The day I’ve been dreading has arrive. Pete’s now on his way to California, leaving me here, to tend to the place. In California the sun’s shining. Here, it was overcast but is now raining. I have my fingers crossed that the temperature does not drop and we have a freeze. I don’t have to go anywhere, but ice is no fun to deal with, not even on the home front.

This afternoon I had a plan. I intended to play with Tinni a bit, in the Playground of Higher Learning, and then play with Raudi a bit, and then ride Raudi and pony Tinni. All went as expected, sort of.

I was puttering around in the Playground when Tinni walked up and into the space. He did not have a halter on. I’d intentionally left his gate open. I want him to self-exercise because he has become somewhat sedentary. Tinni’s entering this space meant that he was curious and wanted to know what we might do together. I did not disappoint. He stood on the mat and we did carrot stretches. Together, we also walked around poles and weave cones. I put the panther walk lunge whip in front of him and a few times he touched it with his nose, for which he was rewarded. He licked his lips a lot. I don’t know what this meant.

Between activities I stood still and did some of my imagery exercises. It was then that I had a revelation, which was that this area is not a playground. Rather, it’s a Dojo, a place where the horses and I can interact in an autonomous fashion. And if the mood strikes us, we can do some work.

The afternoon continued. I walked back down to the paddock and puttered around there for a bit. Tinni returned to his pen, walked in, and began eating hay. I next let Raudi out. She didn’t have a halter on either. She followed me up to the Dojo and I did a bit more with her than I did with Tinni. Her panther walk is coming along nicely. She isn’t fond of crunches. I did not force the issue. Rather, I asked her to do them when she came to me. And when she did, I made a really big deal out of it.

After, I took Tinni and Raudi out for a ride, ponying Tinni and riding Raudi. I dropped Tinni’s line a few times, once on the trail home. He raced ahead. I considered hopping off Raudi because I thought she might bolt. But no, I stayed put. And she walked at an energetic pace all the way back to where Tinni and Ryder were waiting for us, at the trailhead. This is significant because it attests to the fact that, indeed, she’s now a reliable trail horse. And it attests to the fact that my alignment is such that I can indicate to her what speed I want her to go at.

I don’t know how much horsey interaction I’ll have in the next few days. This is going to depend on what the weather decides to do.

Next: 297. 10/27/17: The Writing Life: Over the Hump