My very first riding lesson

Well, not exactly riding..
First things first, find a fantastic teacher, with a horse of course, and then meet the horse. Which is what I did the entire first lesson. For two hours "Shorty" (that's the horse) and I walked and grazed. I pet him on his mane, his back, his butt, his tail, I brushed him, he had treats from my hand, we connected.
I read a book from a friend of mine, the title I will put on my blog later, but it said over and over again how important it is for the owner/rider to have a relationship with the horse. So did my teacher, Robyn. So that's what we did. Met each other. All three of us actually.
The first thing Robyn did when we walked outside was call for Tonto and Shorty. Tonto is a Tennessee Walker, and Shorty is a Morgan. They came running from the side of the pasture. She called them, and they came, my dog won't do that! We fed them cookies, horse treats, hand flat. Did you know horses will lick your hand? I didn't but it is the coolest thing! At first I was a little apprehensive, thinking if I don't have a treat in my hand he might try to nibble on my fingers, but no, they lick you..shock! I was in love from that moment on.
After that discovery, Robyn showed me a bridle and lead rope. Yes, I know, I don't know the technical jargon, but hey, if I keep this up which I plan to, I'll be talking with the rest of them! Just wait and see. Robyn put the bridle on Shorty, all the while I am watching with pure fascination, and she walked this magnificent creature. Roughly 900 pounds of animal was following her. How amazing is that! It was my turn. She put the lead rope in my hand, not around my hand but folded it so if Shorty ran away he wouldn't take me with him. Good. So, I am walking Shorty! I'm nervous, I'm anxious, this is the beginning of something I have wanted to do my entire life but just haven't had a chance to. Now I am doing it. Way...too... cool! Shorty starts out walking behind me, just past my shoulders, but then he gets to where his head is ahead of me. Robyn stops us and gives me a pointer. Give the rope a tail, when he gets in front of you twirl it in front of him and he will drop back. When he does, stop twirling. Keep walking. If you notice him doing it again, twirl the rope. I did it! He fell back and I stopped twirling. Then, after that walk a couple times around the back yard, I stopped so Shorty could eat some grass, the good stuff growing where he can't reach. Robyn and I talked and talked, and answered each others questions. All the while I am petting Shorty up and down the side of his mane, his body, his buttocks around the tail, brushing him, leaning on him putting my hands and arms over his back and putting my head down on him. I never knew a horse smelled so good. She asked what kind of riding I wanted to do? Well, I already knew that one, trail riding. She asked if I wanted to learn jumping or anything like that. Hmm...well, I suppose there might be a time that could come in handy when your trail riding. A limb, anything. So she will teach me some jumping as well. Yay!! I will be riding western. Once a week to start.