Where I found my title....

This is perhaps the best written expression I have found yet of how I feel about horses and how I came up with my blog name...

Always….

I ride because I rode as a child when life was simpler and somehow more complete.

Only the whiff of a clean horse is needed to remind of days gone by.

For always there have been the horses.

I ride because of all the great horse souls who have shared their lives with me and taught me more than I can say.

Their names and faces flash before me as old friends.

I ride because of all the horses I shall never ride.

Those I have watched and marveled at from afar for all their grace and beauty.

This, the stuff of a child's dream, the kind that doesn't die with time.

Always there are the horses.

I ride because the seasons call to me.

Each unique in its appeal and all quite frequently best viewed from the back of a favorite horse.

I ride because of all things; horses are my passion.

They inspire and encourage, energize, and challenge in ways I cannot explain to the uninitiated.

I ride because of the rush of stretching oneself just a bit farther today than before, both mind and body.

Always there are the horses.

I ride because of those briefest of spans when the partnership comes to full promise.

When the path twists and barriers fall, each footfall is measured and balanced between the two as a dance.

There are no others, only this moment and this single step to ride.

The memories of those times stand vivid in my mind to be recalled with all the freshness of the day at will and in times less grand.

But if I must choose, I ride because I have dreams yet to live.

I ride because I have dreams yet to have; and what exactly they will be tomorrow I cannot say, but always there will be the horses.

Here is Miles with Bitzy!

At Henry's Farm

Well, as I was saying at the end of the last post, I went with with my friend Linda to her old friend Henry's farm to get our hay for the winter. Much to our delight (since we got our 2nd cutting) the hay was only $4.00 a bale!! This is just good ol' coastal hay, but I have seen it go up to $10+ a bale when we don't get rain. Anyway, I thought the trip to Henry's farm deserved a little more attention because he and his wife are older and really so sweet. They raise miniature horses and my son got camera crazy. The cutest were the baby minis. Another neat thing Henry has at his farm is a tame deer that he and his wife have raised named Bitzy. They rescued her as a baby when her mama was killed and she thinks they are her parents. Miles loved her! Henry said she normally doesn't like kids, but she went right up to Miles and then followed him around! Or maybe it was vice versa! :) I just had the best time at this farm, I love it when I am able to go meet new people who are doing interesting things. I have had a hard time adapting to Texas being from the East coast, but there are some really fascinating things to see and do here and I am finally enjoying myself. BUT, I still don't know if I will ever own a Western saddle! Not that I am opposed to one, but I am so comfy in my new Australian saddle and my Bates English standby that I simply can't justify one more saddle! Hee haw y'all!

A new blog

Well, I have never been a blogger. Never even been that good at keeping a journal! But I would like to chronicle my time and my experiences with my horse Jackson. He is an AngloArab and still green around the gills. I have had him since Jan.28, 2007. He was my 36th birthday present to myself! I figured after 35 I may as well get the presents for myself as noone else seemed to understand that I was a bit sick of Bath & Body Works! My family finally gets it, and insted of more lotion than I can use in a year I get horse magazine subscriptions and gift cards to buy horse equipment!!! Yay...In the past year and a half we have been through a lot, falling off and breaking my shoulder and tearing a tendon and then losing all my nerve, (and almost selling) to slowly turning him into a wonderful mount and putting on miles in the saddle. Since I am a nurse and a single mom and Jacks is 25 minutes away, I do not have the advantage of having him in my backyard which makes me sad. I grew up on a farm with horses and you form such a bond when you are the one to feed and muck everyday. Alas, such is life! I have him at a fellow nurse friend's house and we are beginning to look towards getting our horses ready for some competitive trail riding in the new year. I also would like to begin re-learning ground work and perhaps starting the Parelli program. The work of the Tellington Touch program is also an interest. Just two days ago we went to put in hay for the winter and boy that was an endeavor! My friend has three and I have one at her house so hay for all four with the two of us doing the loading in the field and my son driving the truck was quite the experience!