Well, this is the beginning of a new world for me… toward more easily maintained websites. That is, when I get past the initial learning curve. Coding is much like meditation. Finding the key to unlock the ease of flowing smoothly through difficult passages; in life, in web development.
I will be putting up some posts from my old site, that I think may be of interest, as well as some writing and art.
Training our horses is important. I believe that they gain intelligence with stimulation. In other words, the more you teach them, the more they are able to learn. It stimulates all those dormant brain cells. 
Today, I was able to take 3 yr. old Lily out trail riding with two friends. This was a first. She was the bravest of all 3 horses, taking the lead, not spooking along with the two (older) horses and going on a loose rein the whole time. In fact, most of the ride, I was able to use both hands to do other things, like take pictures and eat my snacks. Oh… and the Boy Scouts had the field filled tents, teepees, 6′ slingshots and a stage with PA system. There was also a fire engine shooting water up into the tops of the trees with the sirens going! We did steer clear of them.. mostly. All through it, Lily was just great. I just need to get boots for the gravel trails. These are great horses and people are more impressed when they are doing something besides standing in a field.
A lot of it comes down to economics. And whether breeding and keeping horses is a hobby or a business to a person. As a hobby, the choices are different. You expect that your horses are an expense with no return. As a business, selling a weanling makes sense. Keeping a horse several years and putting countless hours of training into it…. well, maybe you get paid for your time, maybe you don’t. I do like the idea of more of us selling finished horses. That is what your average horse buyer is looking for. How to make that work is the question. I’ve been mulling that one over for a while now.
The whole idea of regulations and enforcement is a difficult one. I would prefer something more on the positive side. Something that would reward or recognize positive practices, rather then punish negative ones. I am not sure what form this would take though. I will have to think on it for a while. I don’t think our organization is large enough or staffed enough for enforcing much of anything. We have to remember that everyone who serves the SMR is a *volunteer* and always has been. I have to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who holds or has held a directorship or officer position!
Well… happy trails, everyone. And I’ve got to get myself a colored saddlepad, so I don’t have to wash this one so much!
Our first ride at Elijah Bristow State Park in 2004.
Word & Strings
In remembrance of my mother, Audrey.
The strings are still strong, just invisible.
Simrat Khalsa
Words
What matter words…
one cannot hold a word.
But only things
matter
one needs to have a thing.
And now I hold
a thing
here, coolly, with my hands.
And now I hate
matter
for I have need of words.
~~ Audrey L. Webster
Going, Going, Gone. Serigraph © 2000, Simrat Khalsa
Strings
I touched this person
… and I don’t remember.
I sat in her lap, felt enveloped, protected
… but it did not last.
My senses remember
… my mind does not.
If only by force of will
would the breath move again
and the blood flow,
that the spirit might still be contained.
The body that I touched and loved turned to ash
and was dispersed on the forest floor
to fly away on the summer wind.
Strings that connected
– cut. I was free floating.
genetic ties cannot be cut.
memories can, and do – fail.
Yesterday, I turned thirty-six
… the age she was when she died.
… she looks so young.
I don’t feel that young.
I am alive.
The path forward is uncharted.
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