I'm not a rider. I wanted to be, very much, but something lives on them which causes a great rash for me. I attempted to ride 5 or 6 times, via the generosity of friends who owned them. I kept thinking that I could build up an immunity, but it wasn't to be. It's just as well, I suppose, for I never would have left the stables and ranches.
Another aspect which came to light in those attempts was that I don't have the appropriate 'alpha' personality. I was thrilled that the horse would let me sit on him - much less did I want to order him around. So, if he wanted to stop and sample some grass, I was cool with that. Meanwhile, though, my friends were laughing and yelling at me from the rail of the corral: "Don't let him do that!" Decades later, I see the wisdom they were trying to explain to me. It's the same with dogs -- there is comfort for the dogs to know that someone is in charge. A relationship and bond of trust forms from that comfort.
But I definitely see and even long for the kind of communion which could have occurred. It's an experience I'll regret missing.
I was surprised to learn I was allergic: I'm an animal person, and it was pretty inconceivable. Plus, I come from horsestock. My mother was quite a horsewoman in her early adulthood, riding bareback preferably. She would tell me so many stories when I was little. I presumed that I would naturally have the same stuff.
So now, via internet, alas, I have been absorbing many wonderful videos, struck mostly with the nobility and generosity of Horse. As one of my horse-friends said yesterday: "They have much to teach us."
