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January 4, 2020: Walking Horses

I have always believed that if you want something bad enough, you’ll most likely get it. Also, if you want something but not bad enough, you most likely won’t get it. My experiences have borne me out repeatedly.

I have been revising If Wishes were Horses: A Returning Rider’s Search for the Perfect Horse – this book has passed the test of time – I think that it’s a good book, and that it will work well as the second half of a flip book with Raudi’s Story.

Rereading this book also brought back a lot of memories prior to my acquiring a horse. The horse bug bit and bit hard – why else would I take on a job pen cleaning at a neighboring farm; after all, it was a job that paid less than minimum wage.

Alys and Raudi and Ryder head down the trail
Alys and Raudi and Ryder head down the trail


One memory that I didn’t write about, but did come to mind, was of my walking down Murphy Road after visiting Karen, a neighbor. She’d just acquired a horse, an Arab mare named Bea. I’d just gone over to her place to check it out. On the return trip home, I envisioned myself walking my own horse home.

Today, the memory came back full circle. I first went riding with Pete – we went out on our trails. He rode Hrimmi and I rode Raudi. It was very cold, but we were both dressed for it. I was experimenting – the other day I purchased some over gators in Anchorage, and today I put them over my mukluks. This over wear did keep my feet warm and dry, which was partially why, after, I opted to take Tyra and Tinni for a hike.

We headed out down Pete’s ski trail; then I cut over on the corridor trail to Murphy Road. The horses were, from the onset, glad to be out. The first part of the walk took us through the edge of the Matanuska Moose Range and the second part, up road.

We three were walking along when I looked up and saw the most beautiful sight – the distant snow covered Talkeetna Range had a pink hue. This, against a robin’s egg blue sky. The sight about took my breath away. Add to this, to my left and right were two of my four equine friends, Tyra and Tinni. They were both off lead, and if they wished, they could have raced home. I’d hardly have blamed them because it was cold, and both knew that they had leftover hay waiting for them back at the barn.

Instead, they headed up road with me. Tyra bounced and Tinni trundled. This, I thought, as I looked at both of them, was what I wanted so badly, so many years previously. I once said to my friend Heather that we were horse poor. She said no, we are actually horse rich. Truer words were never spoken. Four horses is an embarrassment of riches. Add to this they enjoy being ridden and taken for walks.

They also seem to enjoy agility training. This, I could not imagine then doing years ago. I was then focused on getting Rainbow to do obstacle work.

It isn’t all that important to come full circle; rather, its important to acknowledge that you’ve come full circle.

Next: 5. 1/5/19: The Cold Snap Continues

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