The horses were HUGE. Not compared to normal horses - but compared to the other animals in my life, like cats and dogs. And of course the night before I went Ron lectured me about not standing behind the horse or else it could kick me. So, I didnt know what to expect and I was a little afraid that I had not thought this through completely.
When I got there this Swedish lady who owns the barn asked about my riding level - level zero. I have never ridin a horse - at least not that I can remember. So they gave me Dimma, that means "Mist" in Swedish. She was a really friendly horse, as soon as I walked up to her she started butting her head on my side and rubbing her face on my back - at first I thought she was attacking me but she was actually scratching her face. :p
This is me in the stable picking out a helmet and posing with the saddles...
This is Dimma.....
We have the same hair color.... :)
Here we are on our horses ready waiting for the instructor to start on our path...
There was a Danish family at the barn too for a ride, there were two small girls with their group - probably about 8 years old.
Okay, so when I got on the horse a lady came by to check on my stirrups and ask how they felt - of course, I had no idea what those were for so I sat my feet on them and since my feet could reach them I figured they were good to go. Well, not so much....
Anyhow, before we get to the part where I figured out I need those stirrups for balance....we headed off onto this trail. I didnt even have to tell my horse what to do, as soon as she saw the other horses walking she started walking right behind them and we followed this really pretty trail into the forest...
My view.....
When I first got on the horse I felt REALLY high in the air and unbalanced, and then as soon as I got the hang of it and had my balance going and we were walking steady then I felt more comfortable...but then we got on this one trail that had flat dirt and the leader said "TROTT" and all of a sudden all the horses started trotting!!!I did not know what to do! At first I felt bad for my horse thinking that I must be heavy for her, but then when she started galloping I began flying into the air and thought I was too light! I couldnt balance at all - I was just bouncing on the horse and holding onto the straps for dear life! My feet slid right off the stirrups and were boucing around on the sides of the horse uncontrollably and I wasnt strong enough to stop the horse so finally my friend called out to the leader because if we didnt stop then I was definitly going to fall off and once the front horse stopped - they all stopped (thankfully).
I ended up getting through the whole two hour tour without falling off, but the whole group had to stop about 4 times because I was bouncing around and going off trail. haha. It was fun - all I kept thinking was that I just wanted to stay on the horse...haha
We took a break in the middle of the tour to have coffee, tea and cookies.
Look at these horses scratching each other! :)
I ended up realizing that I got a horse that was just like me. She got really upset and shook her head around whenever flys got near her face because she didnt like that, and every time we slowed down or stopped she would start eating berrys and flowers nearby (even when the other horses were standing in a straight line...yikes).
I had a really fun day and I think I will definitly go again. This time I will make sure my stirrups are adjusted correctly and that I take more control (my horse knew I was a pushover...). BUT, I dont think I will ever try to ride on a full size horse - that is just crazy!
Thank you Dimma for the memorable day!!
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