I bumped into an old friend today, a lady I haven’t seen for
two or three years. There I was striding (yes, striding) up my lane, when I saw a horse suddenly shy as it approached me along Church Lane. It was none other than
Millie, a rather lovely bay mare of around 16 hands out exercising with her
human companion. As you might imagine, I was naturally keen to renew our
acquaintance and Millie behaved most affectionately for her part.
‘She likes you,’ said her human companion. ‘You put her at her ease.’
Well now, in all my years of dealing with women – in a wide variety of ways, you understand – none of them ever said that I put them at their ease. I suppose it’s probably something to do with getting older, or maybe it’s just a further sign that I get on better with horses and dogs than I do with humans.
Tell you what, though. Ever since I renewed my traipsing along the lanes and footpaths of the Shire, my depressive tendency has reduced considerably. It might be only coincidence and I make no predictions for the future, but the resumption of the walking habit seems at the moment to have produced a significant boost to my mental state.
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