I could tell by his body language that Boone was really happy. That made me happy. I wasn't sure if he would be a bit full of himself but as I learned through the past year's experience, riding your horse, consistently, is the best thing you can do for him and you. All the round pen work is fine, the videos of ground basis, but you have to get in the saddle and ride and ride. It pays off after a layover to have had those hours together to get back in stride. I apologized to him too, because I haven't kept up on grooming these past weeks and his tail is wind blown and needs some work. It was so nice being all alone,but together, grooming him in silence.
Except for the fact his feet are long and I need to find a new farrier here, all was well on our ride.
But the main thing I took away from my outing with Boone, is that he was happy to be with me, and ride together. He did everything I asked of him today and when I talked to him he kept his ears in his happy-to-be-with-you position. Boone will provide me with a link to normalcy after the upheaval of the move. We are in a different state, and region and know hardly anyone, but we are still me and Boone.
And it is also another feather in my hat to get back to my normal routines. Obviously it will take time to get all we need to get done here to a point where we feel settled, but each time I do something I love, something I did consistently in my Oregon life, it makes me more rooted here, and more sea worthy on the road.
As I drove home, an idea for a book came to me. It will resonate with all ages but be in a children's book format with images and fewer words. It will be a very therapeutic one for me, and I felt really strongly it would be a good way to get back to the art table.
