Loving the lovelies

I love the days when I don't rush and just have time to be with the horses and love them. Such amazing creatures, and so generous. They all know me so well now, and I love the way they rush to their doors when I come by, with the whuffles. Man, I love the way those nostrils vibrate when they do the quiet whuffles!

To just stand quietly by these amazing, strong, graceful creatures, and have them bend their heads in, gently nudge, play with my hair, fumble with my pockets in case there's anything good in there (they don't seem to mind if there is or isn't, as long as I have a scratch and a kind word for them). It's an amazing way to spend my time, and I wouldn't part with it for a moment. They give me a lot more than I give them, I reckon.

Max was so locked this morning on his right side, it took me ages to pick out the right hind hoof, and I was really worrying about him. Not in a "this is a new, bad thing" way, but just because I hate to see that leg elevated and sticking straight out in such an unnatural way. He was fine once he got going though.

Hacked out accompanied today. The beauty thing about walking along calmly behind is it gave me lots of time to experiment and pay attention to my position, and what reaction I got from little shifts. So it was a working hack for me and Max, even though we didn't get up to much.

So helpful to just sit back and try things, and watch Max's ears swivel back, or in some cases he even glances back at me, so I know what I'm doing is causing a reaction - or his pace changes slightly. I just need to keep doing it so I can keep track of what shift brings what reaction.

He was very relaxed through the whole thing again, mostly very responsive to me, and I'll chalk it up as a good day.