My humse...my love..

Once i wrote about the "humses" i know .. a mixture of horses and humans.. and today i'll talk about one of them...

Early morning when its really cold i met him.. the smell of burnt wood mixed with the coolness of the morning that awaits for the shy sun rays to dissolves in the misty cold weather rushes into your nostrils and fills your soul with old memories of trips in the desert and burnt wood..

Just like kids who cannot sleep of excitement i was.. and in that morning i stomped my feet on the ground to make sure that my boot is perfectly in its place.. tied my sheila twice and wore my hat.. slided my hands into my gloves where every finger rested in its right "sleeping bag" that guaranteed extra warmth in that cold weather.. inhaled the air.. filled my lungs with the mixture of aroma's.. and went to meet "him" ..

Both of them where there.. standing in pride.. shaking their
head once... and moving their legs after that.. Bandari was mine.. my love.. lol

Don't get too excited.. Banadari is the horse i have been riding for a while.. he was .. you can say one lil big horse that gave me a shoulder and a kick .. love and ... lameness.. many many many lessons.. many many other experiences.. let me tell you..

On that day, we decided we'll go for a ride in the desert.. that was the first time ... we started on the paved road and all was in control.. but i felt different.. Bandari was ... he was weird.. he trotted in such a way that would push you upward along with his trots.. you look at him and he is a normal Arabian horse but a bit larger... like those guys who are into body building and muscular.. broad shoulders.. and what you can call "huge" figure .. Bandari wasn't huge per say.. but he was "big" .. and "bouncy" .. his color was white dipped in a gray solution for a second where it gave him this grayish shade... then u get few kids and give them a medium sized paint brush and let them start drawing fine light brown lines randomly all over him....one of the kids found a black paint and he had two or three black strokes under his ear.. sub7an allah.. God have mixed those colors together in him... probably an indication of how a mixed character he is...

So..now you can imagine my Bandari..

We went for a ride that day as i told you earlier.. the road starts with a paved road.. to an unpaved road.. and then the sandy path starts which takes you to the middle of a nowhere..

All the time during the paved road the horses where fine.. the normal horses we used to ride.... quiet and steady.. if only i realized that that was the start of a "not so steady" experience.. lol

We passed cross areas of farms and newly constructed houses.... hardly not many people where there except for workers here and there or gardeners here and there or few family cars.. once we reached the unpaved roads.. we can see bigger farms.. and "more fresh air" .. and the horse's speed increased a bit.. not so "bit" but a good "bit".. and it was so exciting i wished if i could have went crazy for a minute and sang "i believe i can fly" .. or probably shout " i am freeeee " .. but later i wished i was a "kitten" not a bird.. and wished if i was chained instead..

Probably we spent 20 minutes trotting.. and of course our horses knew where to go.. but we had to act like we were giving them the orders.. until we reached few steps close to the sand and my trainer told me to hold the reins well because they sort of go "fast" .. boy oh boy.. if that was fast... believe me once they felt the sand between their LEGS they went on full speed.. after few minutes of that we stopped to adjust ourselves and postures and "check on each other" ..

"ready for cantering" my trainer asked..

"yah" replied my partner with enthusiasm

"well.. yes.. i mean.. okay fine.." i said with a lot of hesitation..

"yallah kick" and off she goes.. faster than wind.. and so does our horses follow..

don't imagine me this sloppy rider on the horse.. i mean i was sloppy for a bit but then things where fine.. and we cantered a bit .. so we decided to challenge ourselves further and canter on the "little dunes".. first was fine.. second was fine.. wohoo.. don't get to excited dots.. the third which was the biggest WAS NOT FINE !

i learnt how to sit when i want to canter to the top.. but i missed the "coming down" part..

kick.. canter.. lean forward.. up to the top and i stayed leaning forward... and that taught me the lesson of my life... rule number one..

Ascending: lean forward..

Descending: lean BACKWARD !

i leaned forward and my horse tripped.. no balance.. pull yourself together.. cannot.. its all dark.. a hit on the right side of the head... and another on the face.. i heard words around me.. when i opened my eyes i saw the trainer and my partner .. i looked for bandari he was few meters away looking at me.. he stood there... under a Ghaf tree on top of the other dune.. and as soon as i was on my feet he ran fast to what i thought was the horizon.. so now i am with a throbbing face... an extremely painful nose.. i felt like a puppet that wasn't so tightly tied to its strings and soaked in sand.. my only concern was Bandari.. and how would i reach home..

My trainer gave me her horse and we went back to the stables...while she called up the guys to help her catch Bandari who was almost half way through towards the stables...on our way back i was trying to count the bruises i had.. lol.. for the next couple of weeks i had to wear long sleeves and turtle necks to cover them ...

Ever since.. Banadari was my love.. he was my horse for the next many classes and it took me a while to overcome my fear.. but he was amazing...

Although he is "big" but he has the sweetest heart you can ever imagine "in a horse" ... every morning before my ride i'd hold his face and i'd totally loose my senses... talking to him and whispering in his ears.. changing my accent to suit his "personality" .. ask him if i should talk in arabic or english ... then we'd start our day...

My trainer told me a secret.. it only takes the horse the first three minutes to know what kind of a rider you are... once you there... he'd feel you.. sense your fear if you were scared.. and sets the limits to know who is the "boss"... Bandari is an expert in those games.. now i learnt that if i had the whip in my hand from the first step...he'd know that i am the boss (for the first few rounds though) and then he'd try his games... many times i'd hug his neck with laughter knowing what he is trying to prove..... man... i understood your games mister ! lol try something else..

Bandari is like a child who hates to be the second.. would race as fast as he could.. but his weight.. you know he is one of those chubby kids who'd be shouting "wait for me wait for me" and once he is close.. he would just go on full speed and say " HA! I WON ! " ...

But he has a problem... he totally hates walking on MUD !!!

i mean it.. imagine that built guy i told you about earlier.. imagine him walking on his toes over the mud... sissy? well .. yah.. lol .. i thought it was just because the previous night it rained cats and dogs el7emdelelah.. but i tested him again ... the chap wouldn't walk on the mud and if i kicked him.. he'd go fast.. or step with all the power he has and let the mud stains us together.. ! lol idiot !

don't blame if i am in love with him... as much as he is bouncy and tiring.. as much as i love his innocence and the way he cares about me.. when i ride with no stirrups... he'd slowly trot as slow as he can trying not to drop me off his back...

I missed him today.. my horse was a "nameless" horse.. one which i experienced another challenge with.. bareback riding (no saddle) ... few rounds.. few slow trots.. 10 steps cantering.. and on my back i land...

So now my nose is healed.. my rib seems to be fine .. my arm is back functioning... my old bruises are okay.. and today's back "shock" seems to be fine too.. its flexible and does the job ...!!! I guess i am ready for next class.. ;)

i know i spoke a lot about bandari.. but you cannot imagine the happiness i felt with him.. seriously he taught me a lot.. probably the difficult way.. but he is one horse that i am so in love with.. i might ask him out for dinner one day :p

A Last Dot:

No pain .. no gain..