(borrowed from a discussion board in 2005)
You know this if you've ever...
- choked back tears watching a new foal wobble to his feet for the first time...
- or watching your good horse wobble to his feet after surgery......
- or seen the ends of the reins float straight out as a reining horse spins beneath them...
- or chuckled to yourself as you watched a tiny tot on a patient pony trot through a barrel pattern at a saddle club payday...
- or felt the building tremble as an eight-up hitch of feather-legged giants towed a hand-carved beer wagon into the arena...
- or had your heart stop when you saw your horse lying motionless in the pasture on a sunny day and waited breathlessly for an ear to flick...
- or cheered at the screen when "The Man From Snowy River" slid Dennie down the mountainside....
- or when Seabiscuit made his final surge to beat War Admiral...
- or cruised along the highway and seen a horse in a pasture and wondered what he's like to ride or pictured him as a prospect...
- or sucked in your breath as a horse and rider approached a six-foot wall...
- or sworn a solemn oath to your horse that together you would triumph...
- or flipped through the TV channels and stopped when you saw a horse even when it was a commercial...
- or laughed aloud when you rubbed your horse's face and he rubbed back...
- or gotten chills hearing Dave Johnson's "and DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME!" (or "Run for the Roses" circa 1980 ish?)...
- or stood in awe at your horse in morning play as he sprinted around the pasture then stopped head erect and snorted defiance at the rest of the world...
- or been thankful to see wild horses grazing casually at the foot of a hill...
- or felt calmed by the sleekness of a silky hair coat beneath your hand...
- or felt your jaw drop as watched a Lipizzan perform a capriole...
- or if you've ever seen someone in the grocery store wearing a certain kind of hat or boots or buckle or have a certain cut and length to their jeans and felt some remote kind of connection...
- or felt warmed by a soft nicker greeting as you entered the barn...
- or slid your hand under your horse's blanket to straighten it out, only to pause in the glowing feeling that you get when you touch the warmth of his coat....
- or riding on a trail with your horse, thinking how that trail over there looks nice and almost without asking, your horse has sensed your slightest movement in the saddle and he's now taking you there....
- or pulled up to your barn where you board and only your horse greets you with a welcoming hello from the sound of your car or your voice....
- if you've ever been moved by any of these feelings, I hope you enjoyed the time you spent reading this.
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