Plans & Promises

Saturday, April 04, 2020

This “coronavirus stock market” continues to gobble huge chunks of funds. I’m optimistic about the market’s recovery over time, but thinner cash now prevents shoes for my driving horses. An unhappy decision because driving is “my sport” and I’ll miss it. Pulling a vehicle stresses hooves, particularly over paved roads like those my horses travel routinely. They wear heavy-duty irons with highly-absorbent pads–all needing replacement every six weeks. It’s an investment unwise during a steadily-crashing stock market.

Instead I’ll ride horseback! Planning for this has challenges. First, getting on and off a horse is hard with my stiff joints and I must practice and hope for flexibility. Second, our surrounding forest venues are closed to visitors because of coronavirus. And so I will ride locally. Toward this end, I’ve removed many of my property’s low-hanging limbs and now a horse may carry me safely among the trees. I’m planning to mosey around the house a little and then move my horse to our neighborhood’s paved roads. We’ll head toward the power lines, a local outback with a loose network of dirt roadways that lets a barefoot horse trot safely.

I promise to the neighborhood: If my horse drops a pile, I’ll later return and clear it away.

Dear Friends: Please hope with me, that I manage getting on, staying on, and dismounting. Diana