How was the Horse ride?

Carol asked how the horse ride was and I had already decided to do a post on it. So here it is in a round about way.

As you know baseball is the most favorite sport at the Nielson home. Scenes like the one above are common at our home. Right now it always appears as clutter and a mess. But I know some day I will miss these scenes and long for them.

The boys , and Lyle, often talk about baseball. The mention things like, how good the gloves feel. The smell of leather, the crack of the bat, how good it feels when you hit the ball just right, a good slide , a good catch, the sound of cleats on the cement. The feel of the uniform, the excitement of the crowd. The umpire calls. All these things make up what they love about baseball.

Now what does this have to do with a Horse ride? Well I went on one recently. I grew up around horses and they are one thing from my youth I long for at times. As we prepared for the ride the sounds and scents all became so familiar that it choked me up a bit. The sound of the horses coming out of the trailer, the smell of manure, the smell of the horse, the sound of clip clop as the horse plowed along, the feel and smell of the saddle. The stomps of the hooves of an impatient horse. The gentle sway of the horses gait. All these things took me back to many wonderful and exciting childhood memories.

My first childhood ride on a horse was quite eventful. Dad let me ride apache by myself out in the small coral. I think I was seven at the time. He was cleaning things up while I rode around. He threw a wire and it scared Apache. She reared and dumped me in a nice pile of Manure. Dad came and picked me up so lovingly and kept apologizing. One of my fondest moments of dad. The first time I was allowed to ride by myself with the other kids was also when I was seven. A group of older kids and me took off to ride up to Tank Hill. Apache got to the LDS Church and decided she wanted to go home. She abruptly turned around and took off on a dead run towards home. About by Rigby's house a lady in a car saw my runaway horse and pulled in front of us. Apache leaped over the car and I held on tight. She ran full speed the rest of the way home which was a good mile. She ran right up to dad who was on the front lawn. He said , "My your becoming quite the little rider". Not knowing the adventure I had just been through. I don't think I ever let a horse get out of control again.

We had such wonderful adventures on the horses. We had many rodeos , races and cowboy and Indian adventures on the shetlands. I loved saddling up the horses in the morning and taking off for our adventures. I loved when I would get a little sleepy and tired I would lay back on the horses butt and relax to the gentle sway. I loved being one with the horse , you knew when the were tired, cranky, excited, and happy. Their moods could be felt. Riding Apache was always exciting, Stormy was an adventure, Fonda was good and easy. Stuffy was a work horse . I loved riding him in the mountains and feel his strength as he plowed up the mountain side. Nig was always pleasant. I don't remember riding Sam so much. But my most favorite was a little Arabian Mare named Ginger that belonged to Kenny. I loved running her. The freedom I felt on her was wonderful. So that is why I love the Michael Martin Murphy song"Free Rein". It covers how I felt when I was on her.

When I was seventeen we moved to Price and all the horses were sold. I felt a little lost and longed for them for a while. It was such a wonderful part of my life.

Soon after Dad died, I thought if I could do one more thing with dad again what would it be. The first thought was that I would like to take one more ride with him in the mountains. As we rode along on this Colorado trail I felt all the things I would like to feel on that ride with him. Riding in silence and enjoying the beauties of the earth. He would have told me the name of every plant. We would stop and listen for a rustle in the bushes and trees, searching to get a count of Elk, deer or grouse. I loved to watch him mount up and take the lead. I loved his knowledge of the things in nature and I am so glad he shared it with me. I used to know a lot of the names of the plants, insects, and wildlife but I find I am forgeting them and wish dad was around so I could ask him. So this was my ride with my dad and I felt him near in all the scents , sounds and memories. It was a great ride and it felt good.

I am sure my kids will one day want to have a good catch with their dad. Those sights , sounds and smells will always be a good memory for them.

Give me free rein , unchained, across the plains, under the sun,
Give me no tears and nor fears give me free rein to run.