Horse crazy

This is one of my girlfriends with whom I used to ride with her beauty, Splash. Hopefully I will be able to ride again soon. Her horse, Iban, who now has a different owner, was the horse I rode. He's a white Arabian and what a horse! I adored riding him and he seemed to like me, too. I'll never forget one afternoon where I needed to comfort him (he'd had quite a scare). I coo'ed at him while he snuggled in to my arms and chest with his muzzle. What a funny site that must have been...me cuddling a huge, powerful animal, telling him it'd be ok.

Riding along the trails in the American River Canyon (east of Sacramento) was fantastic! Some light to moderately challenging terrain, beautiful landscape (forested canyon with eye-popping rock outcrops and dropoffs, and little waterfalls in the spring), and wonderful companionship. Sigh. I've been around horses my whole life, and following them around entranced since I can remember. Some of my earliest memories are of my mother (or perhaps it was one of her friends) riding dressage. Horses just make sense to me. I have a hard time understanding why anyone wouldn't want to be around them. Their smell, feel, and presence is beyond words.