Caol Ila
Well-Known Member
With all the chat in the Club House about the very good reaons people want to or have gotten out of horses, I thought I'd kick off a wee thread for those of us who still have an addiction problem and are okay with that. Or would at least like to justify it.
I'd be climbing more mountains and travelling more, but those aren't things that get me out of the house every day. Running or cycling don't do it for me. I've looked after friends' dogs, and walking a dog doesn't do it, either. There's something different about going to the barn and taking care of/riding the horses. I can't tell you why it feels different and more worthwhile than walking a dog...it just does. Maybe if you are a dog person, you get that magic from your dog, but I don't.
I love seeing their little furry faces, bright eyes, and pricked ears. I love the intimacy (I know it sounds wrong!) of the ridden relationship, the complexity, heart, and the intricacy of the communication and connection. It doesn't always go well -- there will be glitches somewhere, sometime -- but when you're trying to sort out problems, you can eventually find even greater depths to it. And when you feel like you've got through something and found a whole new level of subtle undertstanding and connection and empathy, you are on the top of the world, a stronger high than heroin or any drug. I just can't think of anything else as exhilarating, other than climbing hard grades or skiing off cliffs, but I've never had the balls for that. If my youngster actually gives me a shoulder-in (I got one today), I'm properly buzzing, and it's (usually) a lot less scary than climbing. I was always chickensh1t about hucking cliffs and cornices, even though I learned to ski at 4.
The lows are crushing. They have minds of their own, they are delicate, they can destroy your soul and bank account, usually at the same time. They make no financial sense. You have to enjoy setting money on fire. But for me, the relationship I can have with this 1000lbs otherwordly creature is such a massive high -- something I can't find anywhere else -- that I do it anyway. It's like being on Pern and riding a telepathic dragon.
I'd be climbing more mountains and travelling more, but those aren't things that get me out of the house every day. Running or cycling don't do it for me. I've looked after friends' dogs, and walking a dog doesn't do it, either. There's something different about going to the barn and taking care of/riding the horses. I can't tell you why it feels different and more worthwhile than walking a dog...it just does. Maybe if you are a dog person, you get that magic from your dog, but I don't.
I love seeing their little furry faces, bright eyes, and pricked ears. I love the intimacy (I know it sounds wrong!) of the ridden relationship, the complexity, heart, and the intricacy of the communication and connection. It doesn't always go well -- there will be glitches somewhere, sometime -- but when you're trying to sort out problems, you can eventually find even greater depths to it. And when you feel like you've got through something and found a whole new level of subtle undertstanding and connection and empathy, you are on the top of the world, a stronger high than heroin or any drug. I just can't think of anything else as exhilarating, other than climbing hard grades or skiing off cliffs, but I've never had the balls for that. If my youngster actually gives me a shoulder-in (I got one today), I'm properly buzzing, and it's (usually) a lot less scary than climbing. I was always chickensh1t about hucking cliffs and cornices, even though I learned to ski at 4.
The lows are crushing. They have minds of their own, they are delicate, they can destroy your soul and bank account, usually at the same time. They make no financial sense. You have to enjoy setting money on fire. But for me, the relationship I can have with this 1000lbs otherwordly creature is such a massive high -- something I can't find anywhere else -- that I do it anyway. It's like being on Pern and riding a telepathic dragon.
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