How I Caught The Bug: A Guest Post

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I was bitten by a bug at a young age. This bug is powerful. It can control your mind and it will do just that. There is no “cure” for this bug, once you have been bitten you will never be immune. This bug is horse love.

At a young age instead of Barbies like a normal child I played with horses. Any chance I got I would ride these beautiful creatures. Pony rides were some of the best moments of my childhood.

As I grew older this infection got worse. I spent more and more time drooling over horses and by the time I was in middle school I knew everything there was to know about taking care of a horse. I could name the hock, the tendon, and I knew all the breeds.

I subscribed to various horse magazines and spent all my money on horse books. Every penny. I read the Saddle Club and other horse storybooks and longed for the day when I would be that girl riding her pony.

And I begged for a horse. It didn’t happen. Until one day my parents bought my riding lessons. Those eight weeks were the best part of that summer.

When I was a bit older my mom took me for a drive. And I will never forget that drive. She drove me to a barn, just the two of us and told me that she and I where going to work at the barn in exchange for lessons. I started to scream and I almost cried from sheer happiness. My dreams had come true.

I fell in love with a horse named Lacy. She was a sweet, but stubborn pony. I had my first fall on her. And I cantered first on her. I wanted to buy her so bad, but she was sold to another lesson barn and my teacher moved away.

I was furious. In my eyes that was the worst thing that could happen. Blinded by tears I raced to my room and ripped down all my posters. I threw my horse figures, poster, books, and riding gear into several boxes taped them up and refused to talk about horses.

I found a new love that year. Boys. My poor dad was horrified. He would gladly pay for a horse! Anything to keep me from walking around the house screaming love songs and drooling over hormone filled acne covered males. (Don’t you dare judge! I was a love sick tween!)

A year after that my parents where desperate to do something. So they set about to find a horse. They finally did find one and everything was set. But then it fell through. Once again my dreams where crushed. I was livid.

A few years passed and life went on. I threw myself into school and refused to talk about horses. But every-time I saw one of those beautiful creatures I longed to ride. I longed to have the wind through my hair while I cantered in a grassy pasture.

Last summer however I had forgotten about teen crushes and I was busy planning my life. School and writing had a firm grip on me. I didn’t care about boys really, I wasn’t thirteen anymore. I was older and more mature.

That didn’t mean that the boys didn’t notice ME however. When I started to get whistled at and followed around my father told my mother that we needed a horse. And she started the great horse search.

And she found Blaze. The same horse that I *almost* got a few years before. I didn’t think it was possible, until my mom took a drive. And we showed up at a barn. Our friends had a horse trailer and Blaze was there waiting for me. I didn’t think it could be true. I was finally getting a horse. My dream was finally coming true. I was going to be that girl in the books. I honestly cried that day.

I got Blaze. So much for having faith and believing in dreams! Oh ye of little faith. I pay for over half of Blaze’s keep and board with my own money, but Blaze is mine. He is my baby.

Now I have Blaze. I ride him whenever I can and I don’t think I’ll every truly lose my love for horses. You just can’t. Not when the wind is blowing gently through your hair and you are moving in sync with a long legged brown Thoroughbred. Nothing compares to that feeling.

I love it when he whinnies and trots over to me when I show up in his pasture. The spoiled little stinker knows when I am around and always comes to nuzzle me for treats. I love how his ears perk up and how his head turns when he hears my voice. I think I have a bad case of horse love.

RJ is a homeschooled teenager who is a passionate writer, amateur photographer, dreamer, and lover of rain who lives in the country. If you can’t find her at the barn with her horse you can find her hanging with her loved ones and friends. You can check out her blog at-www.virtuousgirlhood.com