Earlier this week there was a bit of kerfuffle in the M/M community (I know, surprise, right?). My original post today was going to be about my frustration with people, in general, who are uninvolved with something, yet feel free to state their opinion/beliefs (generally unasked). I mean, obviously people are allowed to state their opinion about things whenever, but I just find it happening so often on social media, that it feels like it’s only there to stir the waters and make people angry–often about something they don’t have all the facts on, if the person is being vague in their spouting.

Today’s post (ironically) was going to be my opinion on people keeping their opinions to themselves. On how people need to just kinda sit down and shush sometimes. That we don’t have to scream our thoughts from the rooftops every time something comes up.

Then I decided I’d rather not. (Well, not more than I just said.) What’s the point of getting angry. Instead, I give you cat picture.

This is Lily. She’s sort of a barn/house indoor/outdoor cat. She’s a love muffin and every time I have to go to the fields by the house where she reigns, she stops by to say hi and beg rubs. Unlike some cats, who beg rubs and then attack you completely unprovoked when they’ve reached max rub, Lily just walks away.

And I didn’t really realize this when I was originally planning on posting, but Lily is doing something we could all learn from. Absorb the love while it’s there and when you’ve had enough or are no longer enjoying it, Walk away. There’s no need to make a fuss. (Look at me bringing it back around. Don’t expect the same for all of these :P)

My Monday ride was kind of crummy. The weather was gorgeous and cool. Unfortunately, the horse was in a bad mood from the beginning, and while lately he seemed to have settled down and be doing okay, on Monday he’d returned to his insane self. To say that my ride was not stellar is accurate. It may have been related to the level of stress I was feeling. Maybe the horse knew. Maybe I was just already on edge. It wasn’t a good combination, whatever it was.

On Wednesday, however, when summer finally decided to show itself and make it hot, the horses were good. First was Dish, the quarter horse I’ve been exercising for a friend, and we’ve been making some nice advancements in our ride, but today was just great. She had good energy, I was positioned right, and things just clicked.

Part of it, I’m sure, is that she was feeling good and energetic and like she didn’t want to challenge me at every turn. But I also feel like the work we’ve done together has give us this progress. I kept my legs stretched down, I sat up straight, I didn’t lean forward, and I was there to give cues when she needed them.

A good ride is a tenuous thing, because you know that the next ride can always be horrible (see previous horse mentioned). But it also makes you feel like master of the world. Because you managed to get in sync with a half-ton animal, get it to do what you wanted, and both of you ended up happier for it (because they don’t really like when you get pissy with them either). So being able to connect with the animal and advance in your personal goals/skills, is amazing. And because it’s a physical sport, the results of the victory are also physical: sometimes that means you’re energized, sometimes that means you’re exhausted, but you still have a grin on your face. (Sort of like when writing a huge emotional scene.)

After I finished my ride, circumstances were such that I could ride another horse, a sweet, dead quiet mare whose owner rarely comes to the barn and never rides. The only exercise this horse gets is when she’s (sometimes) ridden from the field she stays at to the barn for the day. It’s a 5-10 minute ride.

I wasn’t really planning on giving this horse a hard ride, just plod around while waiting for someone else to get done, so I just threw on a bridle and rode bareback (well, I used a bareback pad because she has bony whithers, but mostly bareback!). I only did walking and jogging (she has loping issues), but it was another good ride. Nothing magical, but it was nice to get this girl moving and working. And I ended up working her for a lot longer than I’d planned.

Of course, that means I dismounted and my legs are like Jello-O and I ended up getting home a lot later than I wanted.

But horses, man. This is what it’s all about.