Have you ever heard the expression, “Putting the cart before the
horse?” I grew up around horses. You see, my dad was a summer camp director during most of the 1980s. When we lived in Alabama, every summer was spent at Camp Alamisco. This was the first place I rode a horse and also the last
place for a long time. When I first got on a horse, I got bucked off!
That scared me enough that I avoided horses for a very long time.

Now I occasionally will scramble up on the saddle. For the past year and a half, I’ve helped my wife with the chores of caring for her horses, since her family owns three horses. As I care for the horses, I sense that I still have a fear/respect for them. Their size alone
commands respect. The largest of the three is a Morgan at about 15 hands high (learn this fancy term for horse height here.) and I’m guessing it weighs around
1000 lbs.

Speaking of putting the cart before the horse? You may be asking, “Should I learn to care for a horse first or should I learn to ride a horse first?” My wife, and my
expert on horses, says care for the horse and learn the behavior of horses
first. “It is important to understand what is involved in housing,
training, feeding, cleaning stalls, and grooming,” she says. “The horse needs to trust
you as well as respect and obey you.”

Check out the Pathfinder Horse Husbandry Honor.