This blog post is to explore the undeniable correlation
between horseback riding and bodaboda riding.
Now, I was born and raised in Kansas, and while I did not
grow up on a farm, we did grow up with an appreciation for the rural Kansas
ways of life. When we were kids the best vacation was going to Grandma and
Grandpa’s farm. There was something very mystically enticing to me about the
farm and way it ran. I had a fascination for animals from the farm cats which
ran around the barn to the cows we would help haul grain buckets for.
So whenever I got the chance to mount up and ride horses you
can bet that I took the opportunity. Most of them were just retired mares
following the horse in from them type trail rides, but I still took the
opportunity. When I was a young girl I went through an “obsession with horses”
phase where I read up on so many horse things, even subscribed to a horse
supply catalog for a while. While my practical experience lagged behind, my
head knowledge of horses was fairly thorough at the time.
When my best friend in college had a horse and offered to
let me come riding with her (like actual riding) you can imagine my excitement
to do just that, and I thoroughly enjoyed every ride we got to enjoy
together.
Now, when you are riding horses at anything more than a walk
you need to know a few things. There are gaited horses, which are generally
easier to sit (ie, less pain on the bum), and non-gaited horses (pain). When a
horse moves at a trot, canter, or gallop the rider has to adjust the way they
sit to allow for the impact of the hooves hitting the ground and the muscles
alternating. The best way to combat this is called posting, which is when you
move in time with the rhythm and move your bum up and away from the saddle in
time with when you would have been bounced otherwise. It is a certain rhythm and once you catch the
rhythm, it’s almost something akin to dancing with your legs and hips. If you
don’t post then you bounce around like a sack of potatoes and the quickly
compounding pain to the seating area makes you wonder why you ever agreed to
get on this confounded animal in the first place. *pardon my extremely
lay-person explanation of this.*
Flip to boda-bodas… The same is true here. A person must
anticipate the bumps, potholes, and other such obstacles which are no doubt to
be had on the streets of Kampala. And stand up slightly from your seat to
combat the impact of the wheels hitting uneven ground. I find myself feeling
like I am posting (minus the rhythm).
For safety, they recommend that you wear a helmet with both
horseback riding and mounting a boda-boda. But let’s be honest… we are just too
cool for that. I mean, it messes up your hair… which should be able to flow
dramatically in the wind…
Speaking of wind… the wind in your hair from a galloping
horse, and the wind from a speeding boda… both quite exhilarating, though the
former feels quite a bit more natural.
Side-saddle is just not practical… in either case.
You may get thrown off. I have. From both a horse (the
stirrup broke). And from a boda-boda (hit a pothole in the dark).
There is a strong chance that having experienced either one,
you will fall in love and strongly desire to own one of your own.
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