I was one of those little girls who was inexplicably born with horses on her mind. You all probably know at least one and may have been one yourself. No one else in my family would have given a nickel for the finest horse ever born. I grew up collecting plastic and ceramic horses, and preferred sitting quietly reading about horses than going out to play with the other kids. The real high points in my childhood were marked by pony rides, trips to a fair with horses, looking for horses in fields while on trips with my family, you get the idea. I had a wonderful, loving family, but they sure didn’t get the whole horse thing. My parents always believed I would outgrow it but I am pretty sure they gave up on that hope when I turned forty.
For my never-ending love of horses, I really didn’t have too many opportunities in my earlier years to have them. When I was twelve, living outside Fairbanks, Alaska, my Dad decided he could put an end to horse-thing by hitting me with the reality of day-to-day care and responsibility of caring for one. My best buddy Danny who lived next door was also a young horse nut so our plotting fathers got together and leased two ponies for the summer. The deal was, they were ours to ride and care for and the minute either of failed to properly see to their care, they would go back to the owner. Our parents thought it would be over in a few days. HA! Best summer of my life! The only time Danny and I weren’t riding our ponies, we were feeding, watering and brushing them. Of course, our parents did make us come in for meals and to sleep. I had one other summer with a horse when I was fourteen but after that, I had to wait until my late twenties to live the dream but the dream never abated.
I was one of those little girls who was inexplicably born with horses on her mind. You all probably know at least one and may have been one yourself. No one else in my family would have given a nickel for the finest horse ever born. I grew up collecting plastic and ceramic horses, and preferred sitting quietly reading about horses than going out to play with the other kids. The real high points in my childhood were marked by pony rides, trips to a fair with horses, looking for horses in fields while on trips with my family, you get the idea. I had a wonderful, loving family, but they sure didn’t get the whole horse thing. My parents always believed I would outgrow it but I am pretty sure they gave up on that hope when I turned forty.