Rodney's Saga

Are Milton & I ready to make progress?

I will absolutely put my hand up for being a disaster zone since the triple bitchslap that was 2008/2009: death in the family [September]; my industry tanked, so work slowed to a trickle [Origin Story]; Previous Horse died, which was horrible in its own right [Dreary Monday] and meant I stopped riding. Grief and inactivity, both toxic, worse in combination.

However, signs are starting to point to Yes. As a indication of advancement, I’m reading more. There were long periods when I didn’t have the concentration to keep track of or care about fictional characters or non-fiction information dumps. I flat out didn’t read. (That gasp you heard was from people who knew the old me IRL.) Oh, I binge shopped as entertainment, but I didn’t read what I bought. Then, I got to the point where I’d start books, but stop at the slightest provocation. In the last month, I’ve finished a handful, some new, some rereads. Okay, I’m reading the lightest of the light, for example the Evan Tanner books by Lawrence Block [Zirgs-prens & Frivolity]. But still, I’m buying fewer and reading more. That has to mean something. (BTW, Tanner’s Twelve Swingers was published in 1967. Imagine writing a book that people read for fun 50 years later AND being alive to know it. Cool.)

That’s me. Then there is Milton.

No, he didn’t need two years off from riding. Neither did he need to go to a show the day after he arrived. Somewhere between was time for him to adjust:

a) Get used to a new place and new people. We are coming to the conclusion that horses take longer to do this than people give them credit for.

b) Adjust to the weather. Canada to Alabama threw him for a loop. He still sweats way more than Rodney. But then, Rodney is a lizard. He loves the heat [Therapy].

c) Remember when I said we thought something was wrong [Milton for the Moment]? We never did get the vet out. The medical profession, equine or human, does not excel at diagnosing barely noticeable, intermittent problems that might or might not be there. We kept meaning to get around to it. Then the bottom of his foot blew off [Hoof]. He’s been happier ever since. Given the slow rate of hoof growth, this might have been bothering him for 6 months to a year. We’ve learned that Milton, um, feels things deeply.

It hasn’t been ideal. That’s an understatement. But neither has it been a total waste of time.

Will the log jam begin to break up, or will I be making the same noises a year from now? Time will tell.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott