Is riding a horse easy?

Riding a horse seems easy enough especially when watching cowboys and knights do it in the movies. Yet years ago, during a vacation in a California ranch, I rode a horse for the first time only to discover horridly that it was hard as hell! A horse’s back is so unstable and the hardness of the saddle compounded my utter discomfort. If not for the risk of embarrassing myself in front of some kids who seemed to be having no problems whatsoever with their horse riding, I would not have held on and just allowed myself to fall off my horse.