Horses

Ever since I was a little girl, I have always wanted a dapple gray quarter horse. I wanted a gray and I wanted to name it Phillipe after the horse on Beauty & the Beast. I'm sure every little girl does, or at one time did, want a horse. Growing up in a single-parent family hindered a lot of things that could have been, while I was growing up. It wasn't until I was in my teen years that I was able to spend quite a bit of time around farms and ranches and people who had horses of their own. I always felt like when I was an adult I would have a house that would have a barn and I would have horses; it just hasn't happened yet.

Actually, when we moved to Oklahoma, the plan was for me to start lessons and learn how to properly care for a horse and how to ride and everything, so eventually I could get my own. Life is funny though, and instead of Phillipe, I got Bug. In April my friend and I started talking about finding a place to ride. She has had quite a bit more experience than I have and we always have fun when we are together. That brings us to now, four months later, we've finally found a place. It's really close to our houses and very family friendly. Which is great, because her daughter and Bug both have a little place to play while we are taking our lessons. Also, both of the girls LOVED the horses. M., my friend's daughter, was running around yelling, "Puppy!" Then going to the next stall, "Puppy!" Bug was laying down in my arms trying to get away. My arm finally got sore and I set her down in the hay and dirt. She loved it. At one point, we were petting a retired race horse and she had this look on her face, like she was seeing the greatest thing ever. They both were really cute about the whole thing.

Our English-style riding lessons start on Monday and I am really excited! I've only ever been around Western riding and when they said the word "English," I cringed a little. There isn't a place to ride western here, and since I don't have twenty g's to throw down on a horse, tack & barn of my own; English it is! The fact that the girls can be with us, only makes it that much better & on top of that, everyone there was like a big family. It was great!