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