We’ve all heard the saying that a dog or a cat can help extend a person’s life, but what if you live on a horse farm?
    This question is one that has been brewing in my brain for quite some time. Now don’t get me wrong, I like farms. The views and the animals are enough to keep me busy all day, but I am by no means a “farm person.”
     When I was young I lived in a small town outside of Augusta. Thankfully, my dad built our house on the “nice part of town.” It wasn’t that my town wasn’t nice, but mostly it was full of old white houses that were on the brink of falling down and properties that were holding cars hostage like automobile recycling factories.
    When I started attending elementary school I became “best friends” with a girl who lived down the street from us. We spent many sleepovers talking about boys, painting our nails and trying on costumes that gave us a feeling of super-stardom. Although I can’t say those days were the best of my life, the days that I remember the most are the days I would spend hanging out with the horses on her parent’s farm.
    I can still remember the first time I touched a horse.
    I had gone to my friend’s house to spend the night, which was exciting itself because it was also the first time I spent the night at her house. I can remember the driveway that extended almost a mile from the road to her doorstep. At the time, my family hadn’t paved our driveway and I could remember feeling excited that I actually knew someone who had a paved driveway, much less one that acted as an entrance to a castle. The fields that surrounded the house were completely fenced in with electrically-charged wires.
     After I was dropped off, her mom told us that we could go swimming until she was ready for us to come into the barn. After we dried off, her mom came to talk to us about horses, and the things we should and shouldn’t do when we first meet them. When she was ready, we walked out to the barn and began our horse adventure.
    Of course, meeting the horse wasn’t the hard part. It was getting me away from the horse that really proved to be the challenge. Now don’t get me wrong I wasn’t about to saddle up and jump on board like Indiana Jones. In fact, I refused to ride or feed the horse until the third time I ever touched one for fear of losing one or more of my limbs.
    I can remember asking my friend if we could try putting peanut butter in the horse’s mouth to see if it would talk like Mr. Ed. Although it was a harmless thought, we didn’t end up trying it because she was afraid of the consequences if her mom found out.
    When I started high school, my interest in horses grew significantly stronger. During a visit to another horse farm I actually had my first horse ride, which was an accomplishment since I was still a little frightened of horses.
    I remember the feeling of approaching a horse. The tall, muscular animal stood straight up as I flung my right leg over its body. I can remember how uncomfortable I was when I first got up there, mostly because I found the saddle to be a bit harder than I expected.
    Finally, when I was ready, my friend let go of the rope and I was galloping like a horseback riding professional. I remember the feeling as I looked over the land and pretended I was a fugitive from the law.   
    As I have grown older, my interest in horses hasn’t fluttered. In fact, for a short time I was lucky enough to visit a horse farm on a weekly basis. At the time, I was working in social services and brought a particular client to horseback riding lessons or therapy once a week. During my time on that farm I thought a lot about the relationship one builds with a horse.
    This particular farm specialized in the therapy a person gets just from riding, brushing and working one-on-one with the horse. I can remember the excitement in my client’s eyes when I would ask him if he was ready to go horseback riding.
    It was during these trips I really began to understand the relationship that forms between a person and a horse. During one session while my client was brushing the horse, I noticed it turn its head and look at my client, who was so preoccupied with brushing the horse he hadn’t noticed it was staring right at him. I remember the owner of the farm telling my client that he was tickling the horse by brushing the hair in the wrong direction. She told him that the horse was trying to tell him that.
    I remember the smile on my client’s face when he looked up at the horse, which continued to stare back, and the feeling of happiness that came over me when I saw that smile.
    Last weekend, while attending the open house at Breezy Meadows Horse Farm in Saco, those feelings of happiness came flooding back.
    The smile on the kids' faces when they realized they could ride a pony just for donating some food; the smile on the parent’s faces while they watched their kid take a ride on the pony around the indoor arena; the eruption of laughter after the horse flares its nostrils and sneezes all over an innocent farm enthusiast.  
    No matter where my life takes me, it is good to know that even a few farm animals can teach me a thing or two about life.