A horse story
I had a shitty day today. It was fine most of the day, except towards the end things started happening that annoyed me/pissed me off.
So, I decided to go out to the barn. I needed it. The person who owns the place is a wonderful woman who invites me out to freeride every once in a while. I use her horse (who I've been riding for about a year now -- a wonderful gray quarter horse named Henry), and facilities, mostly because Henry needs the work. Like I said, a wonderful woman.
So I went out. I was tired, pissy, hungry, and had a major headache. I figured I would give it a shot and if I felt bad, I'd do some groundwork with Henry, untangle his tail, and go home. I walked out into the field to get him. As usual, he didn't come to greet me, but he did perk up when I walked out to get him. His field mate, a chestnut Tennessee Walker named Deacon, decided he wanted attention and stuck his muzzle in my face. Henry got a little jealous and joined him.
There are few things finer in this world than the feel of a warm, soft, horse muzzle against your cheek when it's 35 degrees out and you've had a shitty day. I just stood there for a second, listening to the horses breathe against my cheek.
Horses don't care if you've had a shitty day. They don't care if xmas has sent you over your budget. They don't care if you forgot to take the clothes out of the dryer. And when you're with them, you don't care anymore, either. All you do care about is the peace of their large brown eyes, the humor of a well-timed snort, the partnership of a collected canter, or the freedom of an all-out gallop.
I rode Henry for a while and did some bareback work. I finally realized my headache was gone when I went to put him back in his field. It was a crisp and clear winter night. The stars were out and I leaned against Henry to share some of his warmth. He shifted his weight so that he was lightly leaning against me, too. We stood there for a second, just looking at the stars on top of that hill.
In this world, there are few things finer.
So, I decided to go out to the barn. I needed it. The person who owns the place is a wonderful woman who invites me out to freeride every once in a while. I use her horse (who I've been riding for about a year now -- a wonderful gray quarter horse named Henry), and facilities, mostly because Henry needs the work. Like I said, a wonderful woman.
So I went out. I was tired, pissy, hungry, and had a major headache. I figured I would give it a shot and if I felt bad, I'd do some groundwork with Henry, untangle his tail, and go home. I walked out into the field to get him. As usual, he didn't come to greet me, but he did perk up when I walked out to get him. His field mate, a chestnut Tennessee Walker named Deacon, decided he wanted attention and stuck his muzzle in my face. Henry got a little jealous and joined him.
There are few things finer in this world than the feel of a warm, soft, horse muzzle against your cheek when it's 35 degrees out and you've had a shitty day. I just stood there for a second, listening to the horses breathe against my cheek.
Horses don't care if you've had a shitty day. They don't care if xmas has sent you over your budget. They don't care if you forgot to take the clothes out of the dryer. And when you're with them, you don't care anymore, either. All you do care about is the peace of their large brown eyes, the humor of a well-timed snort, the partnership of a collected canter, or the freedom of an all-out gallop.
I rode Henry for a while and did some bareback work. I finally realized my headache was gone when I went to put him back in his field. It was a crisp and clear winter night. The stars were out and I leaned against Henry to share some of his warmth. He shifted his weight so that he was lightly leaning against me, too. We stood there for a second, just looking at the stars on top of that hill.
In this world, there are few things finer.