It took me 10 years to get back on a horse...

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​It took me 10 years to get back on a horse... I was so afraid for so long...
Have you ever fallen off a horse, physically or metaphorically speaking? 

It is not always easy to get back on...here's my story...
When I was a young teenager I used to love going riding horses, so I constantly would ask my dad if he'd take me riding to a place not too far from home called Xochimilco, where some people would have horses for hire for riding around the local grounds and the forest surrounding the area.

My dad, now and again would give in, after my bugging him to take me, and would take me there on a Sunday. It was, I guess, it was a break for him too from the clutter of the workweek.
Whenever we got there, there were always a few guys with several horses and they would try to pitch their horses to the people passing by, saying things like... "Sir, sir, these are really nice and friendly horses, especially for kids. This one here is so docile and friendly and knows his way around the grounds, I'll give you a good deal.." 

Anyway, we'd always look at the horses and some of them looked tired and a bit scrawny, some looked like they hadn't eaten in a long time...and when we'd spot a good looking horse, not too big and not too small and ok looking, we'd ask for the hire price and dad would haggle for a good deal, a must in Mexico...got to haggle...

One day I got on this "docile horse" and went on riding it as always, then as we were heading down a path something spooked my horse and he bolted! Jumped over a fallen tree and my stirrups went off flying!
I was bouncing all over the place trying to stop the horse, pulling the reins left right and centre, shouting at the horse to stop awww... awww... awww... as they do in Mexico, I'm sure I didn't swear at all, just in case dad was nearby... then the horse jumped onto a road and headed towards I don't know where at what seemed a thousand miles an hour and then... the inevitable...I fell and I must've landed head first! (Helmets were non-existent in those days)
I lost consciousness and came to a while later in the arms of a woman who was sitting by a tree and we were surrounded by her family... her husband was furious and saying things I couldn't understand and then my dad and my eldest brother came about looking for me and then the man started telling my dad off, "how could you let your child go riding these animals on his own!?"

Anyhow...I was rushed to the hospital for a scan, no ambulance needed, we just got in the car and drove to the hospital and went straight to the A&E so that they could look at me immediately. They checked me out after a long wait and said I was OK and apart from a few minor scratches and bruises I was absolutely fine.

Needless to say, it was the end of my riding horses in Xochimilco, I didn't want to be near a horse for quite some time and even though we never talked about it I never asked dad to take me riding ever again...

I was probably around 15 years old at that time and it took me 10 years to get back on a horse again one day, when I was living in Israel back in 1985.
The kibbutz I lived in had a ranch up on the Golan Heights and they had horses there. One day at the ranch one of the kibbutz leaders said to me "You are Mexican, right? so you must know how to ride horses, right? ( I guess he'd only seen Mexicans in western movies) and I answered, sure, of course, I do.

Then he said "There, why don't you take that horse for a ride..." and there he was a beautiful looking horse looking at me in the eye, challenging me, like saying... "I dare you..."
I took a deep breath and went towards him thinking, yup, it is time to get back on the horse...I can't be afraid for the rest of my life... and as soon as I got on it was like I'd never been off the saddle ever!
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I was happy and the horse could feel that, we started gently and soon enough we were galloping around... OMG! I'd missed that ...

I was finally back on a horse and I felt like I could do anything from then on...

The moral of the story, I guess, is breaking fear barriers, especially after falling off a horse, metaphorically speaking or not, it is a must for anyone wanting to move forward in life, no matter what it is...
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Just take a deep breath and get on with it...
#mexikiwi