Not only do we learn love and hope from horses but we also learn how to have a sense of humor. One of my favorite stories to tell about my horse experiences is the time when Angela, Grandma Jan, and myself were up in the trails in Plummer, Idaho. Angela was riding Cisco, Grandma Jan was riding one of her horses named Cruzado, and I was on Hilada (Lottie).  I had to ride Lottie for several months because Sanny was due to foal her last baby - MY new horse. 
    Now you need to know that  often times Lottie would fart going uphill, we laughingly call it her jet propulsion. On this particular occasion we were going down a hill at a fast pace and needed to slow them down.  Just as we reigned in, Lottie sneezed very loud and at the same time farted.
    In the area were we happened to be, it was very easy to get an echo. So, as she farted and sneezed together, it echoed off the mountain and lingered there for a second or two. As if that weren't bad enough, Grandma Jan who was behind me, happend to see Lottie's tail go out and snot coming out her nose. 
    After hearing the echo and seeing what we saw it took us a good 5 minutes to stop laughing and to wipe our eyes dry. We also had to stop our horses for fear of falling off in laughter. That day was one that I will never forget.

    Even though I didn't start riding till I was 6, I still felt as if I were born to live in the saddle. Even if it was a little scary at some times, I still had more fun on a horse than anywhere else. I can remember riding on the trails and having Sanny "pulling at the rains" and wanting to go as fast as she could. We both loved it when we were allowed to do so. She loved to do all sorts of trail riding as long as we didn't have to trailer her anywhere. She even love trail blazing and making a path where none existed.
    In Plummer we have access to a very large trail system and we have a loop that we often take. Well,  in this loop there is a plane like area that is the best place to gallop and we always did so. Sanny wouldn't really want to stop but in the end she would.
    I can remember hearing stories about her bucking and backing up into bushes on the trail and what a pain she could be. However the first time I rode her on the trail, being a bit nervous because of the stories I heard, we were two peas in a pod, and I think that is what sealed the deal.

    Kim Meeder tells a story about a young girl and a young horse in her book A Bridge Called Hope. Earlier in the day Kim got the call about a place where some horses were starving. When she gets there, she and her rescue team of girls meet and make friends with the owner. The owner decides to show off her "babies" to the group. As the owner goes on and on about her future plans for the horses (even though they are starving) the group of girls and Kim assess the horses conditions. The group is able to convince the owner to sell the worst of them, which was a little 2 year old that looked like she may be but a few months old.
    They do what they can and get the little filly by buying her from the women that is the owner. By the time that they get the tiny filly back to Kim's ranch, she is exhausted and (after a quick bite of food and lots of water) she falls asleep in the snow. It seemed that she was quite lonely.
    One of the girls that had gone with Kim on the rescue mission had picked up on the loneliness of the filly almost immediately. She was able to pick up on the horses feelings because she herself was lonely and needed a friend. As the quote said she laid down beside the horse. In the time that the girl and horse laid next to each other the horse began to twitch with dreams. In this moment the girl realized that it was time for her to also dream once again and began to heel her loneliness.
    In the end both the girl and the horse were healed.  I identified with the story because it reminded me of when I met Sanny and how she helped me to begin to dream that life could be better.  She helped me to see that a good friend is better than being alone.

    Even though I was and still am learning about horses every day, I have learned how to be smart and mature around horses. Kim Meeder points out that hope becomes mature "only when we imitate Jesus Christ and give it away" and until that happens it is never truly found. I believe that is one of the reasons that horses make such good companions, because they give hope to people in a similar way that God does. 
    When you have hope you are more happy and you can set aside your anxiety and give love. You can put your mind at rest and know that even if you don't have faith in God there is always hope, even if it is only in your horse. I have found this type of maturity in myself because I was able to pass on hope to others even when it looked like there was no hope in my life.  On my worst days I could turn to Sanny and pour out my worries and it would release the stress I felt and I'd feel hope once again.  When I would share with a friend my struggles and the hope I found in the midst of those struggles they would be amazed at my ability to let go of my problems despite my situation.  In turn, they would find hope that one day they could the same. 

    Sanny was not the first horse I rode. In fact Cisco, my step-mom Angela's horse, and Grandma Jan's horse, Hilada, were the first horses I rode. These two horses got me hooked on riding, eventhough it didn't take too much convincing.  They gave me confidence and I learned that one day I would want a horse of my very own.
    I had a fascination with Sanny and we both grew to know and love each other. She gave me the hope that someday everything would work out. From the smallest of things like trying to read to learning how to balance my life and grow in a split home, she was there. She was also there when I first learned about how to live and use my dyslexia. She was there when I didn't understand what was happening between my parents. She knew just what to do when I felt like my life was flying apart. There were days I would just hang-out in her stall, grooming and hugging her, spending quiet time when everything seemed so stressful and loud.  She was a gift from God.

    To give you some history as to why I started this, I got my first horse when I was 9 from my step-grandparents, Paul and Jan.  They own a Paso Fino horse ranch called Hacienda de los Niños. Her name was San Ann Del Compañero and she had all the energy in the world. She was a Paso Fino and she taught me just as much about having a horse as my grandparents did. Sanny, as she was nicknamed, was a red chestnut (tan) color and had a small blaze of white on her face and some white on her legs called "socks."  She had chosen me as her human and we were quite a pair. Sanny was a broodmare on their ranch and she had spent many years taking care of babies and teaching them how to be the proper horse.  She also taught many humans how to respect a horse when riding them.  She was a challenge for most folks, but for me she was a sweetiepie.  She loved to move out or go fast on the trails and for a 9 year old that was the best thing ever. I could do anything to that horse that I wanted and she always looked after me even when I was doing something that was not all that smart. 
    Being a kid in a divorced family, it was nice to have a friend that I could tell anything to without having to worry about what I was saying. Even though my horse didn't have the answers I needed, she gave my life new meaning.