Girl Meets Horse

I watched Secretariat this weekend.

And I fell in love all over again.

And it took me back to the first time I fell in love...ever.

It wasn't with any boy.

It was with a horse.

The Black Stallion to be exact.

I remember being 5 years old,

my mom (a horse lover herself) taped The Black Stallion off of tv.

We watched it together one afternoon.

And that was it for me.

And I wonder, if one isn't a horse lover, if they know what it feels like to fall in love with a horse.

Well I'll tell you.

Think back to the first time you ever fell in love.

Do you remember how taken you were with the glisten in your special someone's eyes?

Do you remember how much you adored the way his jaw moved under his skin when he smiled?

Do you remember his cologne or the way his hand felt in yours?

Well, falling in love with a horse is not so different.

The first time I saw Black, I was taken with the lean power of his legs.

I was enamored with the way his shoulder muscles moved under his glistening black coat.

I was totally head over feet with the rhythm of his mane rising and falling as he galloped.

As I grew older, my parents enrolled me in riding lessons.

I remember pressing my face into Summer's spotted neck, inhaling her deeply, savoring every second that I could feel her pulse against my cheek.

I remember gliding my hands up and down her back and reveling in the feel of her breath in my hand laid lightly against her muzzle.

By theunquietlibrarian

Running my fingers up and down her forehead, I'd speak softly, promising her a yummy apple and a good brushing when our lesson was over.

I loved her.

And it's been the same with every horse since.

I fall in love every time I see one.

Life Held Still Photography

They say scent is the sense that is most closely tied to memory...

well I believe it.

Because while others might be repulsed by the idea of a stall,

I'd muck it all day if it mean that I was in reaching distance of a horse.

When I was 7, my Gramino asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.

I, quite matter-of-factly, told her I'd like to be a stable hand.

She laughed.

I didn't understand why.

I guess that would seem silly to a rational and mature mind.

But to be honest,

that that hasn't really changed either.

I watched Secretariat this weekend.

And I fell in love all over again.