his horse over to me, with a quick movement he moved my right leg over, which automatically slipped my body into the right position.
“Some people can’t do that elegantly,” he joked, and I laughed.
“Be nice, it’s my first time on a horse.”
“I am being nice, if I was mean I would have taken a photo,” he replied.
Perdita was the nicest horse ever. As soon as I got onto her she was still as could be, letting me get comfortable on her. I pat her mane while Jack led me towards a path leading further away from the house.
“Now, just tap her gently with your feet and she’ll start moving. She’ll probably follow Brownie anyway, but this way you can get used to directing her.”
I did as he said, gently tapping her with the side of my feet, and sure enough, Perdita began to take slow steps, following in the same direction as Brownie, Jack’s horse.
“If you want her to change direction, pull the rein firmly, but not too hard, in the direction you want her to go. Pull back if you want her to stop.
“Will she listen to me?”
“Yes, definitely. She’s been raised with people her whole life. You’re not going to have a problem.”
Jack was definitely right. We reached a fork in the path pretty quickly and as he led Brownie to the left, I pulled firmly on Perdita’s reins and she followed him.
“Good girl, thank you,” I whispered to her as she walked along, stroking her mane once more. This was fun!
“Enjoying yourself?” Jack asked, as if he could read my mind.
“Definitely!” I replied.
“Good. You’ll have to get actual riding gear if you want to do this regularly, otherwise all your clothes are going to start smelling like horses. Do you want to keep going?”
“I definitely do.”
“Do you want to learn how to trot?”
“I’m really not sure what that is, but yes.”
Another smile from Jack.
“A trot is sort of like a jog. Not as fast as a canter, but faster than a walk.”
“OK, let’s do it.”
“The important thing here is to relax, and get into the rhythm. If you tense up, you’re going to get bounced around. You want to let your body move in rhythm with the horse. When we walk, give her a slightly harder kick, and she’ll start trotting after us.”
Jack started off by doing it with his horse, and I watched as they sped off into the distance. That was a trot? It already seemed way too fast. Perdita seemed anxious to follow, and as soon as I hit her side again she did, and I immediately clutched at her mane, feeling like I was going to fall off.
Every single time her legs hit the ground it felt like I was being shot into the air. I remembered what Jack said and tried to relax, and tried to move my body with the horse. Slowly, but surely, I started to feel a little bit more comfortable. Then it started being fun! The air was whipping through my hair, like a quick breeze. I leaned forward and enjoyed the sensation of Perdita running underneath me, which we did until finally coming to a stop when we reached the end of the property and were along the side of the road.
“Do you want to go into town?” Jack asked.
“Sure,” I replied. To be honest, I would have done anything to keep this day going. After all, Jack was being nice to me! What was this all about?
When we got closer to the actual town Jack helped me off the hose (I waited for two cars to pass so that no one would see me, but I got off without any sort of spectacular embarrassment) and tied the reins up to a post on a nearby fence. It was interesting how we were so close to the city, and yet still far enough away that attaching your horse to a fence while you went in to get lunch was a totally normal thing.
Making our way down the sleepy streets of the quaint English town, Jack and I eventually found ourselves in a little café, one of those sleepy places with a dozen tables that feels like it’s been there for decades.
“So, why are you being so nice to me?” I asked when we sat down. I wanted
“Some people can’t do that elegantly,” he joked, and I laughed.
“Be nice, it’s my first time on a horse.”
“I am being nice, if I was mean I would have taken a photo,” he replied.
Perdita was the nicest horse ever. As soon as I got onto her she was still as could be, letting me get comfortable on her. I pat her mane while Jack led me towards a path leading further away from the house.
“Now, just tap her gently with your feet and she’ll start moving. She’ll probably follow Brownie anyway, but this way you can get used to directing her.”
I did as he said, gently tapping her with the side of my feet, and sure enough, Perdita began to take slow steps, following in the same direction as Brownie, Jack’s horse.
“If you want her to change direction, pull the rein firmly, but not too hard, in the direction you want her to go. Pull back if you want her to stop.
“Will she listen to me?”
“Yes, definitely. She’s been raised with people her whole life. You’re not going to have a problem.”
Jack was definitely right. We reached a fork in the path pretty quickly and as he led Brownie to the left, I pulled firmly on Perdita’s reins and she followed him.
“Good girl, thank you,” I whispered to her as she walked along, stroking her mane once more. This was fun!
“Enjoying yourself?” Jack asked, as if he could read my mind.
“Definitely!” I replied.
“Good. You’ll have to get actual riding gear if you want to do this regularly, otherwise all your clothes are going to start smelling like horses. Do you want to keep going?”
“I definitely do.”
“Do you want to learn how to trot?”
“I’m really not sure what that is, but yes.”
Another smile from Jack.
“A trot is sort of like a jog. Not as fast as a canter, but faster than a walk.”
“OK, let’s do it.”
“The important thing here is to relax, and get into the rhythm. If you tense up, you’re going to get bounced around. You want to let your body move in rhythm with the horse. When we walk, give her a slightly harder kick, and she’ll start trotting after us.”
Jack started off by doing it with his horse, and I watched as they sped off into the distance. That was a trot? It already seemed way too fast. Perdita seemed anxious to follow, and as soon as I hit her side again she did, and I immediately clutched at her mane, feeling like I was going to fall off.
Every single time her legs hit the ground it felt like I was being shot into the air. I remembered what Jack said and tried to relax, and tried to move my body with the horse. Slowly, but surely, I started to feel a little bit more comfortable. Then it started being fun! The air was whipping through my hair, like a quick breeze. I leaned forward and enjoyed the sensation of Perdita running underneath me, which we did until finally coming to a stop when we reached the end of the property and were along the side of the road.
“Do you want to go into town?” Jack asked.
“Sure,” I replied. To be honest, I would have done anything to keep this day going. After all, Jack was being nice to me! What was this all about?
When we got closer to the actual town Jack helped me off the hose (I waited for two cars to pass so that no one would see me, but I got off without any sort of spectacular embarrassment) and tied the reins up to a post on a nearby fence. It was interesting how we were so close to the city, and yet still far enough away that attaching your horse to a fence while you went in to get lunch was a totally normal thing.
Making our way down the sleepy streets of the quaint English town, Jack and I eventually found ourselves in a little café, one of those sleepy places with a dozen tables that feels like it’s been there for decades.
“So, why are you being so nice to me?” I asked when we sat down. I wanted
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