The following conversation took place today, before, during, and after a late morning trail ride.

Alys: Tyra, how’s the saddle feel?
Tyra: The girth feels a bit loose.
A: Other than that?
T: You’re staying balanced.
A: Is it up on your shoulder?
T: Just a bit.
A: We’ll keep working on it. Pete’s going to order another cinch.
T: I appreciate all your hard work.
A: Well, yeah, of course. The problem is that you are a very round backed horse and you don’t have much in the way of withers.
T: And so, the saddle slips.

Alys and Tyra last spring

A: Yes, that’s right.
T: Why don’t you try riding me bareback?
A: Because I’m a little concerned. If you continue to hope off-trail then I will come off.
T: You won’t get hurt. There’s a good, soft snow base.
A: And will you stay on trail?
T: If I can keep my balance, sure.
A: We will give this a try.
T: You also need to replace the bent stirrup. I don’t want to see you come off and you get caught in the stirrup.
A: But you wouldn’t run off with me, would you?
T: Most likely not. But if a moose appears out of the woodwork, I’m not going to stick around.
A: Okay. I’ll get a new stirrup.
T: And oh, we seem to follow the other horses. I would like to be out front more often.
A: This I can do. Do you have any other insights?
T: Not really. But I do have something I’d like to talk with you about.
A: What’s that?
T: My future plans.
A: You aren’t going anywhere.
T: I want to go somewhere.
A: What do you mean by this?
T: I want to acquire an education.
A: Is that so?
T: Yes. I am ready to take my G.E.D. Then I’d like to apply to college.
A: Which one?
T: An Ivy league college. Yale would be preferable.
A: That’s a long ways to travel, a few times a year.
T: I would be willing to stay here and take my courses on line.
A: Well that’s possible.
T: You’d have to rig up a computer and set up my classes via Zoom.
A: We can do this. But I would prefer to do this when the snow has melted. Snow is hard on computers.
T: So, I’d be taking summer classes. Fair enough.
A: What would you want to major in?
T: I would like to work on a triple major, in philosophy, metaphysics, and theology.
A: What would be your primary research question?
T: Do animals have souls?
A: But you know already that they do indeed.
T: I want to find out what other great thinkers have had to say about this.
A: And?
T: Then have my own say. If I can cite other thinkers, I might change the thinking of the majority of horse people.
A: In what way?
T: We’ll no longer be regarded as beasts of burden but rather as highly intelligent animals. And as highly intelligent animals, we’ll be treated with more kindness, respect, and compassion than we are currently.
A: This makes sense. I will look into the administrative end of things and let you know what I find out.
T: Thank you. I appreciate your taking the time to do this.

Next: 350. 12/21/20: On This, the Shortest day of the Year