When I am an Old Horsewoman

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jnb

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Shamelessly stolen from Facebook, and not sure it's been on here but:

When I am an Old Horsewoman


When I am an Old Horsewoman
I shall wear Turquoise and Diamonds
And a straw hat that doesn’t suit me
And I shall spend my social security on white wine and carrots,
And sit in the alley-way of my barn
And listen to my horses breathe
I will sneak out in the middle of a summer night
And ride the old bay gelding
Across the moonstruck meadow
If my old bones will allow
And when people come to call, I will smile and nod
As I walk past the gardens to the barn
And show instead the flowers growing
Inside stalls fresh-lined with straw
I will shovel and sweat and wear hay in my hair
as if it were a jewel
And I will be am embarrassment to all
Who have not yet found the peace in being free
to have a horse as a best friend
A friend who waits at midnight hour
With muzzle and patient eyes
For the kind of woman I will be
When I am old
 
Awwwwwhhhh........ luvvit!! :)

I shall bore everyone to death with pictures of my old ponies & horses...... and show 'em all the size 26 joddies I once managed to slip myself into and look svelte in.

I shall show them my old plastic browbands and nylon reins, and dredge up an old nylon girth with cobwebs hanging off it.

I shall bore the younger generation to death with tales of How It Was when you had serge saddle-linings, and modern rugs weren't invented; it was hairy blankets and New Zealand turn-out rugs.

I shall recount the days before horse behaviourists, equine dentists, equine physio's, and Parelli!!

Finally, I shall say that I can remember when you could get a full set of shoes for less than twenty quid. Poor old duck they'll say, she's gone totally goo-gaah.
 
When we bought my pony, in 1977, her first set of shoes were FIVE POUNDS! Yes, £5.
They really WERE the days!
I think my Mum is already living the dream, Mrs M!
 
I can remember paying £16.00 per week full livery in London! (It included grooming and tacking up my horse for me to ride) and I can also remember hardly any cars passing me when I rode out on a Sunday morning for what today is a very busy and fast road.
 
OWLIE185 said:
I can remember paying £16.00 per week full livery in London! (It included grooming and tacking up my horse for me to ride) and I can also remember hardly any cars passing me when I rode out on a Sunday morning for what today is a very busy and fast road.
Click to expand...

When was that though? When I first started work (in London) back in 1973 I was only earning £17 a week take home pay!
 
I'm extremely ancient, there already and it describes me perfectly. I'd like to add a few more lines:

And I'll still go go out in the early hours
As I've heard an unusual noise,
In my M & S nightie and wellies on wrong feet,
Softly calling my girls and boys.
Be gratified that a passsing police car has stopped
And be hurt that he thinks I'm quite cuckoo,
Till he sees the outlines of four eager heads and says
"It's all right, love. I ride, too!"
 
Here's a slightly different version that fits me to a tee!!


When I am Old...

I shall wear diamonds
And a wide brimmed straw hat
With silver and leather on it
and I shall spend my social security
On apple juice and carrots
And sit in the apron of my stables
And listen to my horses breathe.

I will sneak out
in the middle of a summer's night
And ride my adored pony
Across the moonstruck meadow.
If my old bones will allow.

When people come to call I will smile and nod
As I walk them past the gardens to the yard
And show, instead, the beauty growing there
In stables fresh-lined and deep with bedding.

I will shovel and sweat and
Wear hay in my hair as if it were a jewel.
And I will be an embarrassment to all
Who look down on me.
They've not yet found the peace in being free

When you are all alone
To love and have a horse as a friend,
A friend who waits at midnight hour
With nuzzle and nicker and patient eyes
For the kind of woman I will be
When I am Old.
 
Do you suppose it's possible to ride a horse wearing a long cloak ? Not just a cloak before you think I'm going to do a lady Godiva ! I'm planning to become very eccentric that way they won't notice when I go really potty :D
 
TrasaM said:
Do you suppose it's possible to ride a horse wearing a long cloak ? Not just a cloak before you think I'm going to do a lady Godiva ! I'm planning to become very eccentric that way they won't notice when I go really potty :D
Click to expand...

Oh yes ever so possible :D I have a black velvet one that I have worn for fancy dress twice, once as a witch, once as a vampire. (I even recycle the blooming fancy dress stuff!) Mine is a bit like the one worn by the Scottish Widow, complete with hood which fits over the riding hat :D
I think I have already got there, including going out in dressing gown and wellies :D
 
:D yippe. YG. I was thinking either crimson or purple velvet. Think I might spend some time checking out charity shops for old curtains. As an added bonus it'll keep saddle and horses butt dry when it rains. :cool:
 
Mine was a throw thingy from a cheap household goods store, the hood was created by sewing four or five two inch wide strips of material across the width and running a fancy curtain rope tie thingy through it. Don't think I have any pics, but will have a search :)
 
Love the poems! My dear mother was still riding her very sharp Tb, sidesaddle, with the fast and fashionable Worcester Hunt, in her eighties, that was many years ago though. I, at 67, can do a passable version of "when I was young we did/didn't do that" plaited straw at front of stables and hacking to meets are favorites, in a Downton Abbey Duchess voice!
 
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