Your Turn: Me ‘n’ Red

Reader Kalin C., a self-professed “horse crazy girl” and blogger at sittinginthesaddle.blogspot.com, shares the story of how she met her first horse/best friend Red.

From Kalin:

Red and I’s story began in July of 2012. This was not the first time we’d met, but it was the first time I had really noticed him. He had been in my family for a good few years, but I hadn’t really paid attention to him and had never ridden him.

Red belonged to my Aunt. After financial difficulties, she had to re-home most of her horses. Red had to go. We all decided to go on a trail ride on one of the sandy, beautiful trails in Florida. My mother and stepfather decided to take a look at Red and, if we seemed to click, they were going to find a way to take him. We didn’t have good enough property, so we knew we’d probably have to board him, but after YEARS of wanting, begging, crying for a horse, my mother finally decided I was ready.

I had NO clue about this–I just thought I was going to go on a trail ride. We got to my Mamaw’s house, where Red and the other horses lived, and my cousin, also a rider, handed me a halter and a lead and told me to go out and see if I could catch him. I happily climbed over the gate and held out a hand, trying to get this huge horse over to me.

I was nervous. He looked at me, breathed out loudly, then he took off. He ran away from me, and after about 10 minutes of him running like crazy my cousin came in to help. We had to corner him in the round pen to get the halter on. I put the halter on and took one look in his eyes and I felt something I had never felt. He nuzzled my hand as I struggled with the halter, and I led him over to the cross-ties.

Red looked pretty rough due to skin allergies. My aunt had tried everything to help him, but we all agreed that a change of climate would be best. He was scabby and going bald. Florida weather did NOT agree with him. It was making him lose weight and he wasn’t really a good looking horse, yet my first words about him were, “He’s beautiful,” and I continued my grooming.

My cousin helped saddle him up so we could ride a little before we went on the trails and I was so, so, so nervous. I had just seen this horse buck and go semi-insane, and I was really intimidated. I didn’t let it show. We rode around in a couple circles–he tried to ram my leg into the fence a couple times, then decided to take it easy on me, I guess, because he went really slow and careful. After that, we were off to the trails.

Red was such a gentleman the whole time, even when the flies bothered him. He was stubborn, but that’s just Red. We had to stop at one point and he literally fell asleep with me on his back. That’s a sign of trust, correct? I think so.

We finished the ride and went back to my grandparents’ house. Mom told me they were selling him, and I literally cried. She said they already found him an owner, and I wanted him. Mom told me to stop sulking about it so much. She didn’t want it to ruin my vacation, but I couldn’t let it go. At the end of the vacation, before we went home, mom and step-dad took me to go see him and say goodbye. I was a little curious about this, but didn’t think a thing of it. I cried a little more when I said goodbye. And guess what? He walked right towards me this time. No running.