This sums it up for me...

And this is why I hope Carrie is interested in horses... (please pardon any typos...I copy and pasted this just as it was received)

Horse Power
Author Unknown
My daughter turned sixteen years old today; which is a milestone for mostpeople. Besides looking at baby photos and childhood trinkets with her, Itook time to reflect on the young woman my daughter had become and thechoices she would face in the future. As I looked at her I could see theathlete she was, and determined woman she would soon be. I started thinking about some the girls we knew in our town who were alreadypregnant, pierced in several places, hair every color under the sun, dropouts, drug addicts and on the fast track to no where, seeking surfaceidentities because they had no inner self esteem. The parents of these samegirls have asked me why I "waste" the money on horses so my daughter canride. I'm told she will grow out of it, lose interest, discover boys and allkinds of things that try to pin the current gen eration's "slacker" label onmy child. I don't think it will happen, I think she will love and havehorses all her life. Because my daughter grew up with horses she has compassion. She knows thatwe must take special care of the very young and the very old. We must makesure those without voices to peak of their pain are still cared for. Because my daughter grew up with horses she learned responsibility forothers than herself. She learned that regardless of the weather you muststill care for those you have the stewardship of. There are no "days off"just because you don't feel like being a horse owner that day. She learnedthat for every hour of fun you have there are days of hard slogging work youmust do first. Because my daughter grew up with horses she learned not to be afraid ofgetting dirty and that appearances don't matter to most of the breathingthings in the world we live in. Horses do not care about designer clothes,jew elry, pretty hairdos or anything else we put on our bodies to try toimpress others. What a horse cares about are your abilities to work withinhis natural world, he doesn't care if you're wearing $80.00 jeans while youdo it. Because my daughter grew up with horses she learned about sex and how it canboth enrich and complicate lives. She learned that it only takes one time toproduce a baby, and the only way to ensure babies aren't produced is not tobreed. She learned how babies are planned, made, born and, sadly, sometimesdie before reaching their potential. She learned how sleepless nights andtrying to outsmart a crafty old broodmare could result in getting to see, asnon-horse owning people rarely do, the birth of a true miracle. Because my daughter grew up with horses she understands the value of money.Every dollar can be translated into bales of hay, bags of feed or farriervisits. Purchasing non-necessities during lean times can mean the differencebetween feed and good care, or neglect and starvation. She has learned tojudge the level of her care against the care she sees provided by others andto make sure her standards never lower, and only increase as her knowledgegrows. Because my daughter grew up with horses she has learned to learn on her own.She has had teachers that cannot speak, nor write, nor communicate beyondbody language and reactions. She has had to learn to "read" her surroundingsfor both safe and unsafe objects, to look for hazards where others mightonly see a pretty meadow. She has learned to judge people as she judgeshorses. She looks beyond appearances and trappings to see what is within. Because my daughter grew up with horses she has learned sportsmanship to ahigh degree. Everyone that competes fairly is a winner. Trophies and ribbonsmay prove someone a winner, but they do not prove someone is a horseman. Shehas also learned that s ome people will do anything to win, regardless of whoit hurts. She knows that those who will cheat in the show ring will alsocheat in every other aspect of their life and are not to be trusted. Because my daughter grew up with horses she has self-esteem and an engagingpersonality. She can talk to anyone she meets with confidence, because shehas to express herself to her horse with more than words. She knows thesatisfaction of controlling and teaching a 1000 pound animal that will yieldwillingly to her gentle touch and ignore the more forceful and inepthandling of those stronger than she is. She holds herself with poise andprofessionalism in the company of those far older than herself. Because my daughter grew up with horses she has learned to plan ahead. Sheknows that choices made today can effect what happens five years down theroad. She knows that you cannot care for and protect your investmentswithout savings to fall back on. S he knows the value of land and buildings.And that caring for your vehicle can mean the difference between easy travelor being stranded on the side of the road with a four horse trailer on a hotday. When I look at what she has learned and what it will help her become, I canhonestly say that I haven't "wasted" a penny on providing her with horses. Ionly wish that all children had the same opportunities to learn theselessons from horses before setting out on the road to adulthood.