Maria and I (and Red) went out to Thornwood Farm in Pawlet, Vt. to groom and ride Chloe. Actually, Maria rode Chloe, I brushed her a bit and took photos. Red was his usual calm and steady self as Maria and Chloe went trotting by. It was a lovely thing to see, Maria has work hard on her grooming and riding lessons with Eli Anita-Norman (who underwent surgery today for her broken wrist). This was the first time Maria took care of Chloe by herself, got the hardness, brought her into the barn, brushed and saddled her.

The two rode in the ring at the farm for 30 or 40 minutes, they walked, trotted, climbed over tubes, backed up. I was startled at  how natural Maria looked, and at the visible strong connection between these two. Chloe is a calm, affectionate, experienced horse, she does not rattle or fright. It’s a great match.

I am, as always, amazed at Red’s ability to enter into any situation we are in and be a still and patient part of it. He sat there the whole time, never moved except to come over and say hello to me, he was as natural around Chloe and the other the horses as if he lived in the stables.

The horses do speak to us, especially the people who can listen, as Maria does. They belong in our lives, there is nothing more natural than for working animals like horses to be with people, those who would take them away us are simply creating a new kind of abuse, of horses, of people.

Once we get the new puppy settled, Chloe is coming to the farm. We are eager to have her here. It was a great gift to see the look on Maria’s face as she is mastering this relationship.