A bowlegged cowgirl

I had no idea how real my fear of horses was until yesterday afternoon when I was driving down the road toward mine and Emma's first horseback riding lesson. My heart was pounding, my face was flushed and hot, and my head felt like it was going to explode. Of course, Emma showed absolutely no fear or nervousness whatsoever, it's like a dream come true for her. Wondering why I would subject myself to such anxiety? Believe me, I was asking the same question yesterday. But really, there are a few reasons. It's a good possibility Emma will have a horse when she gets to be 12 or 13, and I want to get over my nervousness and feel good about being around the animals before then. I also thought it would be good to conquer that fear, because fear is never a good thing. And, I think it's good to learn and experience things with our children. I learned a little Spanish with Andrew, I've become more familiar with the game of football with Jon, and now I am going to learn how to handle a horse with Emma. So we got there, and they showed us how to saddle the horses. Emma's horse was named Joy, mine was Dayo...mother and daughter horses, 32 and 28 years old! Very gentle and calm, in fact they were falling asleep during the lesson! You'd think that would relax me but I had to keep purposely relaxing my muscles because they were involuntarily clenching. They handed us the reins and let us lead the horses out to the arena. I was terrified that Dayo was going to step on me. And then it was time to get on...and all I could think was "I'm sorry, horse!" I'm not what you would call a lightweight, if you know what I mean...So there I was on a horse, and I must say that by the end I was actually enjoying myself. We put the horses away, and I brushed Dayo while Emma brushed Joy, and thus ended our first lesson. Emma was teary as we left, wishing we could come back more often. And, while I admit I was relieved when it was time to get off of the horse, I did have a good time and look forward to our next lesson.
FYI: you know that feeling you get after rollerskating for a while and then putting your regular shoes back on...like you are still skating? You have that feeling after an hour on a horse, too. My legs felt so funny..like a bow-legged cowgirl....