The following conversation with Hrimmi took place this morning. We were walking around the loop road. We had Ryder with us.

Alys: Hrimmi, how areyou today?
Hrimmi: I am very well, thank you.
A: And you’re up for a walk?
H: Yes I am. I’m feeling good. You know, when you come into the pen, we all know that we have a one in four chance of being taken out.
A: Sometimes we take two of you out.
H: That’s usually when we are going for a ride.
A: That’s right.
H: And we get to hang out and eat hay while you groom us and saddle us up.

A: Yes. That’s so.
H: How do you decide who you are taking on a walk?
A: I do think about it beforehand. Today I first took Tinni out because it had been a few days since he’d been out and I sensed that he was stiff.
H: But he moved right out, didn’t he?
A: Yes he did.
H: And today, your reason for your second choice?
A: Pete hadn’t ridden you for a few days, so I decided you were next. I would have ridden you but the road is a bit icy.
H: You could have put my ice boots on me.
A: Pete is finishing up putting studs in them.
H: Studs? Didn’t know there were any of them around here. Raudi will be excited to hear this.
A: Studs have two meanings. The definition you are referring to is ungelded male horse.
H: Yes!
A: The second definition is small screws that go into the bottom of the boots.
H: Why are there two differing definitions for the same thing?
A: I don’t know.
H: How can you tell the difference?
A: We have a context specific language.
H: I don’t know what that is.
A: Ask Tyra, she can explain this to you far better than I am able to.
H: Tyra thinks she’s smarter than she is.
A: You each have your virtues.
H: And mine?
A: You are very patient. And when you are puzzled by something, you stop and think about it.
H: Yes, that’s right.
A: And you are by far our best agility horse. You were brilliant this past month, doing agility. You figured out how to do the star pattern and then did a wonderful job.
H: Thank you. We all like how you are now using the targets to train us.
A: In the December video, you all have to do a trick. What would you like your trick to be?
H: I’m not sure yet. Let me think about it some.
A: That’s what I mean by brilliant – you think things out.
H: Yes.
A: Anything special you’d like for Christmas?
H: Yes. I want to learn to paint. I have heard of other horses that do this.
A: I’m afraid you’ll eat the brush.
H: Get one with a plastic handle.
A: Wouldn’t you rather learn to play a musical instrument?
H: No. Raudi wants to learn to do that.
A: And Tyra?
H: She wants to do the carrot stretch where she touches her rear leg with her nose.
A: Well, its all do-able. But first we have to plow the arena and set up the course.
H: You do that. Oh by the way –
A: By the way, what?
H: Thanks for shoveling out the front areas of the horse pens. This way the poop stays put and doesn’t get ground into the snow.
A: You noticed.
H: I notice everything.

End: 339. 12/5/18: Community