working on nothing

Today I just hung out with Pip. I took him into a paddock, so the other horses wouldn't bother us, and we just hung out. I got some hay and leaves out of his mane, and generally fussed over him while he ate home grown carrots and had me treat the sore on his mouth. That particular sore is taking it's sweet time going away, but it looks a lot better.

But it was nice not having to make him do anything, except enjoy my company. Since Pip doesn't live on my property, often when I interact with him, it's for riding, and not much else. I was thinking about how nice it would be to have him live with me, so I could just see him, and realized that he isn't so far away that I can't be doing this more often.

So after I was done making him look oh so pretty, I pulled out the book, sat on a bucket (it was upside down) and read my book. I did read a few paragraphs to him, but he didn't seem to care either way. I have been trying to get in better shape for riding, as I believe that I'm on the heavy side for him. So instead of bonding through riding, I rode my bike to the barn, and he and I just did our own thing together. He got scratches when he came by me, and I got to pet that softy soft nose. It was a nice time.

I'm not a trainer by any stretch of the imagination, but I do think it helps me learn to be realxed around him, and vice versa. He's actually a very nice horse, and when I was only riding him, I thought of him as kind of stubborn and hard-headed. And he can be. But I'm learning that he can also be a sweet companionable horse who really seems to enjoy human company.

I'm happy.