A Woman's Place

No, the title isn't what you think. This entry doesn't completely reflect the title. Don't worry... we won't be going into a feminist post today.

The past couple of weeks have been tough. I knew it would happen. Classes are getting to that point, midterms just passed, life brings unwelcome stressors, and so on. Yeah, I'm usually a happy-go-lucky person, but lately I've been on some sort of emotional/mood roller coaster. A couple of my friends know what's been going on and have helped me a bunch, because this psychology student would have probably been an awesome case study for our department after a complete mental breakdown. Ironic, isn't it? Hey, psych students... you know how we are.

I wasn't looking forward to today, either. Little sleep, stressed over some lab reports and a couple of papers/exams. I fed, filled all the water troughs, did stalls, and then I went on a trail ride for the first time since July 2nd (the day The Spanky went lame).

I didn't know what to expect. I've never ridden Vinnie, the horse (you dirty-minded people), outside of the arena. I turned my Garmin on (I'm addicted) and off we went. I decided we would go from the barn to the Granite Bay staging area, about 5 miles one way. We trotted, walked, trotted some more. The trails were beautiful... maybe too many bugs but whatever. It was wonderful out there.

I was in my element. Everything that had been stressing me out,

be it school or whatever has

been going on outside of it, left my mind. It was gone for the 10 miles I rode out on the trails. I was happy, I was laughing at Vinnie's little quirks, I was saying hello to people I ran into on the trail. I had the biggest, most genuine smile on my face I've had in a long, long time. It was a release from everything. All I had to think about was my destination and which trail I was going to take.

We got back to the barn and I put Vinnie away. I was happy, I was content, I was back to the mood I love to be in. I then went to the Jack's (the vet) to visit him. His wife passed away so I went to chat with him. Before I left, he said, "You're contagious. You're always laughing and smiling. It's a good thing to be." And that's when I realized that I need to have horses around me. I need the trails, their escape, and their fun to be the contagiously happy person people know me as. I could never quit trail riding. It's my passion and it's my life.

Once again to the barn, and my horse was at the gate to greet me. As soon as I said, "Hey boo-butt!" his little face lit up as if his world was made. I went to him and the first thing he did was nuzzle my hair. Someone had told me that since I can't ride him for a while, I should get rid of him and get another horse. I can't throw him away, and I said so to this person. After almost 11 years, this horse has taught me what real love and friendship is. When I need a shoulder to cry on, he's there, and he stands patiently until I feel like it's going to be okay... it's as if he can make all heart ache, all stress, and all sadness go away. And he did just that. He let me hug him and he stood there and made me feel as if nothing was a big deal. He'd nuzzle my shoulder or hair and made me smile. I felt safe.

Our horses become our best friends. They're the ones who will never hurt us on purpose, who will let us cry on their shoulders, who won't judge us in our worst of moments, who will patiently help us with our mistakes, who will help us become better riders, who will never criticize us for the mistakes we make and help us become better people, who will never abandon us, and who will never break our hearts. I don't care how "useless" my horse is; he's made me the contagiously happy person I am now.

That saying is right... a woman's place is on a horse.