[Image]Horses crack me up. They have distinct personalities, just like humans. Some are friendly and want to come over and say hi while others want to be left alone. Some like to go, go, go while others are just plain lazy. But one thing they all have in common is that they are bigger than me. Yikes! I feel kind of small and vulnerable around horses, waiting for one to step on my foot or decide to knock me over just for the fun of it. I know I need to spend more time around the horses to get more comfortable, so this was my goal one fine day.
[Image]This is Kate. The ranch often names horses after the people we buy them from. If it's a female horse, it may be named after the seller's wife. If we buy a horse that already has a name, we keep that name.
Kate's a good-natured horse who didn't mind posing for a few photos. She's really good with new riders and usually doesn't try too many tricks, like bucking or taking off at a gallop just for the fun of it.
[Image]Here's Jewel, a dependable work horse. She's all saddled and ready to go.
[Image]My sister-in-law Tana makes riding look so easy. 
My first horse ride was in Girl Scout camp the summer after third grade. I recall walking down to the stables and being told exactly what to do. The things I remember most are: 1. There are lots of flies around horse barns; 2. You should always, always mount a horse from its left side; 3. Riding a horse around and around and around in a circle while walking gets boring after awhile. 
Nevertheless, each year for the next few years afterwards, I would get all excited about my 15 minutes of riding two times during the week of camp. I imagined myself riding across the plains, chasing bison, my hair flying in the wind. I dreamed of being out on a big ranch with lots of cattle, being one with the horse as we galloped through the swaying tall grass. But I never, ever dreamed about being a jockey. I guess that thought never entered my mind.  
Over the next few years I had a couple opportunities to go on trail rides, which involved old horses walking slowly, obviously bored. Again, my mind would always race with ideas of what I was really doing. I was going up a steep mountain trail with important supplies for a scientific expedition. Or I was helping a handsome cowboy move cattle from winter to summer feeding grounds. Somehow a lot of my horse imaginations involved ranching and cattle and cowboys. Romance novels were my number one source of horse knowledge until I married my husband.

[Image]And here's my husband leading this beautiful horse, Jamie. My husband knows a fair bit about horses, but he likes to say he doesn't. He's grown up with them and has fallen off them (he doesn't like that part at all). He can ride a horse that's going faster than a walk and not panic. Nevertheless, I think the lasso is just for looks--he's never actually showed me his roping skills. Of course, he still has some secrets.