Sunset Posse

I took the kids to ride last night at Stable X's large, outdoor jumping arena. It was eight and already, the sun had set behind the mountains. But it was still light, the sky a pale blue like faded jeans. I sat on a chair while my three children rode their horses, each a different color: palomino, gray and chestnut, a color combination that never fails to make me think of the kids and their horses as some sort of a cool posse.

In the north sky, a three-quarter moon hung low. Somewhere in the distance, dogs barked excitedly, perhaps at their masters coming home. The cool September evening air chilled me, but not enough to warrant the hoodie tied around my waist.

My children loped around me, and I could feel their exhilaration as though I were the one sitting in their saddles.

The moon, stretches of green still for miles around me, the crisp fall air, and my three children on their horses enjoying themselves...

I felt a deep contentment settle in my bones.

History: Horse Audition

[This is an installment in "How we got into horses". See the right sidebar for other posts.]

I got C's name from someone, I forget now who. I looked her up in the phone book,got her husband's name, and left a message. She called me back later that evening.

"Is this Jewel?" she asked. She had a loud voice, so loud that even when I put the earpiece away from me, I could still hear her clearly. First thing she told me was that her husband didn't like horse phone calls at his place of business (which is what I called at first) so to call her on her cell number next time.

C ran "Stable X". I asked her if she did riding lessons, that I was interested for my children to take turns (at $20 a child for an hour, that was about all we could afford).

"Sure," she said. "Come this Wednesday to the riding arena just outside of town."

I mentioned to her that we were seriously thinking about buying a horse. Her voice perked up. She asked me what we were looking for and I told her: older horse, reliable, good-tempered; someone that would not hurt our children, though Sierra would be the main rider. She asked me how much experience Sierra had. When I said 4-H, she told me she had a four year old mustang that might be a good fit, even though she was young.

***

It was a frigid day; we arrived at the arena wearing gloves. A woman in a purple jacket with the stable logo was standing with some girls by a horse trailer. She looked like she was in her fifties, with a curly head of graying hair under an earmuff band, face devoid of makeup with chapped lips. She gave me a welcoming smile, and I instantly warmed to her. But just when I thought she was all warm and fuzzy, BAM! She railed into one of the other kids over something.

Her "storm" passed quickly and she led us inside the arena where Pixie, the mustang, was hitched up at. She was a gray horse, on the small side, with short legs and a rounded body. With C's very minimal help (a teaching philosophy which I think is great in hindsight, but I didn't think so then, scared as I was of the horses)Sierra tacked up Pixie. The two younger children and I climbed up onto the bleachers and I watched with pride as Sierra got Pixie to walk and trot.

Pixie was trotting towards the middle of the arena when all of a sudden, she bolted. Sierra stayed on through the sudden takeoff but looked rattled. Apparently, a big drop of melting ice from the ceiling had fallen on Pixie's back and spooked her.

"What do you think of her?" C asked me as we were untacking Pixie.

"I don't know," I admitted. "She seems sweet enough, but she's so young."

"Why don't you think about it?" she asked. "Sierra can keep taking lessons on her. That'll be great for Pixie, too. They can learn together."

I thought it sounded like a good plan. As fun as Pixie seemed to be, I didn't feel confident in saying "She's the one." Not to mention, I wanted to postpone our decision.

***

During the next few months, the kids took turns taking riding lessons. C was often not diplomatic in her criticism, and sometimes my son would cry, but the kids listened.

Next: Looking for our first horse

History: A Reprieve From the Big Decision

[This is an installment in "How we got into horses". See the right sidebar for other posts.]

I waited, in vain, for Sierra's horse craziness to subside. I thought that "borrowing" a horse would be an eye-opener for her and she would decide it was too much work to care for a horse.

Well, it didn't work. And borrowing a horse for 4-H wasn't all that great either. Sierra and the girl she shared the horse with sometimes had two minutes between events and had to switch saddles and riders, usually making one late.

In 2005, we decided it was time to take the plunge. It was time to, gulp, start thinking of buying a horse.

***

Buying a horse is not something you go into lightly. And for someone like me who had hardly done anything in my life much to do with horses, the prospect TERRIFIED me. I didn't even know how to halter a horse, for goodness sakes, and I was supposed to help my daughter take care of the horse? We didn't have horse property, so we had to find a boarding place. What about all the tack and saddles we would need? And how were we going to find the time to do horses?

When I stopped hyperventilating, I decided it couldn't be all that bad, or most people wouldn't do it.

I didn't realize that to even consider buying horses, you have to be a touch insane.

For a few months I had a reprieve from this BIG DECISION. It was winter and not really a great time to check out horses. Drew and I decided we would enroll the family in riding lessons.

Next: Horse Audition

Still Looking

We're still looking for a fourth horse.

My husband Drew e-mailed me the other day about a potential horse. Sounded great except for one small thing. The horse does some "random bucking".

*Random bucking*

I e-mailed Drew and told him he made me smile. He wrote back that if we got the horse, I'd have more things to blog about.

In one piece

For the first time ever, yesterday, I hauled a horse trailer by myself without my husband there coaching me. Sierra guided me back, and she told me, "You did everything you were supposed to." We loaded two horses, I drove them down to the next town, and everyone was still in one piece!! Sierra said, "Yehey! We got here safely!"

It's amazing the things you learn how to do when you are desperate.

Actually, I'm glad I had to do this. I feel like hauling the horses across town, just for fun. Well, not quite...

History: Borrowing a Horse

[This is an installment in "How we got into horses". See right sidebar for other posts.]

Sierra's first horse she showed at 4-H was a pretty paint named Melody (sired by a stallion named Mozart, get it?). Susan's granddaughter Lauren owned Melody. Lauren was too young to show at the regular 4-H, so sharing was not an issue. Susan had another granddaughter, though, Alicia, who rode her in the Senior division.

Melody was a sweet horse, if a bit lazy. She was perfect for someone like Sierra, who was just learning the ropes. Sierra would call Susan to set up appointments. I would take Sierra to her place and she learned how to tack up and ride, mostly at a walk.

At the shows, it was a little tricky sharing a horse. Sometimes, there was just a couple of minutes, literally, between the Senior and Junior divisions, and Alicia would be scrambling because I didn't know how to tack up a horse yet.

I can still picture Sierra in my mind; a little squirt of a girl, in pigtail braids and her cowgirl get-up of peach shirt and red hat. She did well in halter, since Melody was good at standing. She didn't want to lope her yet for Western Pleasure (where they walk, trot, lope), but that was alright. The goal was just to keep her on the horse. And then, at the poles, Sierra finally broke down and cried. She said she was scared, and she didn't want to do it.

Bless her heart; Susan asked Sierra if she could lead her around the poles. Sierra sniffled and said yes, then Susan led her through, this woman bouncing around leading the horse. They registered "no time" but for Sierra, that was a milestone. After that, she was okay doing the speed events (not very fast to begin with, but again, that was okay) by herself.

Borrowing was perfect for us. We wanted to see if Sierra would stick to this new passion of hers, before we (gulp!) might actually look into buying a horse. I will forever be grateful to Susan for sharing her granddaughter's horse, and for helping teach Sierra her first year.

Next: Taking the plunge

How to be popular with a horse

Walk around with a container (in my case a grooming bucket) in your hand late in the evening, when it's past feeding time and they haven't been fed yet. It feels eerie to have dozens of horses stand stock still staring at you and nickering for food you can't give them.