go horseback riding every day

After a whole day of fog, the sun has actually gotten brave enough to peek its head out for a short while. Sigh, Jan. 17th. It’s snowy, wet, slushy, and yucky. Spring must certainly come someday. I can hardly wait.

An hour of horseback riding is like an hour with an excellent therapist. I think the pounding of a horse’s hooves echoes the pounding of the human heart. It soothes a person’s soul. Horses are so incredibly intuitive. They sense how a person is feeling. They seem to absorb one’s worries and dispel them to the winds.

A few days ago my husband and I went riding on our property. While we were riding, we saw a red tail hawk soar down to the ground. We didn’t see the hawk for a few seconds, but then I saw him sitting in a tree with a snake hanging from his beak. It is comforting to know that as much as man tries to interfere nature continues to work as intended.

I really like to keep them on a good worming schedule. The horses are really furry. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long hard winter.

It amazes me to think that people used to live hundreds of years ago out in this weather with very little shelter…hunting their own food, etc. Heck, I go out to the barn to worm the horses, and my hands are frozen by the time I’m done. The people that settled this area hundreds of years ago were certainly tougher people than me. It always makes me feel like such a wimp.

When you are on a great horse, you have the best seat you will ever have.
– Sir Winston Churchill

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

Tomorrow, weather be damned, I’m riding. Jack told me today when I gave him some treats that he was ready to hit the proverbial road. So go we must.

Five deer were hiding out in the wetland today. It’s not full of water yet, just damp, and they were in the middle of it eating away on something. Take that hunters…a few more days and they’ll be home free…at least for this year.

I think I was born to ride or be around horses every day. I’ve been riding every day for a least an hour or more for the last four days. I really need to try and ride every day. Today my husband and I rode for about three hours. We ride on our property and our neighbors, with permission of course. It’s incredible. The leaves are turning—nothing sensational like in New England, but still various colors of yellow and red.

We kicked out seven deer. There are places where we ride where there are no houses, no people, no signs of human habitation, except for the telephone poles. There is an absolutely pristine pond I love to ride to—I feel like I’ve traveled back to an earlier time where life was simpler. I imagine Native Americans or pioneers going to the pond to get water. I know the deer frequent the pond on a daily basis based on the number of deer tracks along the edge of it.

Our dog, Achilles, runs with us while we ride. He always has to go for a swim in the pond. Today he chased some of the deer we kicked out, but there’s no way he can ever catch one, but it’s fun to watch him try. Life is good. If there aren’t any horses in heaven, I’m not going. They probably won’t let me in any way.