horses

Like many other little girls, Jillian has become obsessed with horses.  We live in an area with lots of farms and she's always pointing out horses as we drive by.  I have a friend with daughters have been riding for over a year now and I thought it would be nice to take the kids to the farm to check it out. 

If you couldn't tell by Jillian's huge grin and constant interaction with the horse, she is in love and can't wait to try a riding lesson herself.  I'm a bit on the fence about this hobby...on one hand I think horseback riding is an amazing activity, especially for Jillian who is emotional, I think connecting with a horse and mastering how to ride would be great.  On the other hand it's freaking expensive!  This farm looks great, the horses are obviously loved, there's a large indoor arena for bad weather days as well as lots of room outdoors for riding.  And I don't need to commit to a large number of lessons, we can try it out for a few weeks, paying as we go until we see if Jillian wants to pursue this hobby and if we can fit it into the budget.  For now I'm excited to see my girl ride on Monday.  If her experience helping her friend look after this horse on Friday is any indication she will love riding.

Kyle enjoyed helping N with her horse, both brushing and cleaning and then getting him out to the field and giving him a treat

Leah wasn't a fan of the barn with the dogs around (although they were very nice dogs who didn't bother us at all).  But she did like being held up close to pet the horses

Jillian walking with her friend E who so nicely explained everything about the horses.