Along For The Ride

 I've been thinking about my horse, Swiggy. He is... well, difficult. He is not super friendly. He looks mad 99% of the time. Shoeing him takes treats, time, patience, and caution. Worming him takes a lot, A LOT, of convincing and fast hands. He thinks about bucking quite a bit and does so once in a while. You don't just walk up to his face and try to pet him, especially around his mouth, you will get flat ears and a cocked head. And I'm sure many of you got the pleasure of seeing what a delight he is everytime I step on and ask him to get going (if not, there is video documentation on my FB page). He is a horse with serious boundries, it's best not to over discipline, he gets even...

 So, why would someone keep a horse like this, let alone, love him and consider him one of their favorite horses? Because he is a challenge. He is my challenge. I know he was given to me specifically. I have learned so much more about horses because of him.

I know horses. I've had them my whole life, they are in my blood. I don't hardly have a thought that doesn't include them. Then Swiggy came along. A horse that should be considered a lost cause because of the laundry list of reasons previously mentioned. However, this horse has made me so aware of myself. How I ask, how I do, how I react. He responds to everything differently than every other horse I've ridden. I've learned when to be quiet, when to be firm, when to let it go, and when to get after him. We disagreed quite a bit in the beginning. Him, flipping his pinny earred head and threatening to buck. And me cursing at him and telling him he wouldn't be here without me. We've since come to a common ground, at least for now.

 Earlier this month I took him to Pendleton. Our time onlys went pretty good. Race day, I decided to put a tie down on him which I hadn't done before (you think I'd learn, never has this strategy worked out for me) He turned the first pretty nice, then fought me all the way across the pen. In Pendleton, that's a decent argument. He would not get over for the second barrel, so instead of hitting the dirt, I decided to go with him, on the wrong side of two, looping around, queen waving to the crowd. He almost took off and I was fairly certain he thought about bucking. It made me laugh. What a little jerk!!! 🤣 This is evidenced by the photo of us, with no barrel in it! Moral if the story: I love the horses. Even the naughty, no good ones (or at least this one 😁). I love the process. Sure, winning is great but if you are in love with the winning, your satisfaction will be short lived. It's them, it's the horses, that are amazing. We are just merely along for the ride. And, oh, how I love the ride! 🤠🏇

Originally posted on Facebook on 7/19/18