First Trail Ride
I'll never forget that first trail ride
On a horse I didn't know,
On a horse I didn't know was greenbroke,
On a horse broke three days ago.
Never tell a stranger you can ride.
I'd never left the arena or the paddock.
Now on open road, open highway
With ditches ten feet deep,
I was facing my incompetence
When I couldn't get her down the ditch
Or across the pavement.
I'd never ridden anything but pleasure.
Never really galloped. Isn't that a lope?
Not the person to ride a barrel horse;
I was stupid not to pick the old nag.
I chose the leopard appaloosa for her beauty.
Note to self: ask more questions before leaving the barn.
I thought trails were predetermined routes
Where one horse followed another
Like at Girl Scout camp
Where the only thing that I had to worry about
Was the fatty eating grass
When we should be walking.
That was a frustration I wished for
On that first trail ride.
I learned quick I had no balance
And not all horses give to pressure.
I found out I better cinch my own saddle
Or wind up underneath, almost.
I discovered they all run when one does,
And it resembles nothing seen in pleasure.
Next time, find the brakes first
In case lifting the reins doesn't work.
With white fists in her mane, useless reins,
I clung screaming;
She ran like a Thoroughbred.
I learned to use the stirrups with heels down.
Grandpa was right on that one.
I also discovered halters and leads
Are important on a break
Or else your bridle breaks and you don't.
I rode three miles back with twine and a bit
On a greenbroke horse
And had the time of my life.
For Blue Mist Prixie, "Prixie"
Give a vote for the POAs and Appaloosas!
YOU ARE READING
For The Love Of Horses, A Book of Poems by Renee Moomey
PoetryThese poems were written out of the love for horses, for every horse I have ever been in contact with or dreamt existed. Raised in a barn, my very being is entwined with the equines, but life has had a way of pulling me away from them, be that fami...