12 Things Dads of Horse-Crazy Kids Have to Deal With
As if raising a more-or-less functional member of society wasn’t hard enough.
[Top image: Pixabay, lymoni]
After seeing a 1200-lb. horse fall on me during a jumping round when I was 14, my dad has, understandably, always kind of hoped I’d grow out of the whole horse thing. Looking back on the years though, I’m amazed that he still drove me to lessons week in and week out. He understood that riding was my passion, even if he didn’t exactly get why I enjoyed hanging on to murderous beasts at high speeds. Now that I’m all grown up, occasionally he even visits me at the barn to take pictures of me riding…and somehow he even manages to smile and nod as I update him on the minutae of barn life.
It’s that kind of supportiveness in everything I do that makes me so appreciative of my dad. So today, I’d like to salute my dad and all other dads of horse-crazy kids…because goodness knows, you’ve had to deal with all kinds of shenanigans. Such as…
Endless pony rides. And, if you were unwise enough to give your children riding lessons, their heels dig mercilessly into your sides while they make strange clucking noises at you.
[Amazon: The Daddle by Cashel]
All of your rakes, lawn chairs and broom handles are regularly commandeered to make a jump course for the dog.
Multimedia presentations on why your kid should be allowed to have a horse, complete with special effects and maybe even some inspirational quotes.
[Youtube: ThickAsWater]
When reason fails, your child may resort to other tactics.
Being a one-man cheer squad/flight navigation system at horse shows.
The only way you can get your kids to wake up early is when there’s a horse show.
Having to explain over and over again that you can’t keep a horse in a garage. (Though you can get an awesome life-size horse decal for your garage…just sayin’!)
The fact that your horse-crazy kid jumps at the chance to muck a stall, yet can’t seem to find time to clean his or her room.
While most dads worry about their daughters and boys on a Friday night, you’re worried about your daughter breaking another bone from that #*%$# horse!
The sinking feeling you get when spending money on an animal that literally poops it all away.
[Wikimedia Commons, BLW/ CC S.A. 3.0]
Your child’s only motivation to learn to drive and get a job is extra barn time.
[Wikimedia Commons: Vadim Andreev SP /CC]
Not understanding why your kids don’t appreciate your help with all horse-related matters.
And finally…the fact that the horse bug is incurable. All you can do is wait it out, and hope that one day when you’re old and feeble, your horse-crazy kid will take care of you half as well as they do their horse.
Happy Father’s Day!
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