Re: Newcomers

[Jeff & Bambi Forbes <forbes@vail.net>]

Hi Glenda,

I've had horses all my life, lived them, breathed them, cried over them, 
died with them, and wouldn't trade away any of it.  Camping with horses 
is the best I've experienced yet, but it STILL takes me forever to get 
all the STUFF organized.  I've tried one CTR and am now patiently 
waiting for Taaraka (yearling) to get big (14:2 maybe :)  and old enough 
to try endurance.

In spite of the bit of horse sense that I've gained over the years, I 
plan to volunteer at some rides to see what this is really all about.  
We can read it all day, but until you get into that camp and discover 
that in CTR you're not supposed to let the horse drink from the trough 
(use a bucket), and need to tie him a certain way, and come into the 
check quietly, embarassingly the list goes on - well, you find out 
pretty quickly how much (little) you knew about this discipline and 
horses and common sense.  I do appreciate being humbled, even though I 
kinda embarrased myself a couple of times......

With horses and the world in general, there is always something new to 
learn.  Let's applaud the variously experienced newcomers, and celebrate 
the "been there done thats", and be open to the new stuff that none of 
us know yet ;-)

with ears pricked forward,
Bambi and Taaraka
forbes@vailmtn.net