My Kingdom For A Horse

A Lesson In Adaptability

***Sample audio only (scroll down for full audio below)***

A Horse! A Horse! My Kingdom for a horse!

~ Richard III by William Shakespeare

Victory at Julich. Maria de Medici by Rubens.

Dear Reader, I’m away from my desk and the next few blogs will be a departure from my usual routine. They will be plucked from other things I’ve written that I thought would be appropriate content for The Equuleus Code. Hope you enjoy, and I will be back to my usual fresh-off-the-press writing by mid September.

Todays reading is from my book, Each Wind That Blows, in which I tell the tale of the Kenyan riding safari that had a lifechanging effect on me. I chose to share Chapter 8, My Kingdom For A Horse. I chose it, because I think it helps explain why both horse and non-horse people alike, cannot help but be fascinated by the horse itself. Because, as I once explained to a non-horsey friend who professed embarrassment at her love for horses when she’d really never known any - you don’t have to love horses, to, uhmmm, well, like…..love horses. You know?

I hope you enjoy.

My Kingdom for a Horse

Before I wander off for the siesta, Tristan takes me to meet the horses. My inner ‘Dressage Queen’, however well prepared she was that these horses would not be sporting the plump toplines of her DQ dreams, is a little startled at just how lean these horses are. But their coats shine with health, they are spare but not gaunt. Clearly well cared for, these horses are more akin to endurance horses and marathon runners than my nice plump little arena dancers. Though my horses also go on hacks, jump and are asked to work for a living, there is no comparison to the demands made on these lanky and fit horses that will carry us for up to fifty kilometers a day.