S-u-n-s-e-t Spells Relief

Hello. My name is Theresa and I'm addicted to... sunsets!

I gasped in wonder when I saw that sunset, feed bucket in hand and an impatient horse circling around me. It had been over a week since we’ve seen any sun here, and this gorgeous view was the perfect end to a beautiful day.

Yeah, that sunshine outside got me moving. I surprised myself by getting off this chair in front of my computer, grabbed the saddle off its stand and headed outside to ride Odin. I didn’t think, I just did it.

I love that horse! He always gets me laughing and finds more than a few ways to amaze me every time I’m around him. I brushed him out, sprayed him down and got him saddled. Since I drank close to a gallon of iced tea, I had to run inside for a minute and left Odin standing there. Nope, he wasn’t there when I got back, but the smart horse didn’t drag my rope through the gooey mud puddle, and he was only a few feet away from where I left him.

As soon as I climbed up on the tailgate of the truck, he inched over close for me to get on. That amazed me, and it made me laugh. Once on him, he was ready to go. He had seen that my neighbor Larry was outside, and that’s where he wanted to go.

I rode him in a circle instead, got him solid at it, then changed directions. Once in awhile, he’d remember to turn with just a rein against his neck. He surprised me a few times by responding to cues barely given. To give him the mountain of credit he deserves, he didn’t buck and bolt when a big ol’ horsefly landed on his neck. Those dastardly things have been driving him nuts lately, so I quickly swatted it, killed it, and everything was fine.

Heading over to talk to Larry, it became clear just why Odin was so interested in going over to see him.

“Oh yeah, I gave him apples this week.  I had a few about to go bad,” he said. Yep, that’ll do it. Give Odin an apple, and you have a friend for life.

I was relieved to learn that no, it wasn’t Larry that shot Hiro. I’ve always told Larry that he had every right to shoot at anything that comes on his property, my dogs included; do what you gotta do. When I told him what had happened, a ricocheted .22 to Hiro’s elbow, he said that he would never shoot at a dog with anything other than buckshot that just stings.  I couldn’t ask for a better neighbor.

Odin started to get antsy. He wanted to move, but not yet, I was still talking. I suspected the ol’ guts were a-churning, and I was right. As soon as he lifted his tail and let it go, he settled right back down again.

Sitting there talking, I was ready to get down. I had more iced tea to get rid of myself, so we headed back to the tailgate. Corker of a horse did it again, he walked right up next to the tailgate so that I could get off without going all the way to the ground. He soaked up the hugs and lovin’ like a proud little school boy.

Hiro had followed me the whole time, and it was only the second time I let him loose to run. I was relieved to see him laying nearby every time I looked down. After one attempt to chase a dirt bike going up the road, he didn’t bother after that. It was good to see that. Hiro’s stitches come out on Wednesday, and I’ll be relieved when the prognosis is good for him.

With all the chaos of the last few weeks, it was a great relief to have such a great time with Odin and the dogs. Seeing that sunset, that remarkably gorgeous, naturally spontaneous beauty, I had to take a photo. It symbolized how I felt at that moment, and I couldn’t ask for more.

And Odin was happy that I remembered to dump his feed in his dish!