Collateral Benefits II

Here are three key facts to understand:

1. By most measures I am 50-70 pounds over weight. My diet is composed largely of cheese, pork chops, sausage, steak, hamburger,vitamins and sushi.

2. I ride long hours and regularly do 5 mile cantering conditioning rides. My pastures are deep and narrow. By the time I have caught and saddled a few horses I have walked over a mile. Over the past six months or so I have begun adding Tabata Protocol exercises to my weekly schedule.

3. Yesterday the doctor reviewed all of the extensive lab work that was done during a recent physical. The numbers in each category were not just OK for an old, fat man, they would have been spectacular for a 22 year old trained athlete. The only exception was blood pressure which is kept in check by medication.

Here is the point. A lifestyle that is centered around horses is obviously an extremely healthy lifestyle. The blood work only shows what it is doing for my physical health. It cannot measure mental health, but I can say with absolute certainty that the closest that I ever come to happiness is when I am with the horses.

Of course, there is a down side to everything. Simply looking in a mirror and seeing what a wreck I have become over the last thirty years has put a damper on any truly long range planning. I figured that I would probably make it until about age 52 so I hadn't made plans that went much beyond that.

Now I have to figure out something to do for the next 30-40 years.