I was Thankful

I was thankful today to find the barn relatively empty due to the holiday (not that I dont like seeing other people, but today was really about Milo and I). As I came around the arena corner I saw Old Man Jaker's head sticking out over the gate. He was thankful to see Milo, and the feeling was mutual. No squealing or kicking, just happy buddies seeing each other again.

I was thankful to ride Milo bareback at a calm walk as Jake loped his old man stride back and forth across the arena. Normally I would be agitated by a loose horse in the arena, but I knew Jake and Milo would have no qualms with the other.

And I was thankful to see Jake moving so spritely and not so stiff.

I was thankful for how quiet and complacent my horse was through the ride, and we even got a lead change today, when asked for.

I was thankful for the covered arena, which protected us from the howling winds outside and torrential downpour that has been our existence here in Washington for the past week (and will remain for the next three months). Even as the arena lights were turned off due to someone in the barn aisleway apparently not knowing we were in there, it was still light enough to ride, which I was thankful for.

I was thankful that the sloshy mess at the entrance to the arena which just the day before had been complete soup, was more than halfway dried up. As was the lake that has formed in Milo's pasture.

I was thankful for the soft nuzzles my horse gave to me, in greeting in the pasture, in complacency in the cross ties after our ride, and again after I let him back into his shelter in the pasture.

(Not Thanksgiving photos, just ones taken a few weeks ago that I enjoy)

But most of all, I am thankful that I have Milo in my life. That I can enjoy the love and support that he offers to me everyday. We have our trials and difficulties in our "work", but we both grow from it, and I am thankful for that. I am a better, more balanced person today because of the lessons I have learned through horses, and I continue to change and learn more about myself and the world because of those lessons from these wonderful animals.

I hope you all got to enjoy a small moment of the Holiday with your beloved, and truly be thankful for their gift in our lives.