The Horsepower Homestead

1. You find hay in your bra. Your socks. And sometimes may have to dump it out of your shoes. 2. Sometimes you find treats in your pockets and there's no horse to give it to. Because you're at work. Or at school. And how did this treat get here? 3. Your boots have special designations. Muck boots. Riding boots. Show boots. Rain boots. Dancing boots. Fancy boots. and Date night boots. 4. You regularly check Craigslist, Ebay, and the Facebook Market for saddles. Just in case. You don't actually need one. 5. Your computer background, phone screen wallpaper, etc. is horse themed. 6. You have barn clothes, show clothes, and "regular people" clothes. But we all know which ones you wear the most. Even when you're not at that barn. Just in case you end up there. 7. You try to "whoa" things that aren't horses. Dogs. Boyfriends. Children. Vehicles. 8. Your mom voice and your horse voice are the same thing. 9. You learned to braid (or want ...

I remember the first time I got back in the saddle. May 1st, 2016. I hadn't ridden a horse since 2010. Maybe late 2009.  Previously, I had ridden horses for what felt like my whole life. It doesn't really sound like that much time now. Six, maybe seven years.  But for me, it was like not breathing. I had stopped doing something I loved because it became too hard. Life was busy. I was injured. I was in college. I let life get in the way. Then one day, when I was sad and watching my relationship with my boyfriend fall to pieces in slow motion, I knew I had to go back.   I scoured Craigslist, I called stables, I researched lesson prices, I called all my old friends. I pulled my saddles out of storage to clean and oil them. I bought a new Troxel helmet. I cleaned my paddock boots. I tried on my breeches. Which to my surprise still fit. But at the end of the day, all I had to show for it was a guest bedroom that looked more like a tack ...