Thursday, May 29, 2014

Horse History

   At first, it was only infatuation. My heart would pound, my eyes would widen and excitement would consume my entire body. It was like some kind of dream. I would observe the contours of any horse placed before me. Sleek backs, flowing manes, and large eyes to reflect the hope filled girl standing beside them. I was always alert for anything horse related. The passion didn't die with age. Forget Barbie. There was always some new gorgeous plastic steed that would come home from Wal-Mart and end up in a corral on the living room floor.

   As I grew older different horse opportunities approached. Though I was eager to embrace every one of them, none where quite right. Eventually when I turned twelve we found the perfect place to volunteer. Ironically, my mom purchased her horse first and about a year or two later I found mine. When I first looked at Myria (the horse I own now) I wasn't overly excited. Whereas before I would have picked any horse even if it acted up while I watched. No, I was more reserved. I couldn't even see the qualities this horse contained. She was calm, sweet, and above all a retired reining horse that was looking for some much needed attention and a new job. I waited around on making up my mind; she was only the third horse I had looked at in a period of a few years. Finally, though, I split the cost with my mom and she became my horse.

   After an initial period of combing every inch of her tail twelve times over and grooming her till my arms hurt. The next phase came- "Now I have the horse, what do I do with it exactly?" For a while I didn't do very much with her. If I only knew about the blessing she is. Our adventures are now limitless. I can trust her more than any other horse that I have been around. Yes, she has a few bad habits, but nothing that overrides her reliability and sweetness.

  Now, Myria is truly the best part of my life. As stress and hardships way down on my shoulders I can escape even for just a few moments. We can ride through hills, forests, and fields peacefully or pick up the pace and fly down a path with the wind humming in my ears, and that is just what her name means..."Wind".