Henry and I got to run with Horses!

Henry. ♥

So, the other evening, I was out walking Henry like usual. The process is largely the same each time. I’ll ask, “Do yooooouuuuuu…” and he cocks his head, stares up at me, smiling. Then I’ll wait a couple moments before saying, “...wanna go for a waaaalk?” He then wheelies around and goes in and out of my legs and we get the leash from the porch. He waits patiently while I hook him up, take a drink of water, smoke a joint (if you've never walked your dog high as hell in the quiet of a country evening, you simply cannot know what you're missing!), and get my head-light situated since it’s normally dark or becoming dark out by the time we go. Then we race to the gate and choose a direction, but we always walk around the fenceline and back to the same spot.

Well, on this evening, one of the nearby property owners had his horses out. Henry loves horses. I don’t know what he'd do if he ever got to just run around with one, but he sure likes them from across a fence. Anyhow, I took him over to greet them because we love when they run over and then give us a sideways look that seems curious and playful. They are cool moments. Lord knows what Henry is thinking but I sure do like the encounters.

I’m no horse whisperer, but I swear I could read this particular large horse on this particularly serene evening, and it seemed he wanted to go. I looked down at Henry, at the end of a thin leather leash, and back at the horses a few times before asking Henry if he’d like to run. He does. He likes to run. So of course the answer was yes and we were off, booking it down a weed-covered side yard beside a red gravel road. It didn’t take long for the horses to catch on and they bucked and kicked and snorted and then bang! They were off, like a thunderous shot, right beside us. Right, beside us.

Now, you equine folk will know what I’m talking about, but what I wasn't prepared for was the sound. Whew! Those big horses were loud when they kicked it into high gear! It was a rush and a half. So we ran the whole property line at a good jog and then took a small breather at the end. A good jog was all they were getting out of me, thank you.

The horses, however, seemed to know instinctively that we could go much faster, and clearly wanted to run back, as well. I took the cue and we all started in at about the same time. Man, horses are fast! Henry went ape shit, hucking it after them like they’d robbed a bank, and I was doing my best to hold the leash and keep my pants up since my belt has been stretching.

Talk about free feeling! Wow! Even though I’m way out in the country, I still don’t get the chance to literally run with horses very often, and it felt like something out of this world! Such enormous and graceful, wonderful animals they are! For those few fleeting seconds, as we sprinted at full-bore, doing our best to keep up with two of nature’s finest, we were free. It was entirely and unequivocally a magical experience, and I couldn’t have shared it with a better dog.

Henry? You're a good boy.