Wild Horses :(

The title doesn't really say it all, but really when does a title say anything much about what i'm about to say to you guys. Well at the moment i'm listening to Wild Horses by Natasha Bedingfield.

It's got this sad yet sweet tune with lyrics that make me remember back in 2003, when I first owned my own horse and took lessons. I've always loved horses but i never got to ride them or own my own horse. Her name was Sally and i'll never forget her...even five years later.

Now my friends should know about this sad tale; only close friends (Phil). I'll talk about it in a minute but right now I want to think of the happy moments i had, happy years riding horses. They may not have been wild horses, but they were the best horses I had ever met and had the pleasure to ride. So here I'll mention each horse that I met, rode and the few that will always have a place in my heart. They taught me a lot.

Now we'll talk about Sally. God I could write forever about her. Let's start off with the fact that she was sick when I got her and I didn't know how sick she was; i was young. Well she had Lamintitis, it's when a bone in the horse's hooves shifts into a painful position and causes pain to the horse, causing them a lot of pain. For three years I had her, and she had her ups and downs. Finally she got really sick and could barely stand up. Now right now i'm going to mention that my family didn't have the big bucks and had to do what we could afford for her. But I do remember the one time I saw her really happy. It was the day the vet came and gave her painkillers to sooth her hurt. It only lasted temporarily but for the first time she was happy. I just wish we had the money to keep her happy all the time. Well after three years I came back from my dad's only to hear that she was going to be put down. When the day came I will admit I was angry. Angry that she couldn't get better, angry that my family couldn't do anything else. I was also blaming myself. After she was gone I swear I hurt for almost a full year before the pain was numbed. But that whole year any mention of Sally and I would have to hide myself away because I'd start crying. Now it's not so bad, but right now; I can feel tears.

Now before Sally, way back, there was Brandy and Sandy; mostly Brandy. She was the first horse to be set on. A chestnut mare that I remember leading around as a toddler and she never hurt me. Whenever I was at the barn I'd want to be put on Brandy's back. I think i was five at the time, hey I can remember peices of my childhood; mostly the most memorable.

Next was Galaxy and Gumdrop; a few years later. i remember how I'd always say that Gumdrop was my brother's pony and Galaxy was mine. They were both young dapple grey geldings; a matching pair. They weren't rideable but hey they were fun to hang around with. These two I couldn't go into the stall with and under their legs (like Brandy and Sandy). They were the last horses before Sally came along.

The first horse I took lessons on was named Lisa. I think she was a lighter chestnut with a long, thick blaze on her face. I learned the basics on her and went on my first trail rides with her, almost fell off at one point:P. She's gone now but she's mentioned here because she started me off.

Now Ara, the first horse I fell off of and the last horse I owned. She was a beautiful Arabian mare; dark bay with a little star on her forehead. I rode her for a long time until I fell off of her one day and switched another horse. Around Christmas time I was told to go to the barn and found her next to Sally in her own stall. Around that time Sally had become more of a companion horse than a pleasure horse so Ara was who I ended up riding for i think five years; sounds correct enough. Sadly I was afraid of her, since I fell off of her when she was running(Cantering for the horse savy people). I worked on my fear for those five years and finally, the last year I had her, I got over my fear and sad goodbye to her and Brie (the horse that came to keep Ara company when Sally was gone). They had gone to a new home and it's one of the reasons I'm here at my dad's now. We couldn't keep them where they were and it took away a reason to say no to moving away. She's happy now, though, in her new home.

Now Brie was the little Arabian Pony mare that I was put on after Ara. She also came to live with us after Sally was gone. I remember her as one bossy little light bay with so many spots on her I thought of her as a reverse appaloosa at times. Well she lived to the beautiful age of 31 years before we got a call saying at her new home with Ara that she was hurt and then put down a while later. I was asked if I wanted to go see her before they put her down and I said no. Then my grandfather said something that I agree with. "I want to remember her as she went up that trailor ramp with her tail in the air." I also want to mention that she was Phil's favourite horse when she came over.

Tempest was another Arabian mare I rode. She was a dark bay like Ara with a large patch of white on her face. I learned to finally Canter on her and face my fears of falling off. She was quite gentle with me and the last memory i have of her was grooming her. She's gone now too, but she was old. I still have a mental picture of her, faint but still there (the same with Sally; Brie I still see clearly).

Sheldon was the drama queen gelding that I rode; first horse I jumped too. May i also mention he was the tallest horse i'd ever seen or ridden too. He was a light bay with a star on his forehead and I loved riding him. He was smooth to ride and a breeze to jump (especially when they were very tiny jumps compared to him). I went to see him when I went to see Ara and Brie before they left for their new home.

Azzie is another horse I loved to ride. He was a spunky boy. A beautiful coloured gelding whom I fell off more times than Ara. But I still got back up on him and continued to ride and jump. He was the last horse I rode in a lesson before I stopped going.

Lucy was a pretty arabian mare; chestnut. She was also a smooth ride, more smooth than Sheldon, with a wonderful canter that I could ride forever at. She was actually the very last horse I rode before I moved. It wasn't a lesson; just a final ride before I said goodbye.

Jake was a red dun I rode when my school had a horse club. He was a six year old gelding who I barrel raced on. It was just for fun but he brought out a love for western riding that I never had before. For the longest time I wanted to barrel race after that; still do ;P.

And any horse I forgot, I can still remember them I just never had a long time to get to know them like the other horses. The ones listed above are only a few of the many I had ridden in my short eighteen years of life. Really if I tried to remember and make a little paragraph of each I'd have to go onto a part two of this blog so i'll just put their names:
Shadow, Apache, Starsky, Jordie, King and I know there are a few others but i'm having trouble remembering names right now; it's late.

So with that I'm going to say goodnight and hopefully you don't make the same mistake I did and give up something you love.

~Exxy~