Dolly

She was ten and i was forty

when i acquired a buckskin mare.

Friendly? Not really affectionate.

But, we did love each other.

I threw away the bridle.

I bought a hackamore–no bit.

She liked that very much better.

She didn’t care to be petted

but she did like to go riding.

When i had a hackamore

she came to me eagerly.

She barely tolerated

being curried or brushed.

She liked watching horse races

at the Rillito race track.

We rode in the river bed

to where we could watch the races.

This inspired her to gallop

in the river bed afterwards.

Walt Abbott–11-7-2010