Riding into the sunset

This month I read another letter by a reader who is hanging up her spurs because her horse is getting older and so is she (“The End of the Ride,” Letters, EQUUS 495). This makes me so sad. I will be 75 years old on my next birthday and my horse is a 14-year-old Arabian cross.

I live in Missouri but travel out West most of the summer and fall by myself with my horse and my dog. I mostly dry camp on Bureau of Land Management or U.S. Forest Service land. I haul our water in two 35-gallon tanks on the back of my truck, have a camp stove and a small nylon tent shower. What more do you need?

I travel alone but meet a lot of wonderful people on the way. It is heartwarming how many older adults are out there with me riding and enjoying the amazing beauty this country has to offer. There are plenty of us who are 70-plus years old and our horses are of various ages, even up in the 30s. I wish you would write a series of articles on older adults and how they adjust to continue their horsey lifestyle. It sure would be a lot more positive read! As I tell my family: “If I die on my horse, you know I died happy.” Sandy R. Smith Curryville, Missouri