I'm still trying to decide whether or not War Horse left an impression on me. I'd better decide, because I'm sure to receive it on DVD within the next year. I did like it more than Secretariat. Too much Diane Lane, who I tend to think of as Susan Sarandon's LifeTime Movie twin sister.
My very favorite is National Velvet, which I saw after reading the book. I read the actual BOOK (haven't touched paper since I got my Kindle) and did a damn book report. Poor sixth-grade teacher. We were each to read our favorite passage from our book, and mine was paragraphs of tack gifted to Velvet. (I'm going to paraphrase here) "bridles, martingales, head collars, saddles, reins, surcingles...." He had to stop me. I was lost in a fictional account of what I would later know as components of a tack swap. Wheeee! A garage sale comprised of all horse stuff!
It's a maddening rush of great things that go great together....shopping and acquiring horse stuff. Right after I acquired my horse, I felt more and more the horse owner with each new item I got. I keep raising the stakes on myself.
I own all the (horse) things! (Real horse owner) Some of them are in my car! ( Real horse owner) My trunk is full of rice bran! (Real horse owner) Nobody but the dog would ever want to ride in my car! (Real horse owner) There are saddle pads drying on the Bowflex (Real horse owner).
Okay, seriously, the arms race toward enmeshing my life with all things equine needs to calm down. But part of me will always be a middle school kid dreaming about the horse lifestyle, so I can't help but drape myself in it. Where do I draw the line?
At the actual acquisition of horses, of course. One's my limit. But one is my bare minimum. I won't be horseless again, and my surroundings may be less pristine for it, but they're a lot more blessed.
Lol, when I had a car the dog wouldn't even have wanted to ride in it!
ReplyDeleteI ended up selling it and got an old ute, so that I don't have hoof grease leaking all over the interior (now it's just the tray that's covered in it).
Ha, I had the same problem when I started riding again in grad school. Despite the fact that I was living in a hideous little studio apartment and barely able to afford groceries, I had breeches and half-chaps. Now that I actually have money and a couple of worthless nags of my own, my Peruvian has Mac boots and a special bridle, the old man has a fancy saddle pad, and I just bought a saddle on Ebay for the pig mare that, when new, cost more than all of my horses put together.
ReplyDeleteMy horse was free, so my first purchase - a 99 cent hoof pick - out-priced him.
ReplyDeleteI know EXACTLY what you are talking about. I don't have to delve too deeply into my personal psychology to figure out that I surround myself with horsey things to remind myself that I am, indeed, a horse person despite being horseless. Right now, my computer screen saver is a photo of me and a horse. My phone lock screen is a painting of a horse. My house is plastered with horse pictures, drawing, sculptures and artifacts from my riding career - old saddle, old boots, old ribbons, etc. Gee, do you think I want people to know I'm "horsey," or what? :-)
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy purchasing things for my darling doggie very much. Having her is another dream come true, so feeling like a dog owner is nice. Don't think she really needs that extra toy or pretty collar, but boy, I love having a reason to get them waiting at home with a wagging tail. :-)