More Than a Social Event

Few things are more pleasurable than riding with friends and family, but it is very important to ride alone--long distances--early morning--even night. Riding alone prepares one for the inevitable loneliness of existence. At the same time it reminds one that, as long as the saddle can still be mounted, one never need be completely alone.

Human interaction does the exact opposite. It prevents one from understanding that as we mature isolation is as much a part of life as playing on the play ground once was. Friendship masks that truth. It causes us to believe that we can stay on the play ground forever.

There is more about the horse/human relationship that I do not understand than there is that I do understand. I do not understand the pain killing capacity of riding, especially riding hard and long. I have come to understand why I am so revolted by the belief that one has to make sure that the horse "wants" to be ridden on a given day or is "emotionally ready" for riding. I will not have my horses checking their palm pilots or calendars to see if they have time to spend with me. If one of us is emotionally ready for a ride and that one is me, then my horses simply have to make an adjustment.

Horses make being alone tolerable. What is really scary is not loneliness, it is the thought of being lonely at a time when one cannot ride. I hate to think of the possibility of living longer than I could ride.