Post by april on Jul 29, 2009 11:18:43 GMT -5
It’s a perfect day for riding, with the air being just cool enough at this time of day to make the air pleasantly crisp. Pirate crab-steps and toe dances, feeling just too good to hold himself in. I smile and stroke his neck lovingly, and he tosses his head and gives a joyous, bugling whinny. We go at a walk, trot, or light canter most of the time, but we come to an open meadow where it’s just too tempting for both of us to open up and have a great gallop, especially since it‘s safe. I barely have to think the signal before Pirate goes into a gallop that I doubt a racecar could keep up with. I keep my hands light as it’s possible too, and my reward is feeling a grace in Pirate’s movements that even a ballerina couldn’t match. This is what’s been bred into Pirate for hundreds of centuries, running for the pure joy of it. And the snow covered trees zipping past us in a blur help complete the perfect picture of us riding weightless through the clouds. “I don’t know what there is in the next world boy, but it’s hard to believe it could be better than this.” He knickers his agreement, and I pull him up reluctantly. When his breathing returns to normal we take the scenic route home, through the fields and forests. I sing as we go “ride like the wind. Two spirits together. Being free, roaming wherever. The faster you go, the tighter I’ll hold you, across the fields and streams. You are always in my dreams.” Pirate flicks his ears listening, and then stops suddenly. A herd of deer is less than 10 feet in front of us. We stop and watch them until they quietly move ahead. I give Pirate another petting as we head down the trails together.