True Story Tuesday...Casper the horse

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About twelve years ago, my family and I went to a HUGE family reunion in Lincoln, Nebraska. I absolutely loved seeing all my family and having that interaction time. Some of these people I barely see, so it was a plus being at the reunion. Well, someone had a brilliant idea to go horse back riding as a group. I had two days to prepare. Let me tell you that I was TERRIFIED of horses and falling off. I literally had to just bond through the fence with the horse before even being in the same vicinity (enclosed area) with the said horse. I was introduced to a few horses, but was SO SCARED. Yes, I was a friady cat and was pretty darn proud. I told horse handlers that I was extremely scared, in a little kid voice. just use your imagination

They introduced me to Casper, a 20 year old horse, who was white as a blank piece of paper. I was so so so afraid of falling off him, but the handlers assured me that I would not fall off, made sure my saddle was on securely, and put me atop of Casper. I was EXTREMELY afraid, shaking, and just petrified. The handlers told me to calm down, take a breath, and relax. I remembered that I counted to ten and took a breath. The handlers took me around the enclosed area and then assured me that I would not fall off. I calmed down a little, but the next day would be the deal or no deal day. The day that was coming up was the big group ride down the valley and back up again.

So the day started with me becoming very nervous and scared that I would fall off Casper. Well, I saddled up my horse, Casper, and wanted to get off. I got off and said that I did not want to ride, but decided after ten minutes of bribing coaxing that I wanted to ride Casper. I road Casper down the valley, bumped along the way, took many some breaths, and did not fall off. I was SO PROUD of myself. From that time to the end of the trip, I visited Casper each day, sometimes twice a day, and fed him sugar cubes and carrots. He helped me get over my fear, but still to this day; I will only ride experienced and older horses, just in case! Casper taught me to trust the horse I was riding on and to take a breath before getting myself in a tizzy. I will always remember Casper.