Bucket List - Equine Version

Hey there! Long time no see! Man, I couldn't tell you what the heck I've been doing lately, but I know that I've been darn busy with it. Time is just flying! Seriously, wasn't it just Halloween?!? And now we're staring down the barrel at Christmas and New Year's already. Wow!

I've got some updates and good stuff to share that I'll get to one of these days, but I was reading this post of Fugly's that links to this article and it got me thinking. The article is particularly interesting. I've done quite a few things on that list, but not nearly as many as I would have thought.

I have galloped a horse on the beach and I think everyone should have this experience! It was amazing! Even though I was on the slowest horse there and ate a lot of sand.

I have won a blue ribbon or two. Even a buckle. Or two. Sorry, I'm still way excited about that.

I've tried cutting and while I know what a cowy horse is like(really freaking cool!), I have yet to actually ride a seriously cowy horse.

I used to jump all the time, anything and everything I could point my horse towards, bareback and bridleless even, but that was before I knew what the heck I was doing.

I have been bucked off and gotten right back on. Many, many, many times.

I have attempted a sliding stop on a fairly well trained reining horse, but I couldn't make myself relax enough to stay out of her way and let her do it so I'll have to try that one again. Hopefully many, many, many times.

I have nursed horses back to health, though calling it a "crisis" may be a bit dramatic.

I have had to make the right decision for the horse, no matter how much it sucked.

I have ridden gaited horses, tackled some pretty darn cool trails horseback, been camping with my horse and all are highly recommended.

I have woken up to whinnies and done my share of daily mucking, feeding, watering, etc.

But by far my favorite accomplishment on that list is the last one: share a bond with your horse that is deeper then words. There is just nothing that compares.

The more I get involved with horses as an adult, the more I realize just how sheltered I've been from the "real horsey world". It's big. Huge! I thought I had experienced a decent chunk of it, but I'm discovering more and more that I'm pretty darn innocent. I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't even know what a couple of things on that list were. I do know that there is a TON more of the horsey world that I want to experience, so I am making my own Horsey Bucket List. Here goes...

Patches' Horsey Bucket List

1. Ride a finished reiner and be relaxed enough to enjoy it!
2. Ride my own finished reiner at a NRHA show and not totally embarrass myself!
3. Ride a finished cutter, and hopefully not end up in the dirt!
4. Go to Texas to watch the NCHA Futurity
5. Go to Oklahoma to watch the NRHA Futurity
6. Go to Las Vegas and watch NFR
7. Find out more about other associations and go watch their big shows
8. Ride english more, take some lessons
9. Give jumping a "real" try
10. Learn more about dressage
11. Go swimming with my horse again and not get swept off this time
12. Watch, and possibly try, polo
13. Take my dream vacation and stay on a real working cattle ranch that doesn't dumb it down for city slickers. Well, not too much anyways.
14. Learn how to rope, take a stab at either team roping or breakaway roping. Maybe try goat tying too!


I'm sure there are many more, but that's all I can come up with off the top of my head right now and since I've been mulling this over for a week now and not come up with anything else and it's been almost a month since my last post, I'm just going to get this posted. Looks like a pretty good start anyways!

Hopefully I'll get a chance to get some other updates up one of these days and maybe make it around to everyone else's blogs as well. 'Tis the season I suppose.

If I don't talk to ya before then...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! ;-)