The elephant in the room

Go ahead. Ask. You know you want to. The question's been popping into your mind every time you've come to visit for the past week, but you've been too polite to blurt it out.

Are you going to get another horse?

Yes.

This was not an automatic decision. I've thought about it long and hard over the past few days, to the exclusion of everything else...with the minor exception of Sunday's hockey game. I'll spare you all the conversations I've had with myself and jump right to the conclusion:

– Riding horses is what I do and a fundamental part of who I am. Heck, it's why I moved to the middle of nowhere in the first place.

– Hank has earned his retirement; I'm not going to make him carry me around on his arthritic knees.

– I need a horse to ride, and Hank needs a buddy. He and the burrito brothers get along famously, but it's not the same as having one of his own kind to keep him company.

So another horse is in our future – a horse with hooves of steel; a hardy horse who exemplifies Darwin's theory of "natural selection"; a horse whose loyalty is unwavering once you earn his trust; a horse who will feel right at home on the range.

A mustang.

I called the folks at the Wild Horse Inmate Program in Colorado yesterday to get the scoop on adopting a prisoner-trained BLM mustang. (Long-time readers will remember that this is the same place where I adopted George and Alan. And if you've run out of movies to order from Netflix, check out "Wild Horse Redemption," which is all about the inmate program.) I've also been in touch with the Mustang Heritage Foundation to see if any of their trainers in New Mexico might have a BLM mustang saddle-trained and ready for adoption. One way or another, a BLM mustang will be joining the herd some time in the next several months.

Alrighty then. With that particular elephant out of the room, now you're probably wondering what I will name said mustang. All I can tell you at this point is the mustang will be a gelding, so "Sally" is out of the running.