Horse Lover

When I recently posted the picture below on Facebook, it got me thinking about the joy I’ve experienced over many years, hacking my horses around my small corner of the world. When I looked up the verb ‘to hack’, I discovered that it’s “associated with English riding and used more often in eastern Canada and the eastern United States than in western North America, where the term ‘trail riding’ is more prevalent.” So for my friends in other parts of the…

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Complaining about the weather is a favourite Canadian pastime, but it’s starting to grow stale. Cold. Warm. Rain. Really cold. Snow. Ice. I want to think about cheerier things. With their chirping and fluttering, the flock of sparrows that live inside Larry’s barn remind me of warmer days and the wild critters I’ve run across while spending time with my horses. There have always been wild critters to see while hacking. I’ve watched red-tailed hawks sizing me up from their…

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The picture above shows me riding my old warmblood Gandalf on a brisk autumn day. I’d had some fraidy-cat rider moments on him, but when this picture was taken, they were long past. Recently, though, my fraidy-cat rider moments resurfaced – because of the weather. As you may recall, a week ago, I was complaining because it was -20°C and too cold to ride. After several days, the temperature suddenly shot up to +4°C. All the riders came back to…

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I’ve never been a fan of the cold. Today it’s -20°C, too cold even for a winter riding enthusiast, which I’m not. That doesn’t mean I don’t ride in winter. The picture above shows me and one of my earlier horses, Tristan, on a cold winter day. (Notice the box of Kleenex on the shelf, strategically located to deal with drippy noses). But when it gets really cold, it would be easy to stay home. That’s when I remind myself…

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Part of the ‘Horse Lover’ job description is a willingness to pit oneself against the weather. The familiar saying, “Neither rain nor sleet nor gloom of night…” should finish with the words, “will keep a rider from reaching her horse.” Horse lovers drive through all kinds of weather to get to the barn. In the battle of Horse Lover vs. Weather, Horse Lover rarely gives in. Take the other day, for instance. Two days before, it had snowed and temperatures had…

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Through sheer dumb luck, I’ve ended up living in the middle of horse country. I call it ‘horse country’ because everywhere around me, there are horses. According to the Headwaters Horse Country site, this happens to be part of the region where 78% of Ontario’s horse population resides. In horse country, there are the backyard horses. My neighbour across the road has three draft horses, a couple of riding horses, and a miniature horse. I assume all these horses are retired,…

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Hello world! I’m starting this blog to talk about my life with horses. Horses have been part of my life since I was old enough to pay for riding lessons. Since then, they’ve been my companions, teachers, and inspiration through all of life’s ups and downs. They’ve made me part of the horse community, and I’ve met all kinds of weird and wonderful people who share my addiction. With singular patience and generosity, they’ve carried me through years of riding…

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