The following conversation took place right after Raudi barged past me when I opened the front gate.

Alys: Raudi, we need to have a come to Jesus talk.
R: What’s a come to Jesus talk?
A: One in which I lay down the rules around here.
R: Who is Jesus?
A: Ask Tyra.
R: Hey Tyra, who is Jesus?
Tyra: Some say he died for our sins and is now our savior.
R: I don’t get this at all.
Tyra: You don’t have to get it. Alys is saying that she needs to have a heartfelt talk with you.
R: About what?
T: Your behavior.
R: Oh, that.
T: I think you’d better listen up.
A: Thanks Tyra
T: Don’t mention it.
R: You love her more than you love me.
A: Not so. Not so at all.
R: She went out the gate too.
A: After you.
R: What are you trying to tell me that I haven’t already heard?
A: Look. I have been working with you on standing quietly by the gate when its opened for years. And today, you just barged past me. I went down on my knees, in the mud.
R: Oh, you want to talk about that.

Raudi

A: Yes.
R: It’s not that big a deal.
A: It’s a huge deal.
R: Maybe we should ask your friend Jesus just how big a deal this was.
Tyra: Good idea. But he can’t weigh in because he’s dead.
R: What did he die of?
A: Do we have to go there?
R: You said you wanted to have a come to Jesus talk with me, seems to me then that this should be about Jesus.
A: The term “A Come to Jesus talk” is a metaphor.
R: I understand about metaphors, but not this one.
A: You are evading the issue. Look. You knocked me over and put my life in danger.
R: Now listen to my side of the story. We horses were stuck in this small, muddy enclosure all day long. We wanted out, badly. We were pushed to the end of our rope. Now there’s a metaphor for you. And you weren’t budging. You cleaned the goat pen, you went for a bicycle ride, you moved compost. You were all over the place. And all this time you ignored us.
A: First of all, I know its mud season, and right now the enclosure is a bit of a mess. I am well aware of this. But there is no manure. It’s all been cleaned up. And I’ve been feeding you over on the snowpack.
R: You should have let us out hours ago. All we would have done would have done is walk around and eat loose hay.
A: I suppose I could have done this. But the problem is, your hooves are tearing up the yard.
R: How about taking us for a ride on the road?
A: I was planning on this.
R: How were we to know this?
A: Because I get you all out, every single day.
Tyra: You are alluding to inference.
R: What’s inference?
A; Well Raudi, I now know you can’t be depended upon to stand at the gate when I open it.
R: Have to admit, you are right.
Tyra: I think that you both should get down on your knees and pray to Jesus to forgive you for your transgressions.
R: What’s a transgression?
A: Forget the transgression. I’m not kneeling until mud season is over.
R: And I can’t kneel.
Tyra; We have an impasse here. Neither of you are budging.
A: It’s the same old same old.
R: Yes, the same old same old.
A: End of discussion.

Next: 116. 4/26/20: The Mares Converse about the arrival of Buckwheat