ride horses again

we ride horses everyday (if it’s nice outside)...

When our city slicker friends come out to visit, we make them ride horses as a way to unite them with the farm..hehehe

Had a really lovely horse ride with http://www.highride.co.nz/ at beautiful Te Anau in New Zealand. I Highly recommend this. Its about 3 hours in saddle, their horses are lively and have gorgeous personalities, even if some don’t like being patted too much :P. Really lovely operators, who will give you helpful advice on your riding technique (or as in my case lack of thereof). Beautiful scenery. And I finally got to canter :)!

It’s not that I ever stopped riding horses, it’s just that Equine Influenza struck my region back in July/August 2007 and the government is still banning any horse movements (including riding off your property). So I can ride along the flats of the bottom of the paddock, but that is all.

They say the bans will be lifted soon, so I am looking forward to that. Finally get back into riding.

bliss. i can’t wait. ~ k

It is so hard to grow up and not be able to afford your childhood hobbies anymore. Not just the money, but also to be able to afford the time. I am a new mom (Gracie born 2/7/07!) and feel further and further away from horses all the time. I would love to have the confidence to offer my services as an excersize rider, but am suddenly afraid! I feel out of shape and out of practice… wish there was away to get back into the saddle again… ps that is not me in the picture!

If I had the money I would have a horse of my own – living in a city doesn’t help, but I would find somewhere! I used to ride a lot, but now I just don’t have the time, or if I have the time I don’t have the money…...
I hope to be able to go away soon on a short riding holiday, but that may well be next year.
It is all so depressing.
I love horses so much!

I grew up with horses and worked at the racetrack for a year before college, but it has been years since I have ridden. Like, you know, 30 years. We got two older horses a few years ago but they turned out not to have been good choices. Okay, I was fairly well taken advantage of even though I had them checked out and thought it was a good deal. One was 27 years old (and she was the good one) and the other had “a bucking problem” we didn’t know about at first. We finally had to give both of them away. Now I have a 3 year old I’ve had since he was a little over a year. It’s time for him to be trained and I want to be able to ride him. So that’s my goal. Not to die with my boots on.

So, this does not really count as ride horses again, but my family and I went on a trail ride Friday on our trip to Estes Park, CO. It’s the first time I’ve been on a horse in years. It was lots of fun. I really wish I had more opportunities for horse riding. (Of course, there are no pictures of me on a horse because I was the one with the camera.)

I am 43 yrs old and was 15 when I last rode a horse. I started riding again 6 months ago and I feel like a carefree teenager again riding through English forest in Devon, bliss I have also got my 18 year old son to take riding lessons with me, he has been really ill for two years with depression and horserding has given him a sense of wellbeing and achievment that I would not have thought possible. I thInk that I didn’t do this sooner as lessons seemed an extravagance, but now I know I’m worth it, DO IT NOW!

It’s so sad that so many girls (and boys!) love horses and can’t do it any more thanks to money! That’s my problem.

I sold my quarter horse and packed up my boots and gear. My saddle just sits here in my city apartment waiting to be used again. I used to find that when I’d go to the barn and ride, it was like meditation. My life would seem less stressful and solutions to problems would surface over the course of the day. I miss that. I miss the smell too.

Every year I go to the State Fair and pet every single horse at the barns, I love the shows and the ribbons. I’d love to have stuck with riding and compete, but money is a big issue. Plus, I work so much to pay rent, what time do I have left? Not so much.

Good luck everyone, though! Some day….