Examentrainers

Why girls love horses …

Lucy Cavendish tells of her own very personal love affair

1

I FIND horses graceful,

My first ever love affair was with

9

I don’t think men feel this way

people don’t normally see. In a car,

glorious creatures. There are so

Puffles, a tiny little Shetland pony.

about horses. They love them, of

you go too fast, on foot you are too

many things that are perfect about

6

After Puffles there was Monty.

course they do, but to them they

small. --Horses can be companions.

them: the way they move, their

He was kind and safe and greedy.

are living beings with a job to do.

We trust them. In the past,

fluid bodies and shining coats, the

But then a friend of mine did his

Men hunt horses and show-jump

people have

way they smell, their velvet noses

back in and pretty much gave his

them. They look after them, yes,

travelled miles on them and never

and ticklish ears. They are

horse Roger to me.

but they don’t worry about them

been let down. When you are in

handsome creatures with lots of

Lucy Cavendish as a child with Monty.

the way women do.

true simpatico with your horse,

attitude and character.

10

There is something within most

then you are a very contented

2

There’s a difference in how

of us women that romanticises

person.

women feel about horses and how

horses. Maybe it is, in part,

14

Last week I was riding through

our male counterparts do. Women

because they still seem wild. They

the Sierra Nevada mountains with

have love affairs with horses. We

still have the fight or flee instinct.

my friend, her husband and their

kiss their warm soft noses. We

They are still strong, sometimes

older sons, aged 10 and 15. It was

brush, bathe and rub them.

frighteningly so. And people love to

tough going. We went up

3

We give them garlic and

conquer them.

mountains and down gorges and,

molasses in their feed to keep them

11

It’s not for nothing that we use

one day, we rode through harsh

healthy. We put boots on them so

the term ‘breaking in’ to describe

terrain for over six hours. --of

they don’t hurt their legs. We talk

the process of how a young horse is

the boys complained in spite of

about them as if they are husbands

turned into a reliable riding horse.

being saddle sore and exhausted.

or lovers or babies. We call them

12

horses will always be

In fact, they enjoyed it.

‘my boy’ and ‘my lad’ and ‘he’ as in

unpredictable. When you ride them

15

On the last day, our tour leader

‘he doesn’t like it when...’ and ‘ooh,

7

Roger was my greatest love

you are aware of that. They are

and guide, a talented horse woman

my boy’s in a bad mood today’.

affair. He was fast and furious and

stronger than you. If they want to

called Dallas Love, turned to my

4

I know women who spend

stunning to look at and very, very

get you off their backs, they will.

friend and said, ‘I don’t know a

every penny they earn on their

lively. I couldn’t stop riding him.

13

But we still fall in love with

thing about children but, if your

horses. They spend their weekends

8

In the summer I loved the late-

them. You can run away on a horse,

sons were horses, I’d be very --

and evenings cleaning tack,

evening riding. In the winter it was

you see. You can go fast down hills

if they were mine.’ It was the

mucking out stables and grooming

horribly cold and dark. I had to put

and gallop along beaches and

greatest compliment of all.

them and then, finally, riding;

lights on me and the horse just to

through forests and over plains. It

because it’s not just about the

go up the road. Then Roger died of

is the ultimate escape. And yet you

riding, it’s about being near them.

a heart attack and nothing was the

can also just walk along, at one

5

l have always been horse mad.

same again.

with your horse, seeing things