Tuesday, February 05, 2008

My Dixie Girl

A while back I mentioned that I rode horses in my late teens. Here is my second horse, Dixie. My first horse was an ass. His name was Red and his greatest pastime was jumping fences to go visit neighboring mares.

He was castrated but that didn't stop him, he had an ego the size of Montreal.

He was replaced with dear sweet Dixie.



“Here is nobility without conceit,
Friendship without envy. Beauty without vanity.
A willing servant, yet no slave”

It describes my Dixie to a T.
This poem is on a poster my parents framed and gave me when I first moved out about 14 years ago. Yikes. That makes me feel old.



When I got her she had minimal training and frankly so did I. If you don’t know much about horses, then you might think a trained horse with an inexperienced rider might means the horse will perform to it’s highest ability.

Not even close. Us humans can really mess up a horse’s groove. Consequently, Dixie and I had our work cut out for us given that we were both in need of some serious training.

I would like to say I was patient with her and together we worked hard and achieved that magical oneness that great horsemen and women talk about.

But that would a big fat lie. If anything she is was the one that was patient with me. If you have been reading this site for a bit, you know that patience, NOT my strong suit.

But we did make great strides and she tried so hard. Often she had no clue what in the world I was asking for this time – I am positive she rolled her eyes frequently at my cockamamie attempts to improve our form – but regardless she would try and try. When she finally “got” it, bam she had it. She was a quick study and her willingness to try was unmatched.

Of course when your first experience with a horse is an ass, anything would be better. Red had attitude with or without a saddle on his back and fun was not a word I would use to describe our relationship. It was tumultuous at best and I wasn’t overly sad to see the back end of him!

Dixie and I took many a lesson together and I enjoyed them so much. I miss the challenge of working towards that next level. When I moved away to attend University, I had to sell her. I feared all the work we had done together was going to be lost if she wasn’t ridden regularly. I also felt like someone else should have the joy of owning a horse as wonderful as she.
I still miss her but Lord knows, I don’t have the time to devote right now. My dudes need me. But when they are more independent, you can bet that I’ll be getting myself a sweet little quarter horse.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am learning so much about you! Never knew you had horses. I totally think you should get another one when the boys are a bit bigger. How fun!

Dixie Girl is beautiful!

tracey.becker1@gmail.com said...

My family has always loved horses. My mom has had her Appaloosa now for, oh, 10 or 12 years? He is a PET though. He will be retired to some lovely paddock with daisies and alfalfa when no one can ride him anymore. My best friend grew up on a horse farm, and is currently a very sought after trainer in Georgia. The horse bug never really BIT me. I like 'em well enough, but MAN they are a lot of work! I have some ADVENTURES I could tell about being at my friend's farm alone with her, and going to the county fairs to do the pony rides... whooo boy!

Kristin said...

I love horses too. My brother and I got horses when I was 9, and we've have added a couple since and they are all still at my parents place.
All 4 of the them a big babies and all have very different personalities.
You've inspired me to do a post about them, it will have to wait a bit though, it will take time that I don't currently have to put it together. :)

KAYLEE said...

OH great post!!!!!!!!!! I loved it :P

Angella said...

I loved reading this!

Dixie Girl is a stunner!

Anonymous said...

Kami - I can so picture you with horses! It must have been hard to part with a animal/pet/friend you were had gone through so much with but it was nice of you to think of allowing someone else to experience her. Haven't seen you around much and I hope all is well with you! Hugs and stay warm!

Lizzy in the Burbs said...

Oh, she's pretty, Kami! That was very generous of you to put her needs ahead of your own by letting her go. Alot of people couldn't do that. My SIL and her now ex-husband had a house on five acres and bought a horse, which they enjoyed so much they bought another. And another. And another. They ended up with seven horses! Obviously, they couldn't devote enough time to all seven, and it was really a shame to go there and see them all just standing around the barn. They'd look at us like, "Please take me out for a ride!" Eventually she and her husband were divorced and he ended up selling all of the horses. I was really kind of relieved for them. People don't realize they're animals, not toys like a dirt bike or something that you can take out once in awhile and store it in the garage when you don't.

I hope you do find another nice horse like Dixie someday!

Lizzy

Kellan said...

Beautiful horse Kami - very pretty! I grew up around horses - love them - but never had one of my own. Loved hearing about your sweet Dixie Girl. Kellan