# Balancing Humans and the Herd



## Cat (Jul 26, 2008)

I love your description of the animals.


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## Angilina (Jul 23, 2008)

I rode Harper for the first time today.

Even on my gelding, the dead-head who does nothing but walk and protect me, the guy who I have no reason to be nervous around, sometimes gives me that little nervous butterfly feeling in my stomach. I've always gotten it, every time even for a few seconds, on every horse I've ever been on. I'm a confident intermediate rider who has been on more horses than I can count of every level, but for some reason that little hesitation has always been there. From QH to Ottbs to Arab-crosses to Walkers, mostly calm, sweet, bombproof and gentle horses. I have never understood why that little fear was there. I've never had any bad experiences with being thrown or anything, and I've never had a horse spook and run (very far anyway, see the ottb reference above).

For the first time in my horse-loving life, I didn't get that.

I was in a 1x1 panel (12' long panels) space with an emergency opening as my trainer reccomended. She was in her halter with a lead rope tied to either side. I only planned to sit on her and let her get used to me. My trainer's fear was that she would run off because the only contact she had on her sides from a leg was just before a spur hit her. I was only to sit there running my legs back and forth on her sides as she would allow. I asked her to move close to the panel so I could slide on (she's too tall for a mounting block at 17.2hh, and this was bareback) and she stood still perfectly. She stood for about 2 minutes until she had eaten all the grass in that area then took a small step to the side. Of course, I about fell off. When this mare moves, she MOVES! It felt like the earth was shifting under me. 

After a few minutes of running my legs over her with no issues at all, I called for my mom to hand me the saddle. I put it up on her but left her in the halter, again with no intention of doing anything but sitting on her in the small pen even though I had tied the lead rope to be reins. I got back up again and I knew I had to take her out of the pen, period. My mom (always been nervous about this horse) told me no about riding her just in a halter and no about getting her out today. Eventually, my mom had to go to the neighbor's house to get something and I was left with only my dad who was working on something in the barn out of sight but still in ear range. She had left with the promise that I would not get back up on Harper and would not ride her outside of the pen (which was just small circles, she's become very supple). That lasted about 30 seconds, which was how long it took for my mom to get out of sight.

Harper seemed to know that we were going to go have fun. She scooted back over to the fence for me to get back on with no prompting, stood quietly while I fiddled with the "reins" and stirrups then opened the gate from her (think threading a needle on the ground from a sky scraper). The second we rode out of there and into the open pasture I had never been that excited in my life. I rode the adreniline high for an hour after we were finished. Harper and I did nothing but walk around randomly, checking out some trees and rocks. Then it dawned on me. I didn't feel that twinge of uneasiness. I was completely at home with this horse, and she with me. I had waited three and a half months for this moment, and even though we were slowly walking along, I felt like we were going at full blast across that pasture. I knew I had finally met that horse that few meet, but talk about often. That "one" that is the perfect match.

I thought horses like her only existed in books and movies, things of fairy tales that 11 year old girls believed along with the pegasus. But at 17, I have met the pegasus. She is a big bay mare who has the grace to loan me her wings.

I rode Harper for the first time today. I now believe that fairy tales not only exist, but can come true.


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