You know he loves you
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But you really know he loves you when he agrees to climb on board of your 17-hand percheron, who's tacked up in only a vaulting surcingle, and lets you longe him on the very big black horse around and around a 20M circle at a walk.
Once you are reasonably certain that there is no buck or buggers left in Percheron, you begin asking cowboy spouse for favors. "OK. Now can you raise your arms up over your head?"
He furrows his eyebrows together and looks at you like you are crazy.
"No, really. This is important."
"I do better with stirrups," complains husband, looking straight out between horse's fuzzy ears, raising his arms over his head. Up and down. Up and down. Forward. Backward. To the left. And right. For good measure. He's been to a few vaulting competitions over the years.
Percheron marches forward, unfazed.
"I know, but this is vaulting," you remind him. "We've gotta get Toby used to all kinds of weird stuff up there, and I can't put a kid on him yet." Husband is now swinging arms back and forth with a fervor. You wish to God you had a camera. But then all bets would be off.
Toby swings into a trot. You forget that husband is not a vaulting student. "Lean back," you coach. "Lean back and sit on your butt!" Remarkably, he does. But then you remember yourself and shut up. You admire husband's nice seat in his frayed Wranglers and then notice how well he sits the horse.
"Man, this big ol' boy is wide," soon to be bronze-level-vaulter husband complains. "I don't think I could ride this guy for a long ways." He clasps handles and grimaces. "Ouch."
You pull yourself up straighter, nudge Percheron forward with longe whip. "Well, then, you need to do some hip flexor exercises."
Husband does not seem to appreciate this advice. Now you ask him to give you some leg swings forward. And back. Which he does with considerable grace and aplomb, causing Toby to speed up a couple of notches.
You consider asking him to sit sideways, then don't. But he does lay down across horse's back, long legs and cowboy boots dangling off of hindquarters of nonplussed draft, who does have one ear cocked in your direction.
After you have schooled Percheron in crazy vaulting activities on his back, you give horse and husband big big praise. Then you tack up long-legged quarterhorse Piñon, and begin again.
Yep. He loves you.
