Senior Lindsey Munshaur takes the lead in horse care
By Miranda Sell
These days, many high school students have expensive things: sports cars, Jordan’s, designer clothes, handbags, you name it. But for senior Lindsey Munshaur, owning one of the most expensive things possible for a teenager, thoroughbred Tennessee Walker horses, is not a status symbol, or child’s play for that matter.
Munshaur’s two horses are kept at her family’s cabin in Borden. She takes care of the horses every weekend for about two hours, and has a neighbor feeds them throughout the school week.
The horse fan said she would not hire someone to take care of her horses full time, given the chance.
“I want to go out there and be with them,” she said. “That special bond you get with the horses, it’s something I’ve always loved to do.”
It’s no wonder Munshaur enjoys taking care of horses so much, considering they’ve been a part of her life since she was eight years old and she was feeding her neighbor’s 20 horses everyday.
“If I didn’t take care of them I would get depressed,” Munshaur said. “I wanted to go out there and take care of them everyday. It was my job.”
The avid horse fan wasn’t always so thumbs-up when it came to horses, however.
“As a kid I was deathly afraid of horses,” she said. “I wouldn’t even get out of the truck if there was one around.”
Something must have changed Munshaur’s mind when it comes to the apparent love she has for them now.
“Laura Marquis, my former neighbor, has inspired me more than any other person in the world,” Munshaur said. “She brought horses into my life.”
Although it’s clear the seventeen-year-old enjoys the caretaking aspect of owning horses, after just a few minutes of conservation it’s just as clear she loves riding as well.
“This is funny,” she laughs. “The first time I rode my horse, Angel, I was so excited. My neighbor slammed her car door while I was riding her. Angel freaked out and I fell off and broke my arm.”
Even after breaking her arm the first time she rode a horse, at such a vulnerable age, Munshaur has never gotten off the saddle. With such an aptitude for caretaking, a passion for riding, and an unmistakable love for horses, one might ask what Munshaur plans on doing in the future with such valuable assets.
“As my career I want to work with horses and take care of them,” Munshaur said.
So what makes everything worthwhile when it comes to horses?
“Being away from everything else and having that bond with your horse, I don’t get that with anything else,” Munshaur said. “You don’t get that with a hamster.”