Today I decided to do something that you would have approved of. After I finished a 20-minute walk, I pulled up a grooming box and sat down in the stall with Stetson for some “quiet time” with a horse. At first, he was all over me sniffing and nibbling, but after a few minutes he lost interest and went back to snuffling through the hay searching for fallen bites of feed. But it wasn’t long before he was back in my space. So, I gave him some unthreatening shoulder shrugs, arm waves, and pops to encourage him to keep some distance. And now he is just standing there with his face a few respectful inches from my head. There is a very vocal mockingbird singing nearby and it is peaceful sitting here with the hum and breeze of the stall fan.
Stetson is a very curious and social horse. And I think he gets bored easily. So now he is back to picking through the hay a few feet from my perch in his stall. He seems to not mind my presence, which is pretty amazing when you think about it. This 1,200-pound prey animal doesn’t see me as a threat and actually seems to enjoy my company.
I feel bad for Stetson. Without you he doesn’t get much attention or purposeful interaction with a leader. I think you were at your best when you were working with a horse. It was beautiful to watch your connection and communication with these magnificent creatures. Unfortunately, you were already sick when Stetson came here, and you didn’t get to devote your full attention to him.
Maybe I’ll start spending more time with him and refine my limited skills playing the seven games; and who knows, maybe, together, we will decide it would be okay to actually do some riding. For now, I’ll just start with spending some quiet undemanding time together and we will see where it goes.
I always appreciate the reflective nature of your writing!