Horse withdrawal

Did you know this is a medical condition? Though I guess to have withdrawal, you have to start with addiction.

When you're traveling and away from your fix, this particular addiction frequently manifests itself with symptoms like this:

• Blowing out through your lips to express various emotions, not just exhaustion


• Finding any excuse what-so-ever to bring up horses in general and your horse(s) in particular


• Chasing down horses in the street - in this case, Clydesdales pulling romantic carriages - just so you can breathe in warm horse smell and pet fuzzy heads and muzzles


• Getting homesick from the smell of leather in a boot store


• Asking where the closest tack store is


• Taking way too-dark pictures of one of the aforementioned carriage-pulling Clydesdales - this is Star - just so you can blog about how much you miss your horses

It really is an addiction, but it seems to help me more than it hurts me. Spoken like a true addict, of course. The major negative effect seems to be the glazed-over expressions on the faces of most (though not all) of my co-workers when I start talking about my equine obsession.

That's okay. I've met a few fellow addicts here in Austin and they get it. It's an odd club, but one I can happily say I'm glad would have me as a member.