Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Horse Riding

I have limited horse riding experience. I rode on one a few days in a row while in a Girl Scout day camp when I was younger. Our neighbor had one in the backyard next to ours at one point and my friend and I would ride it bareback off and on one summer. My most recent experience horseback riding was while I was on a trip across the country. We had stopped in western New Mexico somewhere in the mountains and found a place that would take us riding for the day. We had a guide who wore chaps, carried a weapon and drank water from a stream. After about six hours riding up and down mountains (where my extremely afraid of heights self didn't look 'down' but rather 'up' so as to not be afraid,) we ended ended it tired and very sore! My hubby and I actually had bruises on our behinds afterwards! My daughters (who were about 10 and 15 at the time) loved it though!!

So, when we heard about a local horse camp, we signed up our kindergartener. He absolutely loved it and wore his own steel-toed work boots and cowboy hat there every day! He enjoyed his five days worth and thought he went really fast! He rode Gabby, a pregnant horse, who loved to be talked to (even though he couldn't fathom telling her how pretty or fast she was so he stayed quiet) and was gentle. On the first day, he said he learned to 'steer' the horse and how to 'stop.' It was cute listening to his experiences each day. On the fifth day, we watched for about an hour as he rode his horse around in a covered area. It smelled like horses and the earth. It made me want to be a kid again...and ride!

Here's my kiddo riding.
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As we were walking, we went through some stables and saw a very tired cat sleeping. Couldn't resist taking a picture. There were cats everywhere too!
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1 comment:

Rachel said...

Oh my goodness! He has no idea how blessed he is to be able to spend a week with horses! :) I would have given my front teeth for that when I was a kid, ha ha!

Love that he had a wonderful experience with his horse and learned some new things!