that time is a positive thing or not.

Fast forward to the last time I was on a horse. My daughter was a baby. We were camping somewhere. I was given a horse to ride that knew where she was going and preferred that I not touch the reins. When I dared to try to guide her she glared at me and tried to bite. I let her go and trusted she would stay with the other horses in our group.

Fast forward again. My daughter is a teenager and toying with career choices. She gets a job working for a veterinarian. Part of her job is to exercise the vet's horses. She gets free riding lessons and quite a few bumps and bruises from unruly horses. Along the way she develops a fascination with surgery and the workings of the body.

Another fast forward. My daughter has had a bad week. She is exhausted, mentally and physically. What is her solace? It is a horse belonging to her mother-in-law's neighbor. She takes all the assorted little kids in the family for a ride. My granddaughter, Emma, is not impressed and seemingly can't figure out what is so great about riding. Her five-year-old-cousin, Kaila, is more of a girly-girl and concentrates hard on not falling off. Then comes Kristian. He is Kaila's two-year-old brother.

Kristian was born with his intestines on the outside of his body and after a heart-wrenching stay in the hospital is now a normal little boy except that he doesn't have a belly button. He loved riding. His grin covered his whole face when Beth coaxed the horse into a lope. He will be the one who continues this family's love affair with the huge beasts.

Horses have been a recurring theme in my life and their intelligence and gentleness is a constant. It has been so long since I have had personal contact with them that I wouldn't know what to do with one if I had one. I find their size intimidating and the sheer power that they posses scares me. I do not understand why they have allowed themselves to be domesticated and controlled. However I am glad that they have chosen to share their lives with us humans and are willing to give rides to toddlers and daughters alike.[[In-content Ad]]