Always ride more horses

Allison Mae

At times, I'm just barely holding it together - either about to fall dead asleep or jump out of my skin.  I've been told time and time again that I need to find the perfect balance and that I need to reach a happy medium.  That my body is going to wear itself out and that I'll age earlier than I should or break.  And then I'm asked to ride another horse.

You see, our little barn family is growing, almost exponentially this year it seems.  After Ryon's arrival, there was Willow, then Onion, and then Louis.  And quite quickly, too many to exercise.  I've been recruited to give some of our old standbys a work out, to give them a good run and a chance to get out their energy for the day.  And despite the fatigue, despite the mess that is my apartment, despite my dwindling social life, I can't turn it down.  What is love for something but the feeling when your legs are quivering, trembling with exhaustion at the end of an evening?  What is true passion except for when you sacrifice your energy and most importantly, your time, to do what it is that you really enjoy - fighting through the pain?  And what is the payoff of it all?

The payoff is being able to stay seated when being bucked and reared against without stirrups.  The payoff is taking a frightened horse around the arena backward until he starts to pay attention to you (ahem Ryon ahem).  The payoff is the trust I earn with a velvet nose nuzzling my shoulder.  The payoff is knowing at the end of another exhausting day, another day where my legs feel like noodles, that if I was asked to ride one more horse, I wouldn't hesitate to say yes.