Sunday, October 2, 2011

A ride in the saddle

James and I hadn't ridden horses in 13 years, and before that who knows how long.  Yesterday we went horseback riding with Melissa (Adam's girlfriend) and her mom, Kathleen.  They're both pros at this and were very patient with us.  The horses belonged to Kathleen.  She had a sign in her kitchen that read "horses are like potato chips, you can't have just one".  Of course I've heard this about goats all the time and I'll bet there's a sticker that says the same thing for all kinds of animals.  I definitely get it.

We rode trails on a 350 acre farm where they board their horses.  It's a beautiful place.  First we groomed our horses, Missy (for me) and Sampson (for James).  They stood there very calmly as we brushed them.  I never felt threatened by these animals that are probably twice the size of my donkeys or more.  I've felt intimidated by horses in the past.  Once saddled up Melissa took us to the ring to give us a lesson on how to hold reins, sit, keep them from eating grass and basically make sure we were going to be safe.  She's a good teacher.  We rode for about 2 hours through meadows and the woods.  I'm proud to say we survived and so did the horses.  Here are a few pictures to prove it



Doesn't James look like he's a natural leading a horse?

My butt is a bit sore today but I feel pretty good otherwise. 

There's a horse trail just a mile down the road from us that goes for miles.  I would love to get 2 mammoth donkeys so James and I can ride the trails at home.  Here's a girl, Honey, I looked at about a month ago.   She's a real sweetheart and followed me everywhere. 

A friend of mine tells me mammoth donkeys are on the endangered list.  I believe it because they're so hard to find in the east.  There are a lot of them in Texas it seems as I search the internet.  People just don't need them for plowing or pulling anymore.  I would think folks would be going back to this with the prices of fuel what they are.  I think they're going to make a comeback.  Maybe next year James can plow a new garden with a mammoth donkey.  






4 comments:

  1. Love the Mammoth Donkeys. Beautiful.

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  2. Yay Karen! I am glad you guys had fun riding. I am still holding out on you guys getting the mammoths!
    Em~

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  3. Soooo jealous! I haven't been riding in a few years. My mom still has horses, but we never seem to have time for a ride when we go down there. My guy would LOVE to have a mammoth donkey. I'll be very careful to not mention to him that there is such a thing. :)

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  4. http://sugarandotherspicesoflife.blogspot.comOctober 3, 2011 at 8:23 PM

    I was looking for a cowboy hat though!

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