Horse Riding

After the initial shock of the first few seconds of being on the horse and trotting, the instructor hurts me yet again when he makes the horse gallop. We passed by a few houses and stables, took a right, passed a cemetery, took a left, and then finally, we were greeted by the amazing sight of the desert.

In the desert, the horse would start by taking small, slow steps, which would then be replaced by the annoying trot, after being given a stroke or two of the instructor's stick. During the trot, your feet will have to stick into the 'tempat letak kaki', and believe me, it was extremely hard to do so. You would be bouncing too much. When trotting, you also need to kinda, stand and sit (which is why you need to keep your feet in the 'tempat letak kaki'). It hurt so much, I could've puked. While on the horse for the first time, I was dizzy from the height I was from, sitting on the horse. My foot, of which, only a little bit should be in the 'tempat letak kaki' (one of the reasons why the stand-n-sit was so hard to do), was going in and out. I was afraid of hurting the horse, which was why my instructor was beating the horse for me. Man oh man, was I a beginner.

Suddenly, the instructor lashed again a few times at the horse. The first 2 times made the horse go on the trot. And while I was still trying to cope, the instructor struck again, thus, sending the horse into a gallop.

Now, before the class, my instructor's boss, told us that it was better to go just before 'Maghrib' as there were less people, and you were less likely to run into others. I was wondering, "The desert is HUGE! What are the odds of hitting others?" Apparently, the odds of hitting others are even more HUGE. Yes, the desert was huge and all. But at the pace of the horse's gallop, you could cover huge distances, in such a short time. For example, imagine yourself in a desert. Sejauh mata memandang kinda desert. Now, let there be a few hills of sands. Now, focus on the furthest hill. From where you are in your mind, to that hill, on a horse, would take you 10-20 seconds. If you do not get what I'm saying, too bad.

Now, to describe the gallop. It took me a while to get used to it. But, during my first gallop, I felt free. The wind was blowing. Everything was a blur. I mean, it made me feel so free, I felt like shouting 'Woohoo!' at the top of my lungs, which of course I did. However, although the gallop brought me an amazing feeling, stopping brought me an amazing sense of relief. I was just not used to it. The gallop was throwing me all over the saddle. And since us male species have stuff between our legs, bouncing... really hurt.

After the painful round of gallops and trots, we stopped by a 'tempat persinggahan' where, some Bedouins set up camp, and a drink vendor. Somehow, here, their coke tastes better. Anyway, we sat, rested, admired the view. My sis took pics, of which you can see here. My instructor sat and drank. I sat and stroked the horses. And the horses... they.... no idea. The pic above. That's me in the weird boots. That's my instructor, with the cap. That's the Bedouin place I mentioned. Looked more like a fortress than a pit stop.

Sad story time. I was sitting down this one time, at this pit stop, doing the usual, stroking the horses, drinking, etc. When we noticed a guy try to discipline his horse. The horse wasn't even doing much. No idea what was going on, but the guy kept hitting the horse with the stick, then, tired with the horse, (he was still smiling, and he never stopped smiling) he took a rock, and hit the horse's chin, from below. The horse started cowering to another horse. It rubbed its head against the other horses neck. And I noticed it kept licking. Then it opened it's mouth to reveal it full of blood. It was bleeding profusely. Its whole mouth was smeared with blood. And there it was rubbing it's head against the other horse, and licking it's mouth. The guy, was still smiling.

My instructor said that the guy was a bad man. Horses are smart creatures. Usually, hit a few times and let it be. They'll understand and listen. Never ever use a rock. Try using your hand first, then a stick. (When riding, try kicking lightly first, then use a stick). Poor thing. Anyway, these were the horses we rode. The white one was my instructor's favorite. The middle one was mine. It's name is Dahlia. A very good, obedient horse. Sweats too much though. The left one was my sister's. My sister's horse had to be pulled by my instructor. Apparently it was a more 'spirited' horse. It kept tugging at the reins, thus, not suitable for beginners like me. Still learning how to handle this stupid horse. Very annoying.