Ever since I can remember, I have been in love with horses. And it isn't the 'My Little Pony' love where you fall in love with the beauty of horses, and then fall out of love when you hit 'that' age. It's something deeper. Something deeply personal, woven into my DNA. A gift given to all girls, but one that only some wish to accept and embrace.
Even before I was old enough to read, I was looking through horse books, trying to learn from the pictures. When I eventually did learn to read, I ate the information up, trying to learn everything I could about the animal I had mysteriously come to adore.
But you can only learn so much from books from the library, and my family did not have the extra money to spend on buying me things that they thought I would just grow out of. So, I joined Light Horse 4-H, a club based using the head, heart, hands, and health to empower the club, the community and the country, trying to get hands on experience.
The leader of the club suggested I get my own horse, preferably a young one, so that we could 'learn together'. I had read in a book once that 'green on green make black and blue', or that an inexperienced horse, and an inexperienced rider created problems. However, it was a 'professional horse person' suggesting this, and he couldn't be wrong (or so I thought). And, I wanted a horse more than anything.
This is the part where Holly comes in. You can read more about her on the side bar. A two year old filly, who had been ridden 5 times, was for sale for $500. Her owners were moving, and needed to be rid of her by the afternoon. My parents were fairly positive that this horse thing was no longer a phase. So, when I was ten years old, we set up an electric fence on our large lawn, Holly came home, and The Journey began.
You may ask yourself, "What on Earth is The Journey?". Look in one dictionary and it will tell you the definition of journey is a travelling from one place to another. In a sense, that is exactly what The Journey is. It is travelling from the very first time I saw my first horse, to to the last time I will ever see a horse again. Yes, that is The Journey, and this blog will map it from past, to present, to future.
Even before I was old enough to read, I was looking through horse books, trying to learn from the pictures. When I eventually did learn to read, I ate the information up, trying to learn everything I could about the animal I had mysteriously come to adore.
But you can only learn so much from books from the library, and my family did not have the extra money to spend on buying me things that they thought I would just grow out of. So, I joined Light Horse 4-H, a club based using the head, heart, hands, and health to empower the club, the community and the country, trying to get hands on experience.
The leader of the club suggested I get my own horse, preferably a young one, so that we could 'learn together'. I had read in a book once that 'green on green make black and blue', or that an inexperienced horse, and an inexperienced rider created problems. However, it was a 'professional horse person' suggesting this, and he couldn't be wrong (or so I thought). And, I wanted a horse more than anything.
This is the part where Holly comes in. You can read more about her on the side bar. A two year old filly, who had been ridden 5 times, was for sale for $500. Her owners were moving, and needed to be rid of her by the afternoon. My parents were fairly positive that this horse thing was no longer a phase. So, when I was ten years old, we set up an electric fence on our large lawn, Holly came home, and The Journey began.
You may ask yourself, "What on Earth is The Journey?". Look in one dictionary and it will tell you the definition of journey is a travelling from one place to another. In a sense, that is exactly what The Journey is. It is travelling from the very first time I saw my first horse, to to the last time I will ever see a horse again. Yes, that is The Journey, and this blog will map it from past, to present, to future.
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