Horseback Riding

Anyone who knows Abigail knows she loves horses. By 16 months old, she was obsessed. No kidding. She would have rather played with her horse figures than play with other children...including her brothers and sister. As she has matured, she has become more balanced in her affection for horses. We did not realize how much she loved them until we moved to where we live now when she was just over a year old. Our neighbor has horses. He would ride by our house and Abigail would run out to the road, sometimes in only her diaper, usually barefooted, and he would lift her up onto the horse with him so she could get her 'fix'. He doesn't come by as often anymore due to all the fences that have been put up so getting to ride doesn't happen much at all anymore. I thought I would surprise her for her birthday and work it out so she could ride today and our neighbor, "Frady" was kind enough to oblige. We were there for about an hour and Abby rode nearly the whole time. Emily went, also, and was able to ride a few turns around the barn. They rode "Cody". He's a gentle horse and one we've known since we moved here. One of the few that Frady has kept around. Enjoy the pictures. The birthday party is tomorrow for her and Noah.

Getting reacquainted with Cody while Frady saddled him up.

A crash course on how to steer, stop and go.

At first, Frady walked with them but he had recently been kicked by another horse,
so he didn't do that very long because his leg was hurting.

A very happy little girl.

All by herself!

I just love this picture. I believe Abby could have ridden all day long.