Four years

Four years ago yesterday, I drove an hour south to try out a horse I thought maybe I could lease for a year or so while I was in school. The directions got me slightly lost on the way there, but I did arrive at the barn and hopped up on an unfamiliar horse in the fading evening light.

The light in the photo? Camera flash. It really was that dark before I got off. I was hooked. I don’t think I stopped talking about how adorable the Haflinger was for the entire hour drive home, much to my boyfriend’s dismay.

Four years later, I still find myself talking about how awesome and adorable she is, and he still puts up with it, dutifully nodding and smiling along.

She’s the best first horse I could have asked for, and then some. I’ve been bucked off and came off when she bolted with me. Blood, bruises, and occasionally slightly worse 🙂 But I trust this horse to get me home in the dark on a loose rein, to navigate unfamiliar terrain (also sometimes in the dark) that by all rights I should be off and walking – yet usually I’m not, knowing she’ll be better at staying upright than I am. She’s a generally honest and willing partner who tolerates all the crazy things I ask her to do and rarely objects.

♥