Preparation

The week had been cold, blistering winds had made riding unthinkable as Autumn swept down from the mountains and settled on Bishop's hill side, but today the wind was still, and the sun had selfishly claimed the entire sky for himself. It was a hot day, a surprise in the middle of August.
I came down to the barn as usual, prepared to spend the day wistfully brushing Tylo and skirting around Mateo but Gretchen had other plans.
   "I think The Mare is ready for a ride." she said suddenly and with a smug grin under her life is good cap. I looked up at her unable to keep my mouth from spreading into a huge smile, Really? I squeaked, my voice rising to a childlike octave in excitement.
  I raced out and grabbed Tylo, spending about 5 minutes trying to get her into the stall while blocking Mateo from coming in with her. He squealed at me in protest as I countered his every move to try and shove into the small cozy space with us. Once I had firmly shut and latched the door, he stared in at Tylo and myself like a mistreated prisoner, glaring from under his lashes through the metal bars, his nose and body hidden by the wall of wood of the door, drawing attention to his small stature. Tylo shifted nervously from side to side, knowing something different was about to happen, something that had my energy flowing like electricity in the space.
Everything had to be done slowly, I did not want to scare the mare. Gretchen still was not sure of how familiar Tylo was with a saddle and rider. First was the saddle blanket, one of our heavier English blankets, used in the winter time for warmth, but in this case, it was for comfortable padding on Tylo angular back. She sniffed it with slight interest, almost like a queen inspecting her clothing. Her eyes seemed to say, this is it? I do know what a blanket is you silly girl. Why are you walking so gingerly with it? I know it doesn't bite you should to. She seemed to reprimand me for acting the way I did. Tylo did not mind the foam pad either, she barely glanced at it as I slowly walked into her stall with it held out in front of my body. You are very smart, pretty girl. I told her.
  The saddle was different, she snorted when I brought it to her side, billowing her nostrils then intently examining it. I let her run her whiskers over the leather seat, the pommel, and even flipped it over so she could run her muzzle along the tree that would rest upon her back. Finally I raised it up and gently settled it on her back. She stood perfectly still, muscles neither relaxed nor trembling with tension. Finally we both released our breath in loud sighs. The greatest challenge was finding a girth that was small enough to go around her stomach. If I remember correctly I think it took seven different girths before Gretchen and I finally found one that would suffice.
The bridle and bit were easy, after she observed the tangled mass of leather in my hands she let my toss the reins over her head and slip the bridle on over her ears, making me rise on  tip-toes to reach her aloft head. She mouthed at the soft plastic bit for a while rolling her tongue under it to investigate the taste and feel of a odd slightly foreign object in her mouth. We were ready to go after a good month of waiting and 50 minutes of preparation Tylo and I were ready to ride.