Horses and Elephants, Oh My!

One day last summer, I saw a flyer for free horse-back rides at a local horse ... farm/boarding house/place, or whatever you call it. I made arrangements to take my then 3 year old. I don't know what I was expecting, maybe that Golden Book moment, where she develops a life-long love of horses (queue cute music here,) or a Black Beauty-like thing who would capture her little girl's heart and she would suddenly decide to work with horses when she grows up. I mean, a princess is a fine vocation (and I'm pretty sure that's her current goal) but being a princess doesn't pay the bills (or it better not anyway!) Every little girl loves horses, right?

I remember that I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was younger, because you got to work with animals all the time, and I thought that was a perfect job. I would have 10 dogs, several cats, a snake, a hamster... Then when I was 12, my parents took me with them when my Miniature Schnauzer was bred, and it was horrible! She yelped and my mom had to pull me back because I wanted that other dog off of her. My step-dad had to hold her still, so he was a little busy, and I cried the whole way home, hugging my poor not-a-virgin-anymore puppy. I was told that if it didn't "take" she might have to be taken into the vet to become pregnant. Vets don't do that, do they? Turns out they do. Traumatic to say the least, and the absolute end of my urge to work with animals. But I wanted better for my little princess.
 
It turned out I had to go into work that day for a meeting, so I asked my honey to take her instead. There's that look again! "Yes, I'm serious. I want to see if she's going to be an animal lover and want horseback riding lessons or something." He indulged me and took her, but really wasn't happy about it. I asked the boys if they wanted to go, and the youngest expressed interest, but he didn't get up early enough to go that day, so he was SOL.
 
So, princess and daddy went, and when I got back from work, my honey had an earful - "She screamed."
 
"At first? 'Cause I'm kind of intimidated by horses, maybe she is too. Did she stop screaming after the horse started moving?" I asked hopefully.
 
"No, the whole time. She screamed the whole time! She didn't stop until I put her back in the car, when she fell asleep." 
 
"The whole time? Even when she was riding? She didn't even stop while she was riding?" I ask, a little disappointed. I mean, the only thing better than being a veterinarian is having a daughter whose a veterinarian. Am I right or am I right?
 
"Well, I couldn't get her to stay on the horse at first. The minute I put her on the back, she went from whimpering to screeching at the top of her lungs. The other parents were looking at me like I was tormenting her, so I took her off. She didn't like it."
 
"Huh. Well, maybe she's too young, we'll try again when she's older," I tell him. He rolls his eyes, and mumbles something about not with him. I pretended I didn't hear him.
 
A few months after this, she attended her older girl cousin's birthday party, which featured (drum roll please!) you guessed it, horseback riding (wanh wanh wanh!) I was a little apprehensive, but hopeful. With her beloved and adored older cousin looking on, my little princess just had to fall in love with horses. See, by this time she's playing with My Little Pony, reading (or actually listening to) horse and pony books, and petting horses when she gets a chance (Nana and Poppa live in the country next door to horses.) This is my shot! Soon she'll develop an abiding and constant love of animals.....
 
She rode the horses, and it was ... alright. When it was her turn, she looked around, waved at me while I took pictures, and then wasn't really interested in it anymore. Fucking fabulous! Little girls love horses, dammit! Well, that idea's shot all to hell. Maybe she can be an engineer, or a mathme-never mind. And then I put this wonderful dream of veterinarian school away. I guess she'll be what she wants to be, except a princess. (As far as I know, those spots are filled.)
 
This week, she's with Nana and Poppa at her cousin's house. We get a text that she rode horses again. Her dad wondered if she screamed. I told him about the last birthday party (which he had attended, but stayed in the air conditioning with his brother-in-law) and how she did fine with the horses, but wasn't really interested or excited about it. Then the next text arrived: And she rode an elephant. WTF? What kind of place has horses and elephants? The zoo? The circus? Her dad laughed, wondering how she did on the elephant. I guess I'll find out when she gets back. I hope they took pictures, this I've got to see! Zoologists work with elephants! That sounds like a fun job....