Back in the Saddle

Whew... It's been a LONG time since I rode a horse.  When I found out I was pregnant, I decided that I didn't want to ride during my pregnancy.  Now, I know my horse friends think I'm crazy for this, but I didn't really have a purpose for riding during the pregnancy and I was a little paranoid about falling off.  I haven't fallen off since I had back surgery over 10 years ago, but I didn't want to take any chances with little James in my belly. 

But I'm not pregnant anymore and today was beautiful, so I decided that it was time to get the dusty saddle out of the tack room and put it on the back of good old Alice.  Alice turned 19 this spring - I can't believe she's getting that old - we first got her when she was only 4.  Even though Alice is still quite feisty when it comes to her territory, she's great with kids, so I knew that I could trust her with James. 

James's first time on a horse!  He was pretty chill about the whole experience -

I realize that Alice is looking a little rough.  She's still shedding her winter fur and she had quite a bit of mud on her legs.  My dad and I took some time brushing her and washing her legs afterwards.  Of course, immediately after we finished and put her back in the pasture, she rolled.  Typical. 

James loved just looking at Alice.  I bet he thought that it was one of the giraffes in his nursery coming to life.  Now he will have to sleep with one eye open since there's a large stuffed giraffe staring at him in the night - he may not know the difference between the horse and the giraffe.  Here's his grandaddy teaching him about the horse and letting him touch her fur -

I'm looking forward to James getting to know Alice much better this summer :)

Thanks, Dad and Lisa for a great afternoon on the farm!