Back in the Saddle

I’ve noticed a disturbing trend in conversations with the non-horse public. Whenever I mention that I work with horses, the other person launches into their horse experience horror story, which often ends with: “I’m terrified of horses,” or “I’ve never ridden a horse since.”

It’s true that horses can be unpredictable and dangerous, but I find that they’re rarely to blame. “The horse bucked me off!” is usually translated as “It crow-hopped and the cinch was loose so my saddle slipped.” Or, “The horse bolted out of control!” really means, “It started trotting and I lost my balance.” Ferreting out the details provides a different picture to the horse savvy. “Oh, you were riding backwards? Bareback? No helmet? Mmm."

It makes me sad that so many people have had a negative experience doing something that I love, simply due to unsafe situations and lack of knowledge. When my sister’s boyfriend visited this week, he had a similar tale of woe.

“What happened?” I asked.

“My friend and I rode double on a horse bareback, at night. When the horse started trotting, we fell off onto cobblestones and I impaled myself on my friend’s elbow.”

Jonny rides again!

My solution? Have him ride Ransom, of course. It’s my personal mission to replace negative horse experiences with positive ones. So out at the barn, I round penned Ransom to take the energy edge off and evaluate his frame of mind. Then, with helmets on, we rode in a controlled space. He even trotted a bit.

“So next time someone asks you about horses, you’re going to tell them about this amazing appaloosa and how much fun you had, right?” I prodded him.

He smiled and nodded.