A good ride on the Big Bay

It was warm this afternoon and there were flies and two donkeys wedged themselves between me and Keil and the mounting block but I got on and away we went. Keil and I haven't had a ride since JUNE. I wondered how it would go. Would he be off or disgruntled after so much time or would I be off and uneasy in the saddle?

None of that happened. Keil Bay walked and trotted and I was relaxed with no tight places and Redford donkey went along with us for most of the ride, a little shadow on the inside. The oak tree at F is starting to turn red, in the same spots it always does. The afternoon sun went low in the sky so that as we came around to K we rode directly into the light. Beneath the oak tree at H the leaves this time of year tend to collect, and Keil crunched through them like he was wading through a stream. 

Oh, it was good to be riding him again.

I still don't know how I got so lucky to find the Big Bay. Four months off and not a single issue today. He got two peppermints at the end of the ride and marched to the feed room door when I opened the arena gate and sent him on. He waited for me there and didn't even fuss when he stuck his head in for another peppermint and I gave him his dewormer gel! It was apple flavor but still - what a horse. 

Later when I went to get Cody for his dewormer dose he stood and sniffed it and said, hmmm, no thanks, and politely went from standing still to a big canter through the barn and out the other side where he kicked out his front leg and tossed his head. I think he's ready to get back into work too. 

There's nothing better than standing in the barn aisle cleaning Keil's bridle after a ride and hearing his  hoofbeats as he saunters past, touching me with his nose before he heads out to graze. This is November. Happy days.