When you’re home sick on a Monday, the last thing you want to be doing is chasing horses … but, as you may have guessed, that’s what I did at 5:00pm today.
Looking back on the experience, which involved twenty five minutes of convincing animals that they should return to the fenced area from whence they broke free, it reminded me of a mess I made late last week that almost cost me several close friends. In the case of the horses, some combination of gravity and the horses’ weight caused the chain link fence to break free … in the case of my friends, my misplaced words released a flood of misdirected emotions and fears.
I’ve been chasing down friends all weekend, offering my head on a plate to reign them in … due to their decency it has been accepted, although I think they have to beat me over the head with a bright orange Clue-By-Four(tm) to feel completely vindicated. The horses required much less effort … I eventually cornered the older horse and led her to the barn, causing the younger horse to get lonely and look for her herdmate (causing her to be trapped in the pen).
The horses required no actual communication to capture, which is probably why that was easier than fixing the mess I made last week. With my humility fully restored by the experience, I will now check all fences for holes to make sure I keep the friends I have been so lucky to herd over the years.
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