The Battle of the Foot

This holiday lark isn't too bad. Yesterday was a lovely day riding a few horses followed by a slap up lunch. Clouds of volcanic ash are a thing of fiction and TV reports down here in the South of France.

In fact one of the most enjoyable things I did yesterday was to clean and brush a white horse for almost an hour. I don't even like white horses (because of their tendency to get very dirty), and I certainly don't have any sort of special relationship with this particular horse or its owner. The horse is actually quite badly injured and he has been confined to his box for almost 4 months now - he is in danger of losing his hoof which would mean he would need to be put down. My own recent stay in hospital reminded me of how unpleasant it is to not feel fresh or sufficiently well groomed, hence my decision to spend a bit of time with Monsieur Lutin du Faget.

On reflection I think the most enjoyable thing about the whole experience was being able to take the time to do something; Lutin certainly seemed to appreciate it too (or maybe that was just the carrots). Some feedback I've had recently was the need to learn how to slow down (linked to the idea that effective leaders are able to alter their pace depending on to whom and exactly when they are talking to people). My single pace over the last 32 years has been "turbo". Maybe it is time to give some other gears a whirl. Hopefully both Lutin and I will be able to win our own little battles and challenges over the coming months.