Big Hearted

I woke up to the sound of a crow.
Sounded like he was right outside the window.
I tried to remember the dream,
but i couldn't.
I dressed in the dark and walked out to the barn.
This winter will not let go.
It is still colder than it is supposed to be in Mississippi.
I turned on the lights in the barn and the round-pen out behind the barn.
Cisco looked at me with sleepy eyes as if to say,
 'What time is it?'
I saddled him and walked him to the pen.
I worked him on the ground just to warm him up a little,
I lunged him a few times to the right then the left..
He came to life and his friskiness started to show.
He crow-hopped a little, pretending to buck..
he backed his ears and kicked up his back hooves a couple of times.
When I climbed into the saddle he was as calm as a mill pond.
I can't begin to tell you how much I learn from horses.
They are animals of prey,
always one step away from flight,
and for an animal of this size, with this speed, elegance, strength, and beauty,
they are also incredibly fragile.
4 skinny legs, and if one is lame the whole animal is lame.
It doesn't take much to hurt them,
but then again,
they are as tough and as big hearted as any animal God made,
the fact that they will trust us humans,
and give us all they have,
holds a lot of wisdom for us humans,
if we would simply recognize it.

Jesse
Oxford

wkm
The Horses
Oxford MS.