Phone, Friend And Horses

What is a friend? I will tell you...it is someone with whom you dare to be yourself. ~Frank Crane

I had a great day yesterday. I got my work done early, had lunch and called a friend. I spent the afternoon on the phone, something that is as rare as hen's teeth.

We talked about horses the whole afternoon. Those of you without horses will never understand this, but people with horses can talk about them for hours. And we did. There are as many opinions about how to keep a horse, how to train a horse and use a horse, what breed of horse is preferred, as there are people with horses. There is something about horses that can keep the interest of those involved with them to the point of obsession. Or perhaps there is something about the people in general and horses are simply the cover.

I know the horses in my barn better than I know my own family. I can walk down the aisle and hone in on something amiss in a heartbeat. I know their personalities and temperamental quirks. I know what makes them mad, happy and scared. I know who holds grudges and who goes along with the flow. There are the aloof and the mischief makers. The bosses and the followers. Those that continue throughout their lives to challenge authority. I talk to them, I sing to them and I swear at them. They call out to me, they turn their backs to me and they pin their ears at me. They communicate as much as I do.

I like horses better than I like many people who own horses, so it is a strange world to be moving in. If you have horses you invariably mingle with people with horses. Talk about two sides of the same coin.

I like the friend I whiled the day away with, though. She's had a different experience with horses from mine, but we still connect on the same plain. And that's a pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon.