Some Call Them Cliff Hangers. I Call Them Chapters.

Hey all. How you been?

Had a cool little ride on my colt today and some satisfying rescue stuff is going on.

Madonna has been trail riding.

I'm learning to rope.

Fun summer.

Thanks for the kind words from you all when I was gone.

As for the other comment all I've got to say is this.

1.I'm honored. I think I have my first troll.

2.This ain't Netflix baby. I don't write on demand.


Tally

I arranged to keep her in one of the small dusty pen in the indoor arena.

We had to build a chute from panels and herd her from the broodmare pen to the arena. Tally was so bug eyed and snorty I had no doubt she would try to blast through the wire if I approached her.

For several days I just let her be. I set my chair with its back against her stall and would take my breaks sitting there reading, or doing my books.

If I had a student I could coach from my chair I did so.

I never looked at her while I sat in my chair, I just went by the sound of her feet.

At first Tally would rush to her corner as soon as I came near. She would cower there, her head to her knees and sweat running in rivulets down her shaking legs.

I began to wonder what I had taken on. My experience had never covered a horse like this one.

"You should have let me put her in a hole," the boss said, "the poor thing is so crazy she's going to worry herself to death anyway."

He had a point. Nobody had abused Tally. There may have been mistakes made, but none a normal horse couldn't overcome.

"I'm going to give it some time," I said.

I stood up and turned to look at her. She tried to climb away from me and skittered half way up the wall at the back of her pen. It was like I had an antelope trapped in the 10 x 12 stall.

"I just need to find the key to her, that's all."

The boss shook his head and left, the worry on his face scared me more than anything the mare had actually done.

Days passed and I continued to keep my eyes away from her. When we cleaned her stall we just walked in and cleaned. It was hard to ignore her frantic scrambling against the walls, but we did the best we could.

One morning the sun was so bright and the air so clean I couldn't bear keeping the doors closed. The temperature was cool and the breeze was stiff but I didn't care.

I opened the arena doors and welcomed the smell of the frost on the creek. I sat in my chair with my coffee and my cross word.

I was lost in my puzzle when I felt just a whiff of air against my coat.

I tried not to stiffen or hold my breath. I felt it again.

Tally was sniffing my jacket through the panel rails.

I felt a tentative pull on my sleeve.

I couldn't help my smile but I caught my whoop before it escaped.

We were ready to begin.