I rode my first horse today.
I think I’m falling in love with horse riding.
There’s nothing more relaxing than mounting a magnificent creature that has its own mind.
Unlike driving which is about being in control, riding a horse is about establishing trust with the beast.
It’s about entering a partnership with a very independent and extremely smart animal.
My grandfather’s life was spared by his horse when he sensed danger.
It was wartime and my grandpa was leading his battalion towards the enemy lines from horseback. It was during WW2, during the siege of Sevastopol. A Soviet sniper had taken a shot from 300 yards away at my grandfather, when his horse rose up on his hind legs.
As the horse was in the process of shifting the human load on his back, the bullet hit my grandfather just above the hip but underneath his belly. The wound although monstrous because of the altered trajectory, big exit hole, you see, was not really life threatening in and of itself.
And thanks to my nursing grandmother, whose efforts forestalled and prevented the danger of infection, my grandfather recovered fully.
So a horse and a woman saved a man’s life. And made mine and my offspring’s possible.
I always loved horses. Now I know why.
They love freedom. They must like you before they obey you. And one must reward their efforts with affection and treats.
They made modern society possible.
Even today in testament of their contribution to civilization, we use horsepower to measure engine power.
Even though some morons prefer to use kilowatts as if one understood an artificial convention not grounded in meaningful terminology.
Give me horsepower or let me be!
Götterdämmerung 