> However, I can't help but
> feel that every time I mount and ride out, I am placing myself in one of
> those "iffy" situations.
> It is difficult to turn against my parinoid feelings and yet I do every day
> because living and riding my horse is a freedom I can't live without.
> Last week a man stabbed and raped a woman and left her for dead up in the
> hills where I ride. She lived. But now my sense of well being is even more
> shattered. I also travel with a cell phone as well as inform my husband
> where I will be riding but I am becoming more and more awaire as to the
> reality of what could happen.
> Perhaps there is no other solution other then to ride with others. As we all
> know who are training for endurance, this is not always a posibility.
> Any comments?
>
This is a situation that hits very close to home with me and my Mom. The
hills where I ride, and she hikes, are the same hills where 8 years ago
they found the bodies of 7 women. The bodies were about 1/2 a mile from
my mom's house, and she had hiked within a couple hundred feet of them.
The women had been tortured, raped, and killed. It really scared us
badly!! And over the years she and I both have run into other strange
and bizzare, people and things. But I would just like to share a little
of our attitude...
If you were to tell my Mom she could no longer hike in "her woods", you
might as well kill her. She is 47 years old, suffers from fibromyalgia,
and when she hikes she takes her 2 dogs. She hides in the bushes if she
hears someone coming, and is very careful. But as long as she can, she
will hike -by herself- in those woods. They are her heart and soul. I
feel the same way. I have made new friends to ride with, and enjoy
riding with other peole. But I will always want to ride by myself. I've
been doing it since I was 6, and I'm not going to stop now. I too take
my dog when I ride (black lab & german shepard). I follow safety rules,
and am "quick and quiet", and I too will hide in the trees if I hear
someone coming.
We both choose to trust in our higher power. If you spend your life
living in fear of what -might- happen, you will have a really hard time
living your life to it's fullest potential. There is a difference
between "cautious" and "paranoid". Cautious is GOOD, paranoid takes
something away from you.
Geez, How did -I- get on this soapbox?? I'm getting down now.
@-',--- MARISA ---',-@ **********************
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purpl2@teleport.com ** Sucks! **
Portland, Oregon (New .sig, Same Person) **********************