The rabbi shook his head. “Ilana, it’s not the horse that wants to be on the side, it’s you”
I f felt like something out of the prairie. There we were in a long line of horses. Rabbi Eckstein in a cowboy hat and vest was in the lead. David rode somewhere in the middle bright red first-aid bag strapped to his back and Yoram brought up the rear. I was number four in the line; Ilana rode in front of me. Dahlia and the others brought our total to ten.
Our instructions were fairly simple: Stay in line. We talked some among ourselves but mostly we just took in the refreshing air the peacefulness of the countryside and the thrill of being propelled forward by the powerful beasts beneath us.
When you’re out on a trail ride horses pretty much play follow the leader; whatever the horse in front of you does your horse does. Sometimes they defend their personal space with a threat sometimes they squabble but mostly they’re complacent and plod along willingly. Staying in line then was not an overly complicated instruction even on the somewhat narrow trail we traveled.
Ilana though seemed to be having trouble. Her horse Topaz kept stepping out of line and moving toward the front. Ilana tugged the reins to the left but her efforts met with only partial success.
