Derina Pyles
Horse Sense
The winter was shaping up to be one of the wettest of the last few years. Because of this, Traveler and I were confined to the covered riding arena every day. I could tell he was getting bored, and we were falling into a riding rut. We were both getting frustrated, and I had slipped into a bad habit of micromanaging his every move. After our last training session had ended in an argument, I knew we had to regroup, rethink, and restart.
“Hey, Hay-Woman, what’s the plan for today? Walk, trot, lope, then more walk, trot, lope, maybe throw in a spin or two, then more walk, lope?” He didn’t attempt to hide the sarcasm in his voice.
“Nope! Not today. We are changing it up!” His head shot up from the ground where he was dragging it to look as pitiful as possible. “Do you remember when I came back from my last clinic and told you I had learned some new tricks? I literally meant that. We learned to lie down, bow, and sit.”
“Sounds like you wasted your money. How hard is it for a human to lie down, bow, and sit? Furthermore, why were they teaching you that at a clinic for horses?”
I burst out laughing. Soon I was snorting, which made Traveler cackle. This went on for several side-splitting minutes as we kept it going laughing at each other.
“Wait, what are we laughing at?” He asked, confused.
I caught my breath and answered, “You nut, at the clinic, I learned to teach YOU how to lie down, bow, and sit. I was thinking, since we have been so bored and penned up in the arena, this will be a great time to learn those.”
“Oh.” His mood changed abruptly.
“What’s wrong? I thought you would be excited to learn something new.”
“Well, let me think about it,” he stammered.
“This isn’t like you, Traveler. You always enjoy learning new things. Plus, it looks so cool! You’ll be the envy of every horse in the barn,” I said, trying to assure him. His big brown eyes looked at me intently.
“I know, and I want to learn them, I really do, Hay-Woman.” He chose his words carefully and I could tell he was nervous about what he was going to say next. “Those tricks require a lot of,” he paused, “trust.”
“For sure they do!” My agreement set him at ease and he took a long, deep sigh. “Let’s make a pact. We will go slow, step-by-step until you are comfortable, before we move on. I take very seriously your trust in me. Some parts will be scary, but we will do it together!” Traveler looked thoughtful and I knew he was thinking of the perfect Bible verse.
“Psalm 56:3 says, ‘What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.’” I felt so blessed at that moment. “I love you, Traveler, more than you’ll ever know. Now let’s get to work so you can show off those new skills come spring.”
