Wednesday, October 10, 2007

A Horse Is A Horse, Of Course, Of Course...



I took my Girl Scout troop to a four-hour horse workshop last weekend at Camp Conestoga. We had a great time learning about feeding, grooming, saddling and riding horses. At the end of the day, I was sunburned and my butt was a bit sore (how in the hell did cowboys sit in those saddles - obviously designed by the Marquis de Sade - all day?).

One of the horses (see photo) has a stifle injury and can't be ridden, so his job is to stand there quietly while little girls attach post-its to him naming almost all his body parts. And did I mention his name is Outlaw? Oh, the humanity!

The instructor told us that Outlaw would always be around because he's a great workshop horse. They use him to demonstrate how they measure, weigh, groom and saddle. So even though he can't support a rider - he's still important to the equestrian center.

As I watched Outlaw calmly allow little girls to giggle and squeal as they tried their hand at horse care (and, unfortunately over the word "buttocks"), I couldn't help but admire him.

Okay - so if I ever have a brain injury and can't write - I still don't want Girl Scouts putting sticky notes all over me labelling my whithers and mane (and giggling over the word "buttocks"), but I saw that to the equestrian center - he was more than just a horse. He was, in a way, a teacher. Even though he can't do trail rides, he still has a lot to teach kids about horses.

I think that's neat. There's a lesson in there...somewhere.
Viva El Outlaw!

Yours Truly,
The Assassin

13 comments:

Jenyfer Matthews said...

What a sweetie! Are you sure he didn't have a brain injury to allow post-its put on his face??

I went trail riding this summer and spent a couple of hours in the saddle. And a couple of days recovering. OUCH!

Christie Craig said...

Leslie,

Hmmm.... I think the lesson might be to never stop giving rides. I'm with you, no post-it notes on my butt!

LOL

Crime Scene Christie

Meljprincess said...

LOL! What a cute picture!

My husband and I want a couple of horses one day. I want a paint.

Anonymous said...

I swear, you gotta watch those Girl Scouts. Especially when they have a handful of Post-It notes with them. LOL.

Faye

Lucy said...

I like that. That's a sweet story (and a sweet horse!).

Anonymous said...

What a sweet horse! But I'm with you. Anybody starts slapping post-its on me and they're liable to get kicked. *g*

Estella said...

What a patient horse!

Stacy S said...

That's pretty cool. Great picture too. I was a brownie when I was a kid & we never did anything like that.

ruth said...

Love the story and the horse is definitely a sweetheart. Great photo. Rode years ago and enjoyed it then.

Kathy Bacus said...

Outlaw is just adorable. By contrast, the first pony we had, Prince, was a stallion and ornery as the very devil. He especially enjoyed trying to rub us off into the barbed wire fence. He had the hardest mouth, too, so pulling on the reins had little effect. Gelding him took a little spit and vinegar out of him but he was always a handful.

Have I mentioned I love horses? Ponies, too!

~Kathy~

Nathalie said...

Girls can be very mean... poor horse - tough the post with buttocks... was very funny.

Anonymous said...

If I was those girls I would have been very far away... I am afraid of horses! or let's say that I am not very fond of them - other than seeing pictures of them.

Lily said...

Saddle designed by Sade... nice sentence... poor horse! and he is cute, though looks a bit pathetic!