Dear Raudhetta:

I read the dispatch you wrote yesterday. Actually, you wrote it, and I transcribed it. I didn’t give much thought to it until today, when I had time to reread it, and think about it.

You did a very good job, speculating about what information you’d pass on to a young horse, should we ever get one. And your point, that a young horse would eventually need a younger rider, was well taken. None of us live forever, do we?

One thing you didn’t say is that our (meaning you and me) best riding years are right now. We are not old, but we are older. We both have 10 good years left (or thereabouts).

Alys and Raudi at the Happy Jack area in Wyoming

It was coincidental that I got you at a time in which I was in my riding prime. I did think that I knew more than I did about educating young horses; if I’d been younger, I would not have admitted this. I thought at the time that having an Associate’s Degree in Light Horse Science had served me well; what I’d failed to realize was that there were many, many gaps in my equine education.

I figured this out really quickly. And I worked hard to fill these gaps.

Today, I thought I did a good job. Before we set out on a ride, we worked on side passing and backing, this in preparation for the upcoming Competitive Trail ride, which is two weeks away.

You did amazingly well on the ride itself, picking your way along trails that the ATVers have turned into muddy quagmires. You did slip a few times but recovered your balance nicely. And you paced yourself going up the bench trail. There were areas that were muddy and slippery – you dug in and we made it to the top of the bench trail just fine. You also seemed less winded than when we did this ride before.

So I am looking forward to doing the Competitive Trail Ride on you. Pete will ride Tyra, so we’ll both have companions. I know you well and know that you get nervous when one of your herd mates isn’t with you. Oddly enough, you have no problem with going out on our trails alone, which is odd considering that you tend to get unraveled when we go elsewhere.

I am not going to work at changing this, as some would suggest. Rather, I accept this as one of the things about you that’s quirky. We can continue to make sure that Tyra or Hrimmi are out with us when we go on local trail rides.

Today we came across Karen who you know – she once owned Bea the horse. Bea, an Arab, died of chronic wasting disease. Karen, as you noticed, had a mid-sized tawny dog with her – it had the body of a greyhound and the head of a great Dane. Joey was very energetic. You just stood still while we talked, as did Tyra, Shadow, and Ryder. I was so proud of you. This is not the first time I have equated this emotion with you, and I’m sure it will not be the last.

Next: 193. 7/15/24: The Sky is Falling