Horse Tails
To Ride or not to Ride
When we were young, weather didn’t matter too much, at least not when it came to playing with the ponies. Never mind playing with them, we rode. We rode when it rained, snowed, when the wind blew and yes, even when it was freezing cold. We were either far tougher back then, or right off our heads. Still, we must’ve enjoyed it, as we rode every chance we got, no matter what. We rode into the gravel pits, up and down the hills and across the sandy areas. It wasn’t as much fun as in the summer, yet it was still pretty great.
I vividly remember, one particular December when it was bitterly cold. So cold that if you didn’t have your forehead covered with a scarf as well as a toque, you’d definitely experience a bit of brain freeze. Anyone, who’s indulged in a frozen drink far too quickly, knows what I’m talking about. That intense ache behind the eyes and in your forehead that makes a person groan from the pain of it. Of course, we never ran the horses when it was cold out. Sucking in freezing cold air is as bad for them, as it is for us. Not only did we not want them to freeze their lungs, but we didn’t want them to sweat either. Wet bodies and deep cold don’t mix well.
That December was the first one, I was sharing with my new beau, future hubby. I wanted to get him something special, something that would come in handy, since he now had his own horse. To that end, I shopped around and found a rather nice, western saddle I thought he’d like. It wasn’t super fancy, but it would fit both man and horse. It would do the job, and quite well. Complete with bridle, breastplate and saddle pad, it was ready to go. For an extra, special touch, I had the stirrups customized with his initials. It wasn’t easy to wrap, or haul around in the small cab of my old pickup truck, and having to wait for Christmas was torture. Somehow, I managed to keep from spilling my secret until Christmas. Hauling it to his place late Christmas morning, I couldn’t wait to see the expression on his face when he opened the box. To my surprise, there was a rather large present waiting for me under his tree, too. He opened his gift. I opened mine, and to my delight and amusement, there was a saddle in the box. I had given him a brand new, Western Rawhide saddle, and he’d give me a Barnsby, all-purpose English saddle. How he knew what saddle I would want or need was beyond me. Higgins was his first horse ever. He’d only ridden bareback as a kid, and had begun riding again when he met me, so it was all rather amazing. Did we go riding that absolutely freezing, Christmas day? Of course we did. We didn’t go for a very long ride, but we rode. After all, we had to try out our new tack, didn’t we?
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