A summer Saturday can be interesting. Does one know what a horse is? It’s easy to see a horse. It’s got two small ears, a tail, four legs and a round belly. It can be ridden or pull a sulky. And they can have opinions that do not suffer foolish types.
They eat grass and are always mentioned in romance novels with blowing manes and thundering hooves. Dancers on a floor with a wind machine do much the same.
So what is a horse and how does one learn about one of the animals that used to be a stalwart of the American countryside?
At some point in a kid’s life, the idea of being on a horse is a reachable dream. At a local stable one recent Saturday morning, with the sun high in the sky, a dozen or so youngsters were hard at work. There was feeding, grooming, sweeping and shoveling taking place. There also was some fetching, carrying, riding and archery all under the mindful eyes of a dedicated team of wranglers and teachers. The kids ranged from 8 years old on and they were excited to learn a second language: horse.
Each student was greeted at the gate and challenged, “What do you want to learn today?” One wanted to ride alone. Another wanted to trot, and a third just wanted to volunteer.
The young man who wanted to ride alone was vouched for by one of the instructors as having mastered the elements of responsibility. He understood the responsibility of riding a 1,500-pound beast when he weighed about 90 pounds. Off to the grooming bay for him.
Next was a young lady who wanted to try trotting for the first time. A groom was sent to bring in her horse from the pasture. She went with her patron to retrieve her prize.
And the third young lady said very boldly, “I want to volunteer.” Handed a broom, she took to the requisite chore of sweeping the barn floor.
All three were advised to pay attention to the front and back of the horses, to watch for the ears twitching, the tail twitching and know the difference between the front and rear of the horses. Questions abounded as each charge was asked repeatedly about how to be aware and mindful of what was involved.
The young man who came to ride alone that morning dutifully appeared with helmet, halter rope and 1,400 pounds of curious equine in tow. Right away there was an obvious lesson: do not wrap the halter rope around the hand. Doing so means that should the horse bolt for whatever reason, the person holding the rope is apt to be pulled down and injured. The grandparents in this audience could probably tell a few stories of learning that lesson. After a very quick demonstration of the proper way to gather and fold the rope to maintain the control of the horse, a check of the helmet straps and a final check on where and how he would ride, and he was out the door, his prize and pride in tow.
As this education was proceeding, students learned posture and poise to help communicate their wishes to the horse: look where you want the horse to go; sit up straight and breathe deep to build core strength, which leads to better confidence and makes the horse understand that he needs to work with the rider. It is 100 pounds controlling 1,500 pounds of equine loveliness.
Then it was off to the practice ring, each waiflike rider leading an eager coeval down the path to making dreams a reality. The goal was to communicate with an animal for the joy and pleasure of both. Riders learned voice commands, leg pressures and posture are important to manage the movement of these majestic beasts, all while under the watchful and encouraging words of instructors.
There were demonstrations of which side of the horse to walk beside, how to coax the horse to trust the handler and welcome the rider, with an explanation given of the use of the stirrups and saddle. After a final check, with helmets adjusted, questions asked and answered, they were on their own. They climbed the steps to reach the stirrups, stepped into the stirrup, gave a toss of the leg and, with big grins and a bit of nerves, reached heaven.
Next time: “Look, Mom, no hands and trotting.”
Orpheus Allison is a photojournalist living in The County who graduated from UMPI and earned a master of liberal arts degree from the University of North Carolina. He began his journalism career at WAGM television, later working in many different areas of the US. After 20 years of television he changed careers and taught in China and Korea.
