Straight Toes

Our yoga teacher is also a reflexologist. She returned from her latest reflexology conference ready to "read our toes."

Apparently the big toes can say a lot about a person. Toes which point straight ahead mean that you are on the path, not easily distracted or influenced. Guess who has toes like that? Not me. If you guessed my youngest daughter, you'd be right.

She likes to put George into her schedule. She'd pencilled him in for today. Sure enough the weather was fine when she got home from school, and off she went to get him.

Here they are getting ready, while I lurk, as usual.

I happened to go outside just after she'd mounted. I heard that George had been a bit cranky about mounting. I figured he was cross because he just wanted to eat all that green grass. I was filling the trough while they were heading down the drive - or rather trying to head down the drive, as George was refusing. When I saw my daughter hauling on his mouth, I broke my vow of non-intervention and told her she couldn't do that. She thinks I'm a hippy weirdo, so I assured her that even the most traditional riders frown on mouth hauling. (Good grief, what would Jill Crewe think of such a thing?) I told her to just find another way, and that he was refusing because all he wanted to do was eat.

So - she got off, lead him down the road a little way, brought him back, remounted, and then set off again - this time he went willingly, and they had a good half hour's ride before returning.

Ride over, George sees me and heads toward the fence to remind me that it's dinnertime.

My daughter told me that on their travels they'd encountered those dreaded beasts known as cows. When George saw them, he got so tense that my daughter said it was like he was "pulsating." However, they survived the ordeal together.

So my daughter made a plan, set a goal, dealt with the obstacles, accomplished her aim - bingo.

Yours truly here has big toes which are just wonky. It's not from tight shoes. Although the reflexologist says that the shoes you wear reflect your choices, so you can't use that as an excuse. She also says the way you feel about your feet reflects the way you feel about your life. Ask someone what they think of their feet, and you'll find out a lot about how they view themselves. (Only don't tell them why you're asking!)

I am now on a mission to think very positively about my toes.