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At the age of 43, I told my husband I wanted to take horseback riding lessons. He was not too sure if I was joking or serious. For my birthday gift that month, he signed me up at Winton Woods Riding Center. I felt a little stupid at first. Everyone at the sign ups seemed to be a quarter of my age.
My first class was me and a 10 year old. I spent the next few weeks learning how to trot and canter. Given that we had to stay on the 10 year olds level, I was feeling frustrated. I wanted things to move along so much faster. When it came time to sign up for the next class, I decided I should lease a horse.
I searched Craigslist for a few weeks and found a horse name Cheyenne that was for lease. She was exactly what I dreamed a horse should look like. Cheyenne was a black and white paint with blue eyes. I could ride her three days a week and, in return, I had to clean her stall. I was on cloud nine. I spent the next month at the barn three days a week. I would saddle Cheyenne and we would ride for hours in the round pen. Finally, one day I told my husband I felt comfortable enough to take her out into the pasture. My heart was pounding. My first time in an open area with a horse and I had only been riding for three months. The end of July came and it was time to renew my contract for the next month. As I was signing the contract, I told my husband how awesome it would be to own a horse that was all mine.
It was the beginning of August when my husband came home and told me he was tired of his Harley Davidson motorcycle. I argued with him to keep it as he loved to ride it. A few days later, he told me he had a buyer for it and it was gone. I could not believe he had sold it. The following weekend we had to go to Indiana. He had found something to spend his money on. Imagine my surprise when I saw it was a horse trailer. I did not know what to say. I was so excited. I officially owned a trailer but no horse. My search was now on for a paint horse.
After a few weeks of looking, I found her. She was a sorrel and white paint and she was located in Southern Kentucky. I was so excited the day we went to meet her. Deep down I knew there was no way I was driving for 2-½ hours one way and not bringing her home. As soon as I stepped off the truck, it was love at first sight. We put a saddle on her and went for a short ride. There was no doubt in my mine, I was bringing this horse home.
We loaded her onto the trailer and headed back to Cincinnati. I could not quit talking the whole way home. I was going to learn how to ride this way. I was going to ride her in parades and trail ride any moment I got. What kind of saddle should I get? I want my tack to look a certain way. When we hit Florence my husband finally looked at me and asked me to quit talking. He was so nervous hauling a trailer with a live 1,000 lb animal in back. Right at this moment, we blew out a tire and needed to pull over on the side of the highway…horse, trailer and truck. Luckily, we changed the tire and were back on our way. At this point, we both were such a nervous wreck. We just wanted to get to the stable safely.
We arrived at the barn around 9:00 PM. We unloaded Dreamer and got her set up. I just could not quit brushing her. I did not want to leave at all. I could not believe I finally owned a horse. A horse I had no clue how to take care of. It was such a rush.
The next morning, I was up early and went straight to the barn. I spent the day just getting to know her. I fed her, brushed her, and practiced cleaning out her hooves. I led her everywhere, like a big oversized dog, and just let her graze while on the lead rope. I wanted to build her confidence in me as well as my confidence in handling her. Dreamer was very aware I was clueless. At times, I think she was rolling her eyes at me but she was very patient with me. She did not mind me picking up her feet over and over until I was no longer afraid. She would stand for hours so I could braid her tail, take the braid out and then start over again.
Finally a few days later, I decided it was time to saddle her up and go for a ride. It took me awhile to get the saddle just right. Dreamer stood there patiently. Next, I had to put on her headstall and bit. After about three tries, I finally got it on correctly. Patiently she stood still. Once it all looked right, I led her into the arena. At this point, I was shaking so bad. It was just me and her. The two of us alone in the arena. No trainer to tell me what I was doing wrong. Just us figuring it out together.
I walked Dreamer up to the mounting block. As I stepped on the block, Dreamer side stepped. Hmm, let’s try this again. I repositioned her, stepped on the mounting block, and once again she sidestepped. I stood there for a few minutes trying to figure out how to get her to stand still while I mounted. Dreamer and I did this dance for about a half hour. At this point, my confidence was going downhill fast and I was second guessing buying a horse. What was I thinking? I knew nothing about horses. I did not give up though. Once I finally got on her, I walked her for a minute and then got right back off. We practiced for a good hour until Dreamer finally understood this could go on all day. It was the start of a great relationship.
I have had Dreamer now for almost 7 years. We have taught each other so much. We have spent many hours trail riding, practicing barrels and poles and just hanging out. She loves to be brushed and I love brushing her. She will stand as long as I need her to in cross ties without any fuss. She has taught me patience and the confidence to control a 1,000 pound animal. I have earned her respect. She is my go to horse and I couldn’t imagine life without her. She was the start of my passion to own a farm.
