horses – Wrangler Dani

On work

I got my job at the barn back last week, and I could not be more tickled about it. I’ve missed my teammates, and the dignity of sweat, putting my

Stamina

I’ve been working on stamina with my horse, Buzz. Like most Quarter Horses, he’s built for explosive speed over short distances, followed by a distilled, lengthy sense of easy-going-ness. He

“It wasn’t a crisis yet”

I was in a flash nonfiction contest recently, and we had to incorporate the sentence: “It wasn’t a crisis yet” into our essay. What a loaded premonition. It’s gotten me

Pivot Tracks and Trust

My friend Ami told me a story I’d forgotten. By her telling, she was loping through a field, riding a mare which used to be mine, and the mare was

What wrapping my horse’s hoof hath wrought

My horse is lame, I mean, really gimpy. She’s a sweet mare I got for the kids, (Addy named her Beauty) a gentle old girl with a long history of

Just show up

My horse had a crack in one of his feet recently. As a result, I was picking his hooves every day, going out with 10 minutes or less to check

Feelings Stampede

Yesterday my horse got pretty upset. He showed his displeasure with a couple of impressive runs around the pasture, flattening out his back and pounding his hooves like the well-built

Everyday, Walking-Around Life

I’ve been reading this every day for the last week: “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and

Stammering toward Gratitude

Yesterday, as I was making plans with someone for the fall, she said to me, “You must be over the moon about your baby boy.” I stammered a lame response.

Not Good, But Right. (My Goodbye to Major)

I’ve been thinking about doing right and feeling good. Yesterday, Adam said to me that it doesn’t feel good, but you know it’s right. He was right, too, of course.