Yesterday was one of those beautiful balmy summertime days with a good breeze and lower humidity than usual. In other words, it was the perfect day for horseback riding. As soon as Cowboy Dad got home from work, he and the kids and I got the horses saddled and went for a little joy ride.
It was the first time we have ridden together as a family, all four of us. The youngest is not quite two years old, and he is more of a “tractor” fan than a horse enthusiast. But our girl who is four is just as horse crazy as I was at her age—she would ride all day if we let her! She always asks if she can ride Daisy, who really isn’t “kid broke” yet, but is still very gentle and laid back. So this time we said yes, and put her little saddle on Daisy’s back. Daisy didn’t even look around when we lifted our daughter into the saddle. She was really good and level headed the whole time, and led really well for Cowboy Dad. Daisy has no worries about being ridden; her real hang-up is not getting to stay close to her buddies, so leading along with the other horses was exactly her cup of tea.
Cowboy Dad rode Cricket, leading Daisy. The youngest one decided if everyone else was going he had better climb on, so he rode in front of me on Milo. He relaxed after a little while and it was good to see him more accepting of the horses, and pretty content to be horseback. Milo was his normal goofy self, but there’s never any danger with him, he’s only looking to fill his belly during the ride. So off we went, the four of us on three horses.
We only went down the gravel road, past the creek and into the neighbor’s waterway that leads down into the cornfield towards the river. The swarm of mosquitoes that followed us was the only drawback to our evening ride, the horses being happy to walk out briskly, and the kids excitedly pointing to things we passed.
A crop duster airplane made a low swoop in front of us, which excited our four year old. She started singing a Gary Allan song called “Watching Airplanes” to her horse as we rode along. It is funny how she thinks that all animals—horses or cats or whatever—can understand exactly what she is talking about. She will visit with them about her favorite movies or Disney characters, and carry on full conversations with them. It’s one of the most wonderful feelings, the way I feel when I listen to her talk and sing, knowing she is perfectly happy.
She told me today, while we fed the horses, “Mom, horses are the most beautiful animal that God made.”
***Oh, and before I catch flack for her being without a riding helmet in the photo, she does use a helmet whenever we are actually on a ride. She was just sitting on old Cricket the other day while the horses were grazing and I snapped this shot.
