Horse Mavericks

The sky expanded overhead in an endless display of blue.  Hills covered in dry grass rolled into the distance and eventually rose into snow-capped mountains.  I sat on Gambler in the shade of a live oak watching Lanny West.  He rode Tucker, a seasoned sorrel horse, while he lunged a buckskin colt around them.   Lanny wanted to put a lot of pressure on the green horse to make make sure he was safe before letting Dee, the colt’s owner, get on his back and ride down the trail.  ”When I take my colts for their first few rides, I like to keep them moving,” Lanny West said.

The sound of horse hooves fell hard on the earth in rhythmic thuds.  Dry grass rustled.  Small rocks and dirt clogs crunched.  Tucker’s ears drew back, his eyes widened and he tossed his head making the mane stick straight up.  ”See right there?”  Lanny said.  ”I am putting too much energy into Tucker.  I’m gonna send my energy to the colt.”

I looked down at Dee who stood in the shade next to Gambler and me.  ”How do you send energy to the horse you’re driving and not the horse you’re riding?”  

Dee just shrugged.  

I don’t know how he did it, but I know what I saw.  I could feel the assertiveness of his presence decrease. Tucker’s ears came forward, the muscles in his jaw and neck relaxed, and his eyes calmed.  Tucker seemed to understand that the ordeal wasn’t about him.  He walked and turned while Lanny asked the colt to move his feet and trot.  

“OK, Dee.  Get on.”

Dee approached her horse and stepped into the stirrup.  As soon as her seat touched the saddle, Lanny led them down the red dirt road at a trot. The sound of pounding hooves grew quiet as they disappeared.  The air stilled.  Silence engulfed us.  There wasn’t even the sound of a fly buzzing or the rustle of leaves in the breeze.  Gambler licked his lips.  I blinked a few times and thought, Shoot!  I better catch up.