I have only ever ridden a horse one time in my life. I remember it very well. On the occasion of my eight birthday my mother took me and a friend horseback riding. I lived in a small, rural town that was surrounded by farmland and forests, which made it not only a great place to raise horses but also to ride them. There were several local stables nearby and every one had ample land with plenty of trail to ride. Growing up I knew several people who had horses, and I had seen them regularly throughout my childhood, yet I had never had the opportunity to ride one.
I will always remember this day for a few strange reasons, not the least of which was the experience of riding the horse. Not only was it my birthday, but also the day that the new public library opened in my small hometown. I was in attendance at the grand opening party for the library because my mother was a member of the village board and had worked on the update of the public library. I did not want to be there, but I patiently waited and enjoyed the refreshments as I counted down the minutes until I would finally get to ride a horse. Waiting for my mom at the library function was taking its toll and I was starting to get upset, because I was an impatient (and probably spoiled) child and it was also my birthday. Right before we finally left the library my picture was taken by a photographer from the local paper, I thought nothing of it at the time it but it would prove significant in the long run.
After a lot of waiting, I was finally on my way to realizing my dream of riding a horse. We got to the stable, got a quick lesson, chose the horses that we wanted to ride and before too long we were off down the trail! I was not impressed. Though horses are beautiful, majestic creatures, they require a degree of skill in their control that any eight year old will undoubtedly lack. And while trail riding is certainly enjoyable, it is not what an eight year old who was raised watching television and movies has in mind when he envisions himself on a horse. That said, I was thoroughly disappointed by the whole experience. As it got dark we turned back toward the stable and our slow, boring ride was coming to a close. For the entire ride our horses had walked slowly, single-file down the trail and obediently followed our guide. That is until the very end. When we emerged from the forest trail and out into a large clearing as we approached the stable, my horse veered slightly away from the path of the other three horses. My horse and I were behind all of the others and my horse was not following any of my frightened commands. The horse was heading back to the stable, but he was headed right toward a tree whose limbs I would not be able to duck under. The horse would not stop and before I could react I was smacked with a thick tree branch. As the horse walked underneath the branch unscathed, I was bent backward as the branch scraped over my torso and then my face, eventually knocking me off of the horse. The horse continued on its way, and eventually I made my way back to the stable, bloodied and crying, with the help of my mom and our guide.
Riding a horse was a huge disappointment to my eight-year-old self, not only because it lacked the speed and excitement I had hoped for, but also because of the horse’s complete disregard for my presence. Not only had I been injured in my collision with the tree, but I had destroyed my favorite jacket, which also upset me. I tried to forget about the whole incident completely, which worked for a few days until I saw my picture from that same day on the cover of the newspaper next week. The photo taken of me at the library served as a reminder of that fateful day, and I have not forgotten it since.
I know now that the horse was not trying to harm me, it was just doing what it wanted to do. I was so angry at the horse at the time that that anger and resentment stuck with me. I have never ridden a horse since that first awful experience. I don’t blame the horse for what happened. It is a strange thing to use animals as a source of entertainment. We go into these situations with certain expectations, and when our expectations are not met, we get disappointed and angry. When we put animals to work solely for the purpose of entertainment, we have to ask ourselves what the cost might be for both humans and animals. The animal is forced to live an unnatural lifestyle with the expectations and demands of the human thrust upon it. When an animal reacts adversely to its unfortunate circumstance it is often the human that pays the price. It cannot be expected of a horse to be aware of a child’s safety. When humans pressure animals to perform, it should be expected that the animals might react to that pressure with dangerous consequences. I still remember that afternoon of my eighth birthday and the strange experience of all of it. I got over my resentment of horses around the time all my cuts and bruises had healed, and I knew that the horse hadn’t hurt me on purpose. However, I have never gotten back on the horse.
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