Hobby Horse Blog Hop: Week 2

Last week's Hobby Horse Blog Hop got us off to a start. For me, it's always scary starting something new! I just started doing something new with Pippin, and the first time we did it, I was a little cautious. But each time we practice it we both get better at it. I've been long lining him. I'll get some pictures of us and put up a post about it soon.

So, maybe I can get better at the blog hop, too! I got it started, and now it's time to get it going! Please join us in talking about horses and other things. Have fun!

What experiences and memories do you have to share? 

In case you are new... or as a reminder:

Each week I'll post two or three prompts. 

Choose one or respond to all.

Don't forget!!

Complete your blog post (or comment) by asking a question of us.

Link your post to the Hobby Horse Blog Hop

by using the Linky Tool below.
Or...
Leave a comment with the answer to the
question(s).

Visit other participating blogs on the list

and respond to their questions in your comments.

Hobby Horse Blog Hop Prompts - Week 2:

1. Tell us about a special person you associate with your interest in horses. In what ways did(does) the person support you?
2. Carousels: Yes or No? Which horse do/did you choose to ride?
3. What sort of books did you read when growing up? 

OK.... and now for my responses:

1. I changed schools in 9th grade. If it weren't bad enough to leave all of my friends at my other school, I was put in the 'dummy' Math class. There was one other Freshman in the 8th grade Math class with me and we became friends immediately. We found out that we had a lot in common, more than just being stuck in the 'loser' Math class. Liza loved horses and I did, too. Liza owned horses... I did not. Within a few weeks of school starting I was going home with Liza to go riding. Liza taught me new things about riding. She provided many opportunities for me to practice horsemanship. We became best friends and our friendship has endured.

2. I always wanted to ride a horse on the outside. It took me a while to understand the physics of it, but they went faster and usually were bigger... and perhaps leaped higher than the inside horses. I liked shiny black horses with red 'trim'. I was insulted when the operator would ask me to put the strap around my waist to keep me from falling off the horse. How ridiculous!

3. My favorite day of the week was library day at school. I loved going to the library and finding new books to read. My parents were not big on books. I had only a handful of books of my own, and my mother rarely took me to the community library. I think I 'discovered' horse stories in the third grade. Probably around the time I began reading 'chapter' books. My favorite type of horse story was one in which the main character, almost always a girl, couldn't afford to own a horse, or couldn't have one because of circumstances,  but somehow ended up with one by the end of the book. (Hmmm... was that the formula for all successful horse stories?!) I also enjoyed reading books by Lois Lenski (I adored "Indian Captive") and books about pioneer life, those by Laura Ingalls Wilder and others.

My question: Shoes? or Barefoot? (for you? or your horse?)